The Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has extended the Atal Innovation Mission until March 31, 2028, with an allocation of Rs 2,750 crore to help startups, entrepreneurs, and innovators to dream big and achieve big. 

Objectives of AIM 2.0

AIM 2.0 is a step towards Viksit Bharat that aims to expand, strengthen, and deepen India’s already vibrant innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. Whereas AIM 1.0 involved implementing programs that built innovation infrastructure to strengthen India’s then-nascent ecosystem, AIM 2.0 involved piloting new initiatives designed to fill gaps in the ecosystem and scaling successes through central and state governments, industry, academia, and community.  

3 Put (s) of AIM 2.0

AIM 2.0 is designed to strengthen India’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in three ways: 

1. By increasing ‘input’ (i.e., ushering in more innovators and entrepreneurs),  
2. By improving the success rate or ‘throughput’ (i.e., helping more startups succeed) and 
3. By improving the quality of ‘output’ (i.e., producing better jobs, products, and services). 

The next phase of the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM 2.0) is expected to enhance India’s global competitiveness further & directly contribute to creating better jobs, innovative products, and high-impact services across sectors. 

The 8 Programs 

While building on the accomplishments of AIM 1.0, such as Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) and Atal Incubation Centers (AIC), AIM 2.0 marks a qualitative shift in the mission’s approach. The government has instated 8 programs under the  3 Put (s) of AIM 2.0 as: 

Input  

1. The Language Inclusive Program of Innovation (LIPI)- Under this, innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems will be built in India’s 22 scheduled languages to lower the entry barrier confronting innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors who don’t speak English. 30 Vernacular Innovation Centers will be established in existing incubators.
2. The Frontier Program- Under this, customized templates will be created for the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Ladakh, the North Eastern states (NE), Aspirational Districts, and Blocks where 15% of India’s citizens live. 2500 new ATLs will be created for template development.

Throughput 

1. The Human Capital Development Program: Under this, a system for producing professionals (managers, teachers, trainers) to build, operate, and maintain India’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem will be created. The pilot will produce 5500 such professionals.
2. The Deeptech Reactor- Under this, a research sandbox for testing ways of commercializing research-based deep tech startups will be created. This requires significantly longer time and deeper investment to get to market. A minimum of 1 Deeptech Reactor will be piloted.
3. The State Innovation Mission (SIM): Under this, the states/UTs will be assisted with building a strong innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem that focuses on their areas of strength. SIM will be a component of the NITI Aayog’s State Support Mission.
4. The International Innovation Collaborations Program- Under this, India’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem will be taken to the international paradigm. Four areas of intervention are identified: 

• An Annual Global Tinkering Olympiad 
• The Creation of 10 Bi-lateral, multilateral engagements with advanced nations.
• Helping the United Nations’ World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) spread the models of AIM and its programs (ATL, AIC) to the countries of the global south as a knowledge partner, and 
• Anchoring the Startup20 Engagement Group of the G20 for India.

Output

1. The Industrial Accelerator Program- It aims to increase industry involvement in scaling up advanced startups. A minimum of 10 Industry Accelerators in critical sectors will be created in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode.
2. The Atal Sectoral Innovation Launchpads (ASIL) Program- It aims to build iDEX-like platforms in central ministries for integrating and procuring from startups in key industry sectors. A minimum of 10 launchpads will be built across key ministries.

India’s Startup Scenario 

To talk about India’s startup scenario, it ranks 39 on the Global Innovation Index and is home to the world's third-largest start-up ecosystem. It has over 140,000 registered startups, and a new unicorn emerges every 20 days. Interestingly,  from 2019 to 2023, Indian startups have attracted over US $70 billion in total funding.  

This puts India in a very leading spot on the global scenario as well as the metrics of democratization in business and the emergence of new businesses contributing to the attractiveness and enrichment of India’s economy.