ATL Frontier Region Programme

ATL Frontier Programme — Jammu & Kashmir 500 Schools

Supports hardware and robotics learning labs in Jammu and Kashmir schools through national innovation outreach.

The ATL Frontier Programme — Jammu & Kashmir cohort is an open call managed by Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), a flagship initiative of NITI Aayog under the Government of India, to establish 500 new Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) in schools across the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. This cohort is the first tranche of the broader AIM 2.0 Frontier Region Programme, which received Cabinet approval in September 2024 and envisions 2,500 new ATLs across frontier regions including J&K, Ladakh, and North-East states. The programme targets school-level STEM infrastructure in underserved and border regions of India.

Each selected school receives a per-school ATL grant following the standard AIM pattern: approximately INR 12 lakh for initial establishment plus INR 2 lakh per year for operations over four years, totalling approximately INR 20 lakh per school over a five-year period. Only schools located in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir are eligible. Applicant schools must hold a valid UDISE code and must register using an official school email address — personal email accounts are not accepted. The application portal is hosted by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) under NITI Aayog at aimapp2.aim.gov.in and was accepting registrations as of May 2026. Schools can modify their applications multiple times before final submission.

The grant is structured as a direct-to-school infrastructure award; AIM disburses funds, and the school hosts and operates the tinkering lab. There are no TRL requirements and no commercial eligibility — only schools qualify. Help-desk queries are directed to md-aim@gov.in with the school's Unique Application Code. Applicants should ensure their UDISE number is verified via the UDISE Plus portal before registering. This J&K batch of 500 schools is expected to be followed by subsequent frontier-region cohorts, making this a recurring opportunity for schools in other designated frontier UTs.