Lok Sabha Question No. 2458 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-21
Subject: Assistance for Start Ups
Ministry: PLANNING
Asked by: Gajendra Singh Patel

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PLANNING

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2458 TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.12.2022

## ASSISTANCE FOR START UPS

## †2458.   SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH PATEL:

Will the Minister of PLANNING be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of assistance being provided by the NITI Aayog to the youths to develop new startups in the country;
- (b) whether there is any proposal of NITI Aayog to provide more employment to the youths in the tribal areas in view of making them self-reliant and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether there is any proposal of scheme(s) by NITI Aayog for the benefit of youths in Madhya Pradesh and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) whether NITI Aayog has developed a new multidimensional scheme so that the self-help group can get financial benefits in Madhya Pradesh and if so, the details thereof, districtwise?

## 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)  Atal Innovation Mission (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

AIM realizes its vision through its various programs -

1. Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs)
2. Atal Incubation Centres (AICs)
3. Atal Community Innovation Centres (ACICs)
4. Atal New India Challenges (ANICs)

## 1. Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs)

ATL  is  a  state-of-the-art  space  established  in  a  school  with  a  goal  to  foster  curiosity  and innovation in young minds between grade 6 th to 12 th to stimulate a problem-solving innovative mindset. ATLs house 21st century tools and technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing,  rapid  prototyping  tools,  robotics,  miniaturized  electronics,  do-it-yourself  kits  etc. ATLs create a pipeline of innovators and future entrepreneurs.

Each ATL is given a grant of INR 20 lakhs across 5 years.

Highlights (till date):

-  10,000 ATLs operationalized
-  75+ lakhs students engaged
-  13+ learning modules, 100+ online YouTube Sessions (including regional languages)
-  30+ Challenges

## 2. Atal Incubation Centres (AICs)

To create an ever-evolving ecosystem of start-ups and entrepreneurs, AIM has been establishing world class incubators called Atal Incubation Centres (AICs) at universities, institutions and corporates among others.

Incubation support includes providing technological facilities and advice, initial growth funds, network and linkages, co-working spaces, lab facilities, mentoring, and advisory support. They are often a good path to capital from angel investors, government organizations, economicdevelopment coalitions, venture capitalists, and other investors. Each AIC is given a grant of up to INR 10 crores across 5 years.

Highlights (till date):

-  69 AICs operationalized. To go up to 101 AICs
-  2900+ start-ups incubated (900+ women led)
-  15,000+ jobs created
-  480+ IPs granted
-  8x external funding leveraged (90+ start-ups raised more than $100k each)
-  800+ training programs conducted (4000+ events held)

## 3. Atal Community Innovation Centres (ACICs)

To promote the benefits of technology led innovation to the unserved/underserved regions of India including Tier 2, Tier 3 cities, aspirational districts, tribal, hilly and coastal areas, AIM is setting up Atal Community Innovation Centres. ACICs aim to foster and support SDG based innovations.

Each ACIC is given a grant of up to INR 2.5 crores across 5 years.

Highlights (till date):

-  14 ACICs operationalized. To go up to 50
-  Community Innovator Fellowship launched

## 4. Atal New India Challenges (ANICs)

To help develop technology-based innovations to solve sectoral challenges of national importance and social relevance , AIM runs challenges to select and nurture start-ups through their journey from Prototype to Commercialization.

Each ANIC winner is given a grant of up to INR 1 crore in 3 tranches over a total of 12 - 18 months.

Highlights (till date):

-  50+ start-ups supported. To go up to 200
-  Supporting innovations across sectors - agriculture, water and sanitation, waste management, healthcare, food processing, space technology etc
-  20+ start-ups leveraged external funding greater than grant-in-aid
- (b) Atal  Innovation  Mission,  NITI  Aayog  has  been  making  consistent  efforts  towards  skilling  and providing more employment to the youth across the country including in tribal areas. AIM has established  387  ATLs  in  Tribal  Schools  across  the  country  to  foster  curiosity,  creativity,  and imagination in young minds; and inculcate skills such as design mindset, computational thinking, adaptive  learning,  physical  computing  etc.  Atal  Community  Innovation  Centres  (ACICs)  have initiated capacity-building and training sessions in tribal areas, details of which are stated below. Additionally, 2 out of 14 ACICs have been working in the tribal focus areas, namely:

