The University Grants Commission (UGC) has invited application from educational institutions to set up the Atal Incubation Centres (AICs).

In a letter to the universities, the UGC Secretary, Jaspal S. Sandhu, has asked the institutions to encourage their academic fraternity to apply for the same.

The centres, to be sponsored and supported by the National Institute of Transforming India Ayog, through the Atal Innovation Mission, would provide facilities to carry research in specific fields including transport, energy, health, education, agriculture and sanitation.

The centres would provide pre-incubation facilities, common infrastructure and services such as technology development assistance, networking and mentoring, funding access, training and development, business support devices (entrepreneurship development, marketing, finance and accounting, research, legal and regulatory) to innovators and start up entrepreneurs for developing solutions.

The mission also aims at setting up around 100 AICs in 2016-17.

AIM would initially provide a grant-in-aid of Rs. 10 crores for setting up a new AIC over a period of 25 years. The expenses are to be meted out through capital investment.