Context: Recently, NITI Aayog has released a collaborative network called 'CollabCAD'.
About CollabCAD

• It is a joint initiative of Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog and National Informatics Centre (NIC).
• It is a computer enabled software system which is aimed at providing a total engineering solution from 2D drafting & detailing to 3D product design.
• Its primary focus is to provide a great platform to students of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) across country to create and modify 3d designs with free flow of creativity and imagination.
• It would also enable students to create data across the network and concurrently access the same design data for storage and visualization.
• It would serve as a great platform for students to utilize indigenous, state-of-the-art made-in-India software for 3D modeling/slicing to use 3D Printing.
• This customized version of CollabCAD for ATLs with features that are most relevant to school students to materialize their ideas and creativity into physical solutions has been developed to enable designing without constraints.

About Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)

• It is India’s flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.
• Its objective is to develop new programmes and policies for fostering innovation in different sectors of the economy, provide platform and collaboration opportunities for different stakeholders, create awareness and create an umbrella structure to oversee innovation ecosystem of the country.

About Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs)

• Its vision is to ‘Cultivate one Million children in India as Neoteric Innovators.'
• It is established in schools across India under Atal Innovation Mission.
• Its aim is to foster curiosity, creativity and imagination in young minds; and inculcate skills such as design mindset, computational thinking, adaptive learning, physical computing etc.
• AIM will provide grant-in-aid of Rs. 20 Lakh to each school that includes a one-time establishment cost of Rs. 10 lakh and operational expenses of Rs. 10 lakh for a maximum period of 5 years to each ATL.
• Schools (minimum Grade VI - X) managed by Government, local body or private trusts/society are eligible to set up ATL.

About National Informatics Centre (NIC)

• It was established in 1976, and has rich experience in providing ICT and eGovernance support to the Government.
• It spearheaded “Informatics-Led-Development” by implementing ICT applications in social and public administration and facilitates electronic delivery of services to the government (G2G), business (G2B), citizen (G2C) and government employee (G2E).
• It is an attached office under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

The following major activities are being undertaken:

• Setting up of ICT Infrastructure
• Implementation of National and State Level e-Governance Projects/Products
• Consultancy to the Government departments
• Research & Development
• Capacity Building