New Delhi, Feb 28 (KNN) The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley during his budget speech today announced to establish a ATAL Innovation Mission (AIM) in NITI.

Presenting the General Budget 2015-16 in the Lok Sabha the Minister stated that AIM will be an Innovation Promotion Platform involving academics, entrepreneurs and researchers and draw upon national and international experiences to foster a culture of innovation, R&D and scientific research in India.
 
By set a siding a sum of Rs.150 crore initially for this purpose, Jaitley said that the platform will also promote a network of world-class innovation hubs in India.
 
Earlier, The National Innovation Council (NInC) and the Ministry of MSME had also announced an India Inclusive Innovation Fund (IIIF) to help small entrepreneurs and innovators turn their ideas into reality.
 
The fund is currently registered under SEBI’s Alternative Investment Fund Category I guidelines with an initial corpus of Rs. 500 crore that invests in innovation led, early stage Indian firms, with the Ministry of MSME committing to Rs. 100 crore.

The balance is coming from banks, insurance companies, and overseas financial and development institutions.(KNN/VV)