• Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) launches Atal Community Innovation Centre (ACIC) Program.

About ACIC Program:

• The programme aims at spurring community Innovation in underserved and unserved areas of the country.
• ACIC can serve as the bridge between the knowledge base existing in communities and the advanced technical ecosystem prevalent in the market base, addressing the needs of society.
• This initiative offers opportunity to talented youth and researchers in Tier 2, Tier 3 cities, Smart cities, Aspirational Districts, North East, J&K, Rural and Tribal regions of India, unserved and underserved regions of Tier 1 / Metro cities. The eligible academic applicants are University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) affiliated Universities / Colleges, educational institutions like ITIs & other technical diploma colleges.
• The eligible non-academic applicants are voluntary and other organizations having good experience and exposure in awareness and promotion of Science and Technology in the country.

Analysis:

• India will become the largest consumer of fossil fuel in the next 15 years, so there is a dire need to reduce India’s crude oil import bill which is pegged at Rs 6 lakh crore per annum. Atal Community Innovation Centre could come up with innovative methods, which will help India in reducing its fossil fuel import bill.
• This new initiative aims to encourage the spirit of innovation in the country’s specific areas that lack the required infrastructure and facilitating innovation ecosystem. The purpose of ACIC is to enable establishment of socially inclusive innovation ecosystem as well as to encourage equitable distribution of necessary infrastructure for stimulating innovation across the country
• The ACIC program should be connected to every Panchayati Raj Institutions to help innovators at grassroots level become part of the policy framework and leverage their creativity to translate their products/ services into innovation led commercial utilization for society.
• AIM through ACIC program should encourage innovation potential for domestic power sector by using real strength of non-fossil and sustainable sources of energy