Atal Innovation Mission has launched the phase 1 of the second edition of the Atal New India Challenge (ANIC 2.0). Atal New India Challenge is a flagship programme of Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog. The programme aims to seek, select, support and nurture technology-based innovations that solve sectoral challenges of national importance and societal relevance.

Launching the Challenge, Dr S Chandrasekar, Secretary, DST in his address said that government will hand-hold the path breaking innovations and asked the start-ups to take up hard challenges. He said, sectors like agriculture and health need huge startup push apart from tough areas like Chemicals, Pesticides etc.

The challenges for the Medical Devices and Equipment sector are focused on-

Challenge 1: Portable point-of-care (POC) diagnostic or monitoring devices

Challenge 2: Low-cost Consumables & Implants

Challenge 3: Advanced Surgical and Non-Surgical Equipment

Challenge 4: Advanced Assistive and Rehabilitative Devices

ANIC solicits innovations from startups and MSMEs in the prototype stage and after a competitive process of selection supports them through to the commercialisation stage over a course of 12 – 18 months with a funding of up to Rs 1 crore along with other associated support from the AIM’s innovation ecosystem.