Ambedkar Social Innovation And Incubation Mission

• 03 Oct 2020

• On 30^th September, 2020, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launched the Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission (ASIIM) in order to promote innovation and enterprise in Schedule Caste (SC) students studying in higher educational institutions.

Objectives

• To promote entrepreneurship among the SC Youth with special preference to Divyangs.
• To support innovative ideas till 2024 through a synergetic work with the Technology Business Incubators (TBIs).
• To support and promote the start-up ideas till they reach commercial stage by providing liberal equity support.

Need

• There is a need to identify innovative ideas and provide focussed support to young entrepreneurs who are engaged in working on innovative and technology-oriented business ideas.

Key Points

Implementation

• The ASIIM initiative will be implemented by the Venture Capital Fund for SCs (VCF-SCs).

Eligibility

• Youth who have been identified by the TBIs.
• Students who have been awarded under the Smart India Hackathon or Smart India Hardware Hackathon being conducted by Ministry of Education.
• Innovative ideas focusing on the socio-economic development of the society identified in the TBIs.
• Start-ups nominated and supported by corporates through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds.

Benefits

• 1,000 SC youth would be identified in the next 4 years with start-up ideas through the TBIs in various higher educational institutions.
• Successful ventures would further qualify for venture capital funding of up to Rs. 5 Crore from the VCF-SCs.
• This initiative will help promote innovation in the SC youth and would help them to become job-givers from job-seekers.
• The mission would further give fillip to the ‘Stand Up India’ initiative of the government.