Lok Sabha Question No. 1071 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-08
Subject: Atal Tinkering Labs
Ministry: PLANNING
Asked by: Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PLANNING

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1071

TO BE ANSWERED 08.02.2023

## ATAL TINKERING LABS

## 1071.   SHRI RAM MOHAN NAIDU KINJARAPU:

Will the Minister of  PLANNING  be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of schools out of the total 474 schools selected for setting up of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) in Andhra Pradesh which are completely functional;
- (b) the new age devices and technology that have been introduced in these labs during the current academic year in the State;
- (c) the steps being taken to skill up the Atal India Mission (AIM) mentors of change in Andhra Pradesh; and
- (d) the details on the mentor-mentee ratio classified, State and school-wise?

## 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 OF THE MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS

## (RAO INDERJIT SINGH)

- (a) Out of the 474 schools selected from Andhra Pradesh, 372 schools have been funded for setting  up  Atal  Tinkering  Labs  (ATLs)  in  the  state,  till  date,  based  on  successful completion of due diligence and guidelines laid down by Atal Innovation Mission (AIM).
- (b) The suggestive list of devices and equipment that are to be placed in ATLs are common across  the  schools  of  the  country  including  Andhra  Pradesh.    All  ATL  schools  are required  to  purchase  equipment,  as  per  'The  Equipment  List'  suggested  by  Atal Innovation Mission, which is placed at https://aim.gov.in/pdf/ATL-Equipment-Batch-of90.pdf

The  list  has  all  the  latest  devices  and  technologies  like  3D  Printer,  Robotics,  IoT, mechanical tools and computational thinking tools. The list is not exhaustive, however, it

is  mandatory  for  schools  to  purchase  all  the  equipment  mentioned  in  the  list  as  per requirement.

Additionally,  AIM  has  developed  self-learning  modules  on  21 st century  skills in collaboration with industry experts and partner organizations on topics such as Drones, AI, Coding, Physical computing which are available on AIM's official website and can be accessed by everyone.

- (c) The  Mentor  India  program  is  a  voluntary  national  movement  being  led  by  Atal Innovation Mission, wherein skilled professionals provide pro-bono mentoring to young ATL  innovators,  with a strong sentiment towards  nation building. These  skilled volunteers, who are called the 'Mentors of Change (MoC)' spend time on-ground with ATL students,  who  are  the  young  innovators  of  India  and  enable  them  to  experience, learn and practice 21st century skills. Till date, there are 6000+ MoCs are associated with AIM for mentoring 10,000 ATL schools across the country.

AIM organizes Knowledge Hub sessions which is a platform to upskill and peer learning for MoCs from the pool of existing mentors only. Further, AIM has developed learning modules for students, teachers and mentors, like Blockchain Module, Design Thinking Module, etc. available on official website as self-paced learning content.

AIM has launched the self-learning portal for the ATL teachers and mentors covering the ATL philosophy, technical concepts, soft skills  etc. to enable teachers to learn at their own  pace.  Further,  regular  dedicated  teacher  and  mentor  training  workshops  are  also organized in collaboration with AIM's partners, both virtually and physically.

- (d) The mentors selected by Atal Innovation Mission remain in touch with ATL school on regular basis and provide mentoring support based on their experience. Till date, 6000+ mentors have been on-boarded by AIM, out of which 134 MoCs have been selected from state of Andhra Pradesh who are providing mentoring support to ATLs across different regions of the country. Each mentor may take up mentorship for 2 to 3 schools basis their preference across the country.

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