Lok Sabha Question No. 4548 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-20
Subject: Setting of Labs in Schools, Colleges and Rural Areas through Atal Innovation Mission
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Virendra Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

## DEPARTMENT OF SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4548 (ANSWERED ON 20.08.2025)

SETTING OF LABS IN SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND RURAL AREAS THROUGH ATAL INNOVATION MISSION

4548.  SHRI VIRENDRA SINGH:

Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is running any dedicated national mission to  promote  innovation,  research  and  technological  development among the youth and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether innovation labs are being set up in schools, colleges and rural areas through 'Atal Innovation Mission', 'Startup India' or other schemes and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the benefits of these efforts are reaching the remote areas of the country effectively and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) whether the Government has started any special grant or fellowship scheme to provide financial aid to young researchers and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES

(DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

- (a) The  following  missions/programs  are  being  implemented  to promote  innovation,  research  and  technological  development among the youth:

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

CSIR, through its constituent laboratories/institutes, is implementing the 'Integrated Skill Initiative Program', intending to  equip  young  minds  with  the  necessary  technological  skills through conducting training programs and workshops across the sectors  and  disciplines related to scientific and  industrial research  in  diverse  areas,  along  with  exposure  to  CSIR  labs. More  than  1.70  lakhs  individuals  have  been  trained  till  date through  conducting  several  skilling/reskilling/upskilling  training programmes to build a skilled workforce equipped to address the challenges and opportunities in diverse sectors.

Further, CSIR under its 'Capacity Building and Human Resource Development' scheme provides doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships to nurture the young budding scientific talent and to nourish the objective of doing scientific research by pursuing PhD program. The scheme is pivotal in  identifying  promising  young researchers  with  innovative  ideas  and  providing  them  with training and research opportunities in niche areas of basic and applied sciences, engineering, medicine & Pharmaceutical Sciences. The scheme also promotes postdoctoral research in the country.  The  research  fellows  supported  by  CSIR  are currently pursuing research in more than 650 academic and R&D institutions across the country.

## Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF)

ANRF has initiated the program, Mission for Advancement in Highimpact Areas (MAHA) to address priority-driven, solution-focused research in mission-mode that would catalyse multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary and multi-investigator collaboration to address scientific challenges and advance the frontiers of technology in key  scientific  areas.  ANRF  has  identified  Electric  Vehicle  (EV) Mobility as the first priority area of focus under MAHA program and accordingly, Electric Vehicle (EV) Mission, has already been launched to support  the  scientific  community,  including  young researchers.

## Department of Science & Technology (DST)

The Department of Science & Technology (DST) is implementing the National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) to promote innovation and entrepreneurship among the youth. The initiative  comprises NIDHI-PRAYAS (prototype grant support), NIDHI-EIR (Entrepreneur-in-Residence fellowships), NIDHI-iTBI (Inclusive TBIs in Tier-II and Tier-III regions). These interventions together form a structured pipeline to take innovations  from  idea  to  prototype,  incubation,  and  enterprise creation.

DBT is implementing Star College Program to enhance the quality of  science  education  at  the  undergraduate  level  across  India. DBT introduced this initiative to strengthen critical thinking and promote  hands-on  experimental  learning  among  undergraduate science students. The programme aims to inspire more students to pursue higher education in science by identifying colleges with the  potential  and  ambition  for  excellence  and  supporting  them with the necessary academic and physical infrastructure.

- (b)&(c) Yes,  Sir.  Under  Atal  Innovation  Mission  (AIM),  10,000  Atal Tinkering  Labs  (ATLs)  have  been  set  up  in  schools  to  foster curiosity, creativity, and imagination in young minds; and inculcate 21 st century skills such as design mindset, computational  thinking,  adaptive  learning,  physical  computing etc. Out of 10,000 labs established in the country, 5,694 (57%) have been set up in rural areas of the country.  Further, 14 Atal Community Innovation Centers (ACICs) have also been established in colleges/Higher Education Institutions, to encourage a spirit of entrepreneurship in the underserved/unserved  regions  of  India  by  providing  enabling infrastructure and facilitating environment for innovation.

Department of Science & Technology (DST), under its National Mission  on  Interdisciplinary  Cyber  Physical  Systems  (NM-ICPS) has established 25 Technology Innovation Hubs (TIHs) in reputed academic institutions across India, each specializing in cuttingedge  domains  such  as  Artificial  Intelligence  (AI)  &  Machine Learning (ML), Robotics, Internet of Things (IoT), Cybersecurity, and  FinTech,  among  others.  These  hubs  play  a  crucial  role  in enhancing  employment  opportunities  for  youth  by  providing platforms for entrepreneurship, offering mentorship, funding, and incubation  support.  They  also  conduct  training  programmes, workshops,  and  internships  to  impart  industry-relevant  skills, thereby equipping young professionals with hands-on experience, exposure, and  networking  opportunities to succeed  in the innovation ecosystem.

Further, DST under its NIDHI-PRAYAS, PRAYASHALA (prototyping labs  )  are  being  set  up  in  host  incubators  across  the  country. Currently, 57 PRAYAS  Centres have been supported. The Inclusive  Technology  Business  Incubator  (i-TBI)  scheme  has specifically extended incubation support to underserved regions. So  far,  48  i-TBIs  have  been  supported  in  various  academic institutions which are located in different cities including Tier-II and Tier-III cities, ensuring inclusivity across geography.

- (d) Yes, Sir. The details of fellowship schemes and special grants to provide financial aid to young researchers is as under:

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

-  CSIR,  under  its  'Capacity  Building  and  Human  Resource Development  Scheme',  provides  Doctoral  and  Post-doctoral fellowships  to  young  budding  researchers  for  pursuing  PhD and  postdoctoral  research  programs.  The  financial  aid  is provided to the fellows in the form of monthly emoluments and an annual contingency grant.
-  Extra  Mural  Research  (EMR)  grant  has  been  provided  to scientists/faculty of universities/ R&D organizations for their capacity building by CSIR.
-  Financial assistance to young Indian researchers, scientists and academicians has also been provided by CSIR to attend international seminars and symposia abroad.

## Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF)

ANRF has launched the National Postdoctoral Fellowship (NPDF) to identify motivated young researchers and provide them support for doing research in frontier areas of science and engineering. ANRF has also launched Ramanujan Fellowship to attract brilliant scientists and engineers of Indian origin working abroad to return and take up scientific research positions in India.

Department of Biotechnology (DBT)

DBT provides financial aid to the fellows in terms of fellowship and  research  grant  under  various  programmes  such  as  PostGraduate Teaching Program, Junior Research Fellowship Program,  Research Associateship Program,  Ramalingaswami ReEntry  Fellowship  Program,  Biotechnology  Career  Advancement and  Re-orientation  (BioCARe),  Indian  Institute  of  Technology Bombay  -  Monash  joint  doctoral  program,  TATA  Innovation Fellowship and HarGobind KhoranaInnovative Young Biotechnologist Fellowship Program.

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