3000 more schools selected to get Atal Tinkering Labs

As many as 3000 more schools have been selected by the Niti Aayog to get Atal Tinkering Labs under the Atal Innovation Mission. The selected schools are now slated to get as many as Rs 20 lakh each for the purpose. The grant will be provided to the schools over a period of five years.

The Atal Tinkering Labs are aimed at developing innovation and entrepreneurial skills among the children. With 5,441 schools already selected for the same, the government aims at establishing ATLs in every district of the country in near future.

“These additional 3,000 schools will greatly expand the reach of the ATL program, increasing the number of children exposed to tinkering and innovation and providing access to the young innovators of India to technologies like 3D Printing, Robotics, IoT and microprocessors”, said Atal Innovation Mission managing director Ramanathan Ramanan.

According to a statement released by the Niti Aayog, these additional schools will facilitate the creation of over One Million Neoteric Child Innovators by 2020. ATLs will function as innovation hubs for these student innovators to explore solutions to unique local problems which they come across in their everyday lives.

The Atal Innovation Mission is a flagship initiative of the Narendra Modi government to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country. It is mandated to create an umbrella structure to oversee innovation ecosystem of the country and revolutionising the innovation eco-system - touching upon the entire innovation life cycle through various programs. The Atal Tinkering Labs create innovators, Atal Incubation Centres and support to Established Incubation Centre ensure that innovations are taken to the market and help create enterprises around these innovations.