AIM has established over 10,000 ATLs in schools nationwide, equipping students with access to modern tools such as 3D printers, robotics kits, and IoT devices.
NEW DELHI (India CSR) – In a landmark initiative for school-based innovation, the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, hosted Mega Tinkering Day 2025, bringing together over 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) from all 35 states and union territories. The event, held virtually and simultaneously across the country, marked India’s largest-ever tinkering activity, engaging 4,73,350 students from 9,467 ATL-equipped schools in a synchronized, hands-on innovation challenge.
The highlight of the session was a DIY project where students designed and built a vacuum cleaner using everyday materials available in their labs. Guided by an online step-by-step tutorial, participants learned key scientific concepts while fostering creativity and problem-solving skills. This real-time collaboration connected students from the northernmost reaches of Leh, Ladakh, and Kargil, to remote aspirational districts like Virudhunagar, to the Northeast states including Manipur, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh, and southern and western regions such as Kanniyakumari, Bhuj, and Kutchh.
AIM’s own team joined the activity, building a vacuum cleaner alongside students, showcasing the movement’s inclusive spirit. Speaking at the event, AIM Mission Director Deepak Bagla said,
“In line with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of Viksit Bharat, Mega Tinkering Day 2025 is a milestone demonstration of grassroots innovation. No other country has mobilized innovation at this scale inside its school ecosystem. The future is being built in our classrooms today.”
Since its inception, AIM has established over 10,000 ATLs in schools nationwide, equipping students with access to modern tools such as 3D printers, robotics kits, and IoT devices. These labs serve as hubs for fostering critical thinking, creativity, and hands-on technological skills among middle- and high-school students.
More than just a project-building session, Mega Tinkering Day acted as a national innovation movement in action, energizing the start of the academic year’s tinkering activities. It united students, educators, mentors, higher education institutions, and industry partners in a shared mission to nurture a generation of innovators and entrepreneurs ready to shape India’s future.
With lakhs of young minds collaborating simultaneously, the initiative set a new global benchmark for collective creativity in education, underscoring AIM’s commitment to making India future ready through its school innovation ecosystem.
(India CSR)
