The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is a flagship initiative set up by
- (a)Ministry of Human Resource Development
- (b)NITI Aayog
- (c)Ministry of Social Justice and Impowerment
- (d)Ministry of Science and Technology
Correct — B, NITI Aayog. The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is the Government of India's flagship platform to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, and it was set up under NITI Aayog (announced in Budget 2015-16, operational from 2016). Its programmes include Atal Tinkering Labs in schools, Atal Incubation Centres, Atal New India Challenges and Atal Community Innovation Centres.
- (a)Ministry of Human Resource Development — MHRD (now the Ministry of Education) runs the school and higher-education system; the Atal Innovation Mission is administered by NITI Aayog, not MHRD.
- (c)Ministry of Social Justice and Impowerment — This ministry handles the welfare of Scheduled Castes, OBCs, the disabled and other marginalised groups — unrelated to AIM.
- (d)Ministry of Science and Technology — The tempting choice, since 'innovation' sounds scientific — but the Ministry of Science & Technology runs DST/DBT/CSIR bodies, whereas AIM sits specifically under NITI Aayog.
NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India), the policy think-tank that replaced the Planning Commission on 1 January 2015, houses the Atal Innovation Mission as its umbrella initiative for innovation and entrepreneurship. AIM works across the pipeline — schools (Atal Tinkering Labs), start-ups (Atal Incubation Centres) and industry challenges — and is named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The distractor trap is intuitive association: 'innovation' seems to belong to the Ministry of Science & Technology. The fact to lock in is administrative — AIM is a NITI Aayog initiative. NITI Aayog itself replaced the Planning Commission, a frequently linked fact.
- AIM is set up under NITI Aayog.
- Announced in the 2015-16 Union Budget; operational from 2016.
- Programmes: Atal Tinkering Labs, Atal Incubation Centres, Atal New India Challenges.
- NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission on 1 January 2015.
- Assuming AIM is under the Ministry of Science & Technology because it concerns innovation
- Confusing the Atal Innovation Mission with Atal Pension Yojana or Atal Bhujal Yojana, which sit under different ministries
Asked as 'X is set up under / administered by which body' — UPSC put the near-identical question in 2019; UPPSC also asks NITI Aayog's functions and what it replaced.
Atal Innovation Mission is set up under the
- (a) Department of Science and Technology
- (b) Ministry of Labour and Employment
- (c) NITI Aayog
- (d) Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
Answer(c) NITI Aayog
Near-identical UPSC 2019 question — the Atal Innovation Mission is set up under NITI Aayog.
The Government of India has established NITI Aayog to replace the
- (a) Human Rights Commission
- (b) Finance Commission
- (c) Law Commission
- (d) Planning Commission
Answer(d) Planning Commission
Same parent body — reinforces that AIM's home, NITI Aayog, replaced the Planning Commission in 2015.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Atal Tinkering Labs, aimed at schoolchildren, are a programme of which mission?
- (a)Digital India
- (b)Atal Innovation Mission
- (c)Skill India Mission
- (d)Startup India
Answer(b) Atal Innovation Mission — run under NITI Aayog.
- practice — not a real PYQ
NITI Aayog, which houses the Atal Innovation Mission, replaced which earlier body?
- (a)Finance Commission
- (b)Planning Commission
- (c)University Grants Commission
- (d)National Development Council
Answer(b) Planning Commission — replaced on 1 January 2015.