Srinagar – Union government will establish 500 new Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) in Jammu and Kashmir as part of a national programme to expand access to innovation-driven education, the government said on Thursday.
The announcement was made at the launch of the Atal Innovation Mission’s ATL Sarthi and Frontier Region Programme at the University of Kashmir, attended by Union science and technology minister Jitendra Singh and the region’s lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha.
Singh said Jammu and Kashmir could play a larger role in India’s growth over the next two decades as the country moves up global economic rankings. “As India’s economy moves up from rank 4 to rank 3 and further upward, the value addition will come from regions and resources hitherto under-explored and J&K qualifies on both counts,” he said.
He added that the Frontier Region Programme will see an investment of ₹100 crore to set up the 500 labs, which will provide students with tools in robotics, 3D printing and artificial intelligence.
Sinha said the labs would help students develop problem-solving skills and contribute to inclusive growth. “The Atal Tinkering Lab is a fitting tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. These labs are empowering our young students and providing them with the tools for new discovery and self-development,” he said.
According to NITI Aayog, which runs the Atal Innovation Mission, the new labs represent the largest share of 2,500 ATLs sanctioned for frontier regions across the country.
The event also saw the signing of a partnership between AIM and the University of Kashmir, and participation from companies including Boeing India and Amazon India, which committed to supporting school-level innovation initiatives.
