Atal Innovation Mission Rolls Out Assessment Framework For Startup Incubation Centres

The government’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), under NITI Aayog, has rolled out an assessment framework for startup incubation centres.

The framework has been developed in collaboration with IIT Delhi and the World Bank, with 23 key performance indicators categorised into inputs, processes and output.

The inputs encompass funding and resources, while governance factors pertain to management and decision-making. Processes address the operational aspects of the incubator, and outputs focus on the economic impact of the startups supported by the incubators.

With the implementation of the assessment framework, AIM is looking at establishing a comprehensive and streamlined approach to evaluate and benchmark the incubators’ performances. 

Through the framework, the government will also be able to ensure consistency and enable effective evaluation and comparison of incubators. 

The Indian government launched AIM in 2016 to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. Since then, under its Atal Incubation Centres (AIC), the initiative has operationalised 69 incubators across eight states and three union territories.

According to AIM, over 2,900 startups have received support through this and have created more than 30,000 jobs in the ecosystem.

Out of about 700 incubators in India, about 450 are receiving support under various schemes rolled out by the central and state governments, said ET in an report. The total amount of the grant offered to the incubators exceeds INR 2,100 Cr.

In 2020, AIM also collaborated with NASSCOM to launch an AI-based educational module for school students. The programme was launched to reach about 2.5 Mn students associated with Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL), which aims to impart technical knowledge and skills to the students. 

The initiative was aimed at enabling students to understand AI technology by offering them interactive sessions, videos, activities, and experiential learning.

The Indian government has rolled out several initiatives to support the country’s startups, including SIDBI Fund of Funds, Startup India Investor Connect, Startup India Seed Fund Scheme, Ebiz Portal, Atmranirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge, etc.