What is ASIIM ?

• Under Ambedkar Social Innovation Incubation Mission initiative, one thousand scheduled caste (SC) youth will be identified in the coming four years with start-up ideas through the Technology Business Incubators in various higher educational institutions.
• They will be funded 30 lakh rupees in three years as equity funding to translate their start-up ideas into commercial ventures.
• Successful ventures would further qualify for venture funding of up to five Crore rupees from the Venture Capital Fund for SCs (VCF-SC).

Objectives 

The main objectives of ASIIM are: 

• To promote entrepreneurship among the SC Youth with special preference to Divyangs. 
• To support (1,000) innovative ideas till 2024 through a synergetic work with the Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) set up by the Department of Science and Technology. 
• To support, promote, hand-hold the start-up ideas till they reach commercial stage by providing liberal equity support. 
• To incentivise students with an innovative mindset to take to entrepreneurship with confidence. 

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 the 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.

Significance:

• ASIIM under VCF-SC will promote innovation in the SC youth and would help them to become job-givers from job-seekers.
• It would further give fillip to the ‘Stand Up India’ initiative of the Prime Minister.

Why in News?

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has launched the “Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission (ASIIM) under Venture Capital Fund for SCs” to promote innovation and enterprise among SC students studying in higher educational institutions.

References:

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1660364
2. https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/userfiles/English%20Brief%20on%20ASIIM.pdf