Govt has set up 8,706 Atal Tinkering Labs in schools across the country

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) was launched to create an innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem in India by establishing new incubation centres, scaling up established incubation centres and setting up Atal Tinkering Labs in schools.

A total Grant-in-Aid of Rs. 20 lakh is sanctioned to schools out of which Rs. 10 lakh is provisioned as establishment cost and Rs10 lakh is provisioned as operations and maintenance cost for five years, at the rate of Rs. 2 lakh per year.

“A 3rd party review conducted during 2019 showed that 27 schools displayed room for improvement. To facilitate smooth functioning and monitoring of ATL schools across the country, AIM is working closely with the ATLs through various channels,” education minister Dharmendra Pradhan told Rajya Sabha in a reply to a question.

To facilitate smooth functioning and monitoring of ATL schools across the country, AIM has created an online monitoring tool – ATL Dashboard. Through ATL Dashboard, schools are able to update their activities in real time and submit reports on a monthly basis. Various ATL related elements such as contact details, pictures, workshops, events, advisory body meetings, etc. are recorded digitally through the ATL Dashboard. The ATL schools are reviewed on a periodic basis through ATL Dashboard. Schools are mandated to submit audited statement of accounts and utilization certificate every year, as a part of application for subsequent tranches. These documents along with the other relevant compliance documents are checked and verified before the sanction of subsequent tranche for the school.

Pradhan said the selection and establishment of ATL is being done as per a document compliance and due-diligence process. “Schools which successfully complete their compliance process as per AIM requirements are sanctioned ATL grant-in-aid, subject to budgetary provisions. The maintenance of these ATLs is the primary responsibility of the school authorities,” he added.