Lok Sabha Question No. 3665 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-22
Subject: Reduced Allocation of Funds
Ministry: PLANNING
Asked by: Aparupa  Poddar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PLANNING

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3665 TO BE ANSWERED 22.03.2023

## REDUCED ALLOCATION OF FUNDS

## 3665.  SHRIMATI APARUPA PODDAR:

Will the Minister of PLANNING be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has reduced allocation of funds for Central Sector Schemes to Rs. 632 crore against Rs. 848 crore in 2022-23 and Rs. 962.35 crore in 2021-22;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  reasons  to  reduce  funds  for  Atal  Innovation  Mission (AIM) to 50 per cent against last years expenditure; and
- (c) the  achievements  made  during  the  last  four  years  towards  promoting  a  culture  of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION; MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS

## (RAO INDERJIT SINGH)

- (a) Yes Sir, the Government has reduced the allocation of funds for Central Sector Schemes to Rs. 632 crores, the details of which is placed at part (b).
- (b) There are 4 major schemes in NITI Aayog:
1. Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)
2. Official  Development  Assistance  (ODA)  from  Japan  International  Cooperation Agency (JICA) for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
3. Research and Study
4. State Support Mission (SSM)

Allocation of funds under the Central Sector Schemes in Ministry of Planning is given as under:

(₹ in crore)

|                                                                                                                                   | BE- 2021-22   | RE- 2021-22   |   BE- 2022-23 |   RE 2022-23 | BE- 2023-24   |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|--------------|---------------|
| Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)                                                                                                     | 342.00        | 342.00        |        155.31 |       343.21 | 155.00        |
| Official Development Assistance (ODA) from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) | 581.00        | 581.00        |          0.01 |       500    | 433.00        |
| Research and Study                                                                                                                | 31.22         | 5.70          |          6    |         4    | 4.00          |
| State Support Mission (SSM)                                                                                                       | -             | -             |          0    |         0.5  | 40.00         |
| Information Technology (Capital)                                                                                                  | 0.78          | 0.77          |          0.75 |         0.3  | -             |
| Total                                                                                                                             | 955.00        | 929.47        |        162.07 |       848.01 | 632.00        |

The Aspirational Districts Programme is an externally funded programme under the Official Development Assistance from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which has a total outlay of Rs.933 crore. Its funding pattern has been phased out in such a way that Rs.500 crore was earmarked for FY 2022-23 and Rs.433 crore for FY 2023-24.  Further, revised proposal for the continuation of the Atal Innovation Mission is under process. In the meanwhile, Ministry of Finance has allocated a sum of Rs. 155.00 crore in BE 2023-24 for this scheme and Rs. 40 crores have been allocated for a new Central Sector Scheme namely State Support Mission.

Allocation for schemes in the Ministry has been augmented in the course of the financial year at the RE stage or through Supplementary provisions, based on the requirement as was the case in Financial Year 2022-23.

The major component of AIM's spends over the years has been establishing Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) in schools. Till FY 2021-22, Rs. 1183 cr. grant-in-aid has been disbursed for ATLs out of AIM's total grant-in-aid outlay of Rs. 1478 cr. i.e., 80%.

AIM has established 344 new ATLs in 2022-23 thus completed the mandate of establishing 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs. Henceforth, AIM would focus on consolidation of its existing beneficiaries  under  ATL  along  with  disbursal  of  subsequent  milestone-based  tranches  of grant-in-aid.  AIM  is  also  establishing  some  new  beneficiaries  under  the  other  programs  AIC / ACIC and ANIC along with continuing support and disbursal of subsequent milestonebased tranches of grant-in-aid for the existing beneficiaries.

Owing to the above, a reduced budget was asked for and allocated.

- (c) AIM, NITI Aayog is Government of India's flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.

## AIM envisions to:

- -create a vibrant ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship in India.
- -develop an institutional structure to support innovations through the innovation value chain and lifecycle.

AIM realizes its vision through an implementation framework comprising of various programs:

1. Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) - in schools
2. Atal Incubation Centres (AICs) - an ecosystem of start-ups and entrepreneurs
3. Atal Community Innovation Centres (ACICs) - grassroots innovation in underserved regions of the country
4. Atal New India Challenges (ANICs) - innovations with national impact
5. 5.
6. Mentor India - mentors of change Achievements of AIM entrepreneurship

## In Schools -

-  10,000 ATLs operationalized in 700 districts across India
-  30+ challenges conducted to translate tinkering to realized solution
-  75+ lakhs students engaged through innovation projects
-  12+ lakh innovation projects created by students
-  15+ learning modules, 175+ online YT Sessions (including regional languages)

## In Incubation Centres -

-  69 AICs operationalized. Selection for going up to 101 AICs in progress
-  3000+ start-ups incubated (970+ women led)
-  15,000+ jobs created
-  450+ IPs granted
-  8x external funding leveraged (90+ start-ups raised more than $100k each)
-  800+ training programs conducted (4000+ events held)
-  Developed Incubator Assessment Framework to measure the performance of Incubation centres across the country

## In Community Innovation Centres -

-  14 ACICs operationalized in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Selection for going up to 50 ACICs in progress

towards promoting a culture of innovation and

-  Developed the Community Innovator Fellowship launched for individual social innovators with an idea to solve community problems

## In Start-ups and Government Institutions -

-  Directly supporting 50+ start-ups with grant-in-aid and other associated support from AIM's innovation ecosystem across nation critical sectors agriculture, water and sanitation, waste management, healthcare, food processing, space technology etc. Selection for directly supporting 200 start-ups in progress.
-  Developed an institutional framework for Ministry of Defense - iDEX - for the ministry to aid discovery and integration of innovation.

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