NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog, the policy think-tank of India under its Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) will launch a competition titled "Atal New India Challenge" that will reward grants up to Rs 1 crore along with mentorship to the best innovative idea.

"Under the Atal New India Challenge, which shall be run in collaboration with five ministries, AIM will invite prospective innovators/MSMEs/start-ups to design market-ready products, using cutting-edge technologies or prototypes across 17 identified focus areas such as Climate Smart Agriculture, Smart Mobility, Predictive Maintenance of Rolling Stock, Waste Management etc." its official statement said.

The winning idea will be awarded grants up to Rs 1 crore with mentoring, handholding, incubating and other support as needed at various stages of commercialization, while generating wider deployment for the product.

The launch event will see presence of Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog, Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Radha Mohan Singh, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of State, Housing and Urban Affairs, SS Ahluwalia, Minister of State, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog and Ramanathan Ramanan, Mission Director, AIM.