Atal Community Innovation Centres (ACIC) scheme
A programme by Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog
AIM funds host institutions to run community innovation centres in unserved and underserved regions.
At a glance
| Best for | Institutions that want to host a community innovation centre; innovators use a centre once it is set up |
|---|---|
| Stage | Idea |
About Atal Community Innovation Centres (ACIC) scheme
Atal Community Innovation Centres bring technology-led innovation to unserved and underserved parts of India, including Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, aspirational districts, and tribal, hilly and coastal areas. They support pre-incubation and grassroots innovators. The scheme is for the institutions that host a centre.
What the scheme provides to a centre
- A grant from AIM, on the condition that a funding partner provides equal or greater matching funding
Who can apply to AIM to host a centre
- Publicly funded institutions, privately funded institutions, or a public-private partnership
- A funding partner, or self-funding of the matching contribution
How to apply: Applications are submitted online to AIM through a web portal when a call opens. AIM's homepage currently says the ACIC portal is not open. AIM's register of ACICs lists the centres that are established.
Where to apply
Other Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog programmes
- Atal New India Challenge (ANIC) 2.0Grant-in-aid and support for prototype-stage technology solutions to national challenge areas, applied for directly to AIM during a call.
- Atal Incubation Centres (AIC) schemeAIM funds universities, institutes and companies to run incubators; founders apply to the individual centre, not to AIM.
- Community Innovator FellowshipA one-year fellowship for aspiring community innovators, hosted at an Atal Community Innovation Centre.