Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog & UNDP India launch Community Innovator Fellowship

The NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and UNDP India on Friday launched the Community Innovator Fellowship (CIF), which will provide the youth with an opportunity to establish their social enterprise focusing on sustainable development goals (SDG)-based solutions for solving community issues, according to an official statement.

Key Highlights

• This is going to be a one-year-long intensive fellowship programme, which has been designed for aspiring community innovators, irrespective of their socioeconomic background.
• During the course of this fellowship, each fellow will be hosted at one of the AIM’s Atal Community Innovation Centres (ACICs) and will acquire SDG awareness, entrepreneurial skills and life skills while they are working on their idea, it added.
• ACICs will nurture the youth-led innovations by providing suitable resources in terms of operating facilities, co-working space, maker labs and a dynamic business network to the innovator, according to the statement.
• Addressing the launch event, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar said this fellowship aims to provide young community innovators necessary infrastructure and knowledge building in their entrepreneurial journey.
• The statement said ACICs have been established with a focus to develop the start-up and innovation ecosystem in the underserved regions of the country.
• Currently, there are 12 ACICs across nine states in the country and the target is to establish 50 such centres in the country, it added.

SOURCE: The Indian Express, The Hindu

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