## A. ACIC IIT (ISM) Foundation, Dhanbad, Jharkhand.

## B. ACIC GIET University Foundation, Rayagadha, Odisha

1. Tundi:  A block in the Dhanbad district of Jharkhand that is Famous for large forest area and dense tribal population in the district. It is also known for the large variety of agricultural produce and  Cottage  industries.  Tundi  has  a  tribal  community  focused  on  making  handmade  bamboo products.  However,  there  still  existed  a  gap  in  terms  of  market-ready  products  and  market connect. ACIC IIT ISM Dhanbad built Capacity via trainers to produce market ready products connecting them with the right market access. The community now has a skill that is also a source of income.

2. Gadiakhola: In the Rayagrah district of Odisha, after discussing minutely with the residents of the village, following problems were listed out. Non availability of Drinking Water, Hygiene and Sanitation, Drainage, Absence  of Proper Source of Income, Absence  of Supply Chain Management for Commercial Products. No proper guidance for selling of cultivated agriculture products,  improper  marketing  channel,  and  maximum  villagers  are  migrant  labourers.  The outreach program was held on 25th April 2022 in the village. The event was divided into two sections: involving an individual house to house survey for basic household income, education & any  frugal  innovation  or  innovator,  and  a  group-wise  discussion  with  village  members  for problem  identification.  The  innovators  have  taken  up  the  problem  statements  and  are  working towards the innovations to solve such issues

## (c) AIM has operationalized 3 Atal Incubation Centres in Madhya Pradesh

1. AIC Aartech Solonics - Bhopal
2. AIC RNTU Foundation - Bhopal
3. AIC Prestige Inspire Foundation - Indore

AIM has given a total funding of INR 8.5 cr. for the development of AICs in Madhya Pradesh

The 3 incubation centres help early stage start-ups with co-working space, technological facilities and advice, initial growth funds, network and linkages, lab facilities, mentoring, and advisory support etc.

Till date in terms of start-ups supported, external funding leveraged, and job created, the below table is detailed -

| AIC Name                        | Sector Focus                                                                                                                  |   Start-ups incubated |   Jobs created | Funding leveraged (INR)   | IP created   |
|---------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------|----------------|---------------------------|--------------|
| AIC Aartech Solonics            | Electricity, New and Renewable Energy and Environmental, Sustainability, Education, Manufacturing and Engineering             |                    29 |            160 | 1,42,50,000               | -            |
| AIC RNTU Foundation             | Education, Electricity, New and Renewable Energy and Environmental sustainability, Information Communication Technology (ICT) |                    68 |            224 | 1,46,10,000               | 6            |
| AIC Prestige Inspire Foundation | Software as a Service (SaaS), Drone, Smartcity-tech, Health- tech, visual computing, Industry 4.0                             |                    50 |             98 | 4,88,00,000               | 7            |

- (d) There are number of schemes that are implemented by Central Govt. to financially benefit self help  groups  such  as  National  Rural  Livelihood  Mission  (NRLM),  National  Urban  Livelihood Mission (NULM),  National Finance &  Development Corporations etc. that have been implemented across the country including Madhya Pradesh. NRLM aims at mobilizing about 9-10 crore rural poor households into Self Help Groups (SHGs) in a phased manner and provide them long-term support such that they diversify their livelihood, improve their income and quality of life.  NULM  aims  to  enabling  urban  poor  to  access  gainful  self-employment  and  skilled  wage employment opportunities. Also, financial assistance is provided to individuals/ groups/ Self Help Groups  (SHGs)  of  urban  poor  for  setting  up  gainful  self-employment  ventures  or  microenterprises.  The  financial  support  released  for  Madhya  Pradesh  under  both  the  schemes  are  as below (for last three years):

Financial support released for Madhya Pradesh under NRLM & NULM

| Scheme Name   |   Amount released in Year 2019-20 (in cr.) |   Amount released in Year 2020-21 (in cr.) |   Amount released in Year 2021-22 (in cr.) |
|---------------|--------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|
| NRLM          |                                     426.33 |                                     240.62 |                                     307.31 |
| NULM          |                                      48.8  |                                      55.09 |                                      63.36 |