Atal Innovation Mission launches space challenge for Indian school students

This comes against the backdrop of India’s push in Global Innovation Index (GII) rankings and Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking about satellites being developed by Indian youth and students in his monthly radio program ‘Mann Ki Baat’ last month . After the country opened its space sector to private firms.

NITI Aayog in a statement on Friday said, “The challenge is posed for all school students, mentors and teachers across the country who are associated not only with schools with ATL labs, but also for all non-ATL schools. “

Under the Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATL) initiative, schools get grants to set up such laboratories so that students can be encouraged to shape their ideas and do innovative experiments on their own in these laboratories. These tinkering labs are well equipped with infrastructure such as meeting rooms and video-conferencing facilities along with kits and equipment related to science, electronics, robotics, sensors, 3D printers and computers.

“This is to ensure that the students of classes 6 to 12 are given an open platform where they can be able to solve the space technology problems of the digital age,” the statement said.

In June last year, the Union Cabinet decided to open up the space sector to private sector participation, and a new entity, the Indian National Center for Space Promotion and Authorization, to encourage private companies to use India’s space infrastructure. (IN-SPAC) approved. .

“Speaking during the official launch, Mission Director AIM Dr Chintan Vaishnav said that the objective of this challenge is to enable innovation among young school students in the space sector to create something that not only helps them learn about space would rather create something that the space program itself can use,” the statement said.