Q Why is it in News?
Recently, the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog launched AIM-PRIME (Program for Researchers on Innovations, Market-Readiness & Entrepreneurship).
Q What is Atal Innovation Mission?
- Atal Innovation Mission : AIM is Government of India’s flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.
- Its objective is to develop new programmes and policies for fostering innovation in different sectors of the economy, provide platform and collaboration opportunities for different stakeholders, create awareness and create an umbrella structure to oversee the innovation ecosystem of the country.
- AIM’s initiatives have played an important contributory role in the advancement of India from a position of 81 in the Global Innovation Index in 2015 to a position of 48 in 2020.
Q What is objective of AIM-PRIME?
- Promoting science based, deep technology ideas to market through training and guidance over a period of 12 months.
- Deep technology is based on tangible engineering innovation or scientific advances and discoveries. Deep Tech is often set apart by its profound enabling power, the differentiation it can create, and its potential to catalyse change.
- Focus Areas of AIM-PRIME are: Science-based, knowledge-intensive, deep technology entrepreneurship.
Q Which are the agencies involved?
AIM has collaborated with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to launch this nationwide programme which will be implemented by Venture Centre - a non-profit technology business incubator hosted by Council Of Scientific And Industrial Research–National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL).
Q Who will be the beneficiaries?
- Technology developers (early-stage deep tech start-ups, and scientists/ engineers/clinicians) with strong science-based deep tech business ideas.
- Chief Executive Officers and Senior incubation managers of AIM Funded Atal Incubation Centers that are supporting deep tech entrepreneurs.
Q What will be significance of AIM-PRIME?
- Candidates selected for the programme will get access to in-depth learning via a comprehensive lecture series, live team projects, exercises, and project-specific mentoring.
- They will also have access to a deep tech start-up playbook, curated video library, and plenty of peer-to-peer learning opportunities.
