From tinkering labs to AI ambitions: AIM scales innovation in schools

But Atal Innovation Mission faces utilisation, depth challenges as it turns a decade

As India hosted a global AI summit that placed artificial intelligence (AI) at the centre of economic strategy and education reform, the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), launched on February 24, 2016, quietly completed a decade. 

Established under the NITI Aayog, AIM was designed to seed innovation at the school level through Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs). At the summit, policymakers repeatedly said that AI readiness would depend on early exposure to STEM, computational thinking and problem-solving. The architecture created under AIM was referenced in that broader push to build capacity from the classroom upward. 

The Union Cabinet has since approved the continuation of AIM with an enhanced outlay of about ₹2,750 crore, marking the start of AIM 2.0 and extending the mission until 2028. The renewed funding is intended to strengthen India’s innovation architecture at a time when AI and deep technologies are central to economic strategy. Over the past decade, 10,000 ATLs have been established across the country, including 5,945 in government schools and 4,055 in private institutions, with a majority located in rural areas and a share in aspirational districts, according to information placed before Parliament. 

An independent assessment by Athena Infonomics, commissioned by AIM and cited in a Lok Sabha reply, found that most sampled schools met infrastructure requirements and utilised their establishment grants. Over 90 per cent reported using the initial funds, 85 per cent submitted utilisation certificates, and 74 per cent regularly updated the programme dashboard. Schools surveyed reported improvements in academic performance, a greater scientific temper and stronger outcomes in STEM subjects. Teachers also reported higher levels of student engagement after the labs were introduced. 

The data suggests the depth of engagement has not always kept pace with the breadth of expansion. It shows that the average number of innovations developed per lab has remained within a narrow range, between 9 and 12 annually. The peak was recorded in 2018-19 at 12 innovations per lab. In the years that followed, the average settled around 9 to 11, even as the number of labs multiplied. 

Student enrolment has risen sharply in absolute terms. In sampled schools, total enrolment grew from 1,578 in 2016-17 to 371,957 by 2022-23. ATL enrolment increased from 1,010 students to 160,155 during the same period. Yet the proportion of students participating in ATLs declined from 64 per cent in the first year to around 43 per cent by 2022-23. 

As more schools came under the programme, the share of enrolled students actively involved in tinkering activities narrowed.

Funding trends reflect a similar shift. Between 2017-18 and 2022-23, actual expenditure frequently matched or exceeded budget allocations, with utilisation crossing 100 per cent in several years. In the past two financial years, however, spending slowed. Utilisation fell to 78 per cent in 2023-24. 

In 2024-25, against a budget estimate of ₹155 crore, actual expenditure stood at ₹27.08 crore, or 17.47 per cent. For 2025-26, ₹110 crore has been spent so far against an allocation of ₹400 crore, translating to 27.5 per cent utilisation. This shift comes just as the Union Cabinet has approved AIM 2.0 with a total outlay of ₹2,750 crore until 2028. 

The assessment also sheds light on financial pressures at the school level. While 67 per cent of schools reported needing additional funds to run their ATLs effectively, only 26 per cent in the sample actually spent money from sources beyond the mission’s support. Of those that did, 89 per cent relied on school-level resources. Private schools were more likely to report additional spending than government schools. Additional funds were primarily used for tools,  setting up space and paying for extra trainers. 

In Parliament, when asked whether the government had assessed the availability of trained instructors and mentors in ATLs, the reply stated that no such assessment had been conducted. 

As AIM enters its second decade, the record shows a programme that has achieved significant reach and institutional presence, alongside reported gains in STEM engagement and classroom interaction. Trends in participation ratios, average innovation output and expenditure levels point to areas that will shape how the mission evolves in an era when AI capability and innovation capacity are being treated as national priorities.