NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), has launched AIM iCREST – an Incubator Capabilities enhancement program for a Robust Ecosystem, focused on creating high performing Startups.

Note the following things about AIM-iCREST

1) Meaning of the acronym as it gives the central idea of the initiative

2) Aims and objective

3) Technological partners

AIM-iCREST

• AIM iCREST, as the name suggests, has been designed to enable the incubation ecosystem and act as a growth hack for AIM’s Atal and Established incubators across the country.
• Under the initiative, the AIM’s incubators are set to be upscaled and provided requisite support to foster the incubation enterprise economy that will help them to significantly enhance their performance.
• This will be complemented by providing training to entrepreneurs, through technology-driven processes and platforms.
• The program aims at going beyond incubator capacity building.  This is a first of its kind initiative for advancing innovation at scale in India.

Various partners

• AIM has joined hands with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wadhwani Foundation – organizations that can lend credible support and expertise in the entrepreneurship and innovation space.
• These partnerships will provide global expertise and showcase proven best practices to the AIM’s incubator network.

An initiative for incubators

• India needs world-class incubators fostering world-class startups leveraging the tremendous innovation talent of our country.
• For the first time in the Government, the Incubator capacity development program is being extended to the entire portfolio of supported Atal incubators.
• This programme is unique also in its design – it is a combination of interactive practices in the field of incubation; enabling the incubators to support sustainable and successful startups.

Back2Basics: Atal Innovation Mission

• Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is NITI Aayog’s flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in India
• AIM has been established to create and promote an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship in a holistic manner through various initiatives at school, university and industry levels
• The Atal Innovation Mission has thus two core functions:

1. Innovation promotion: to provide a platform where innovative ideas are generated.
2. Entrepreneurship promotion: Wherein innovators would be supported and mentored to become successful entrepreneurs at Incubation Centres.

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