‘Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) including Self-Employment and Talent Utilization (SETU)’ is Government of India’s endeavour to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. Its objective is to serve as a platform for promotion of world-class Innovation Hubs, Grand Challenges, Start-up businesses and other self-employment activities, particularly in technology driven areas.
ATL is a workspace where young minds give shape to their ideas through hands on do-it-yourself mode; and learn innovation skills. Young children get a chance to work with tools and equipment to understand the concepts of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).
The new National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) is a policy that aims to positively reform the educational system of India which was long overdue. The new changes or highlights of the NEP 2020 that are critical for STEM approach are as follows:

• The new structure aims at encouraging experiential learning. The focus would be on critical learning objectives and not on rote learning.
• Emphasis on critical thinking and more holistic, inquiry-based, discovery-based, discussion-based, and analysis-based learning. In all stages, experiential learning will be adopted, including hands-on learning.
• The new education policy lays particular emphasis on the development of the creative potential of each child. It aims at producing engaged, productive, and contributing citizens for building an equitable, inclusive, and plural society.
• The NEP 2020 introduces subjects such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Design Thinking.
• An emphasis on maths and computational thinking for AI, machine learning (ML), and data science, which will start in the foundational stage (starting with age 6). These are executed through innovative methods, which include regular use of puzzles and games that make mathematical thinking more enjoyable and engaging.
• Activities involving coding will be introduced in the Middle Stage (starting with age 11).

The new education policy gives importance to a multidisciplinary approach to studying and conceptual understanding, fostering skills such as creativity and critical thinking and learning by doing- all of these also form the heart of STEM education.
With a vision to ‘Cultivate one Million children in India as Neoteric Innovators’, Army Public School, Kamaraj Road, Bangalore has established Atal Tinkering Laboratory (ATL) in school under the flagship of Atal Innovation Mission and Niti Aayog. The Lab was established on 2017-2018 after obtaining the prestigious Niti Ayog sponsorship of Rs 12 lakhs in 2019. The objective of this laboratory is to foster curiosity, creativity, and imagination in young minds and inculcate skills such as design mindset, computational thinking, adaptive learning, physical computing etc.
In order to foster inventiveness among students, ATL conducts different activities ranging from ATL is equipped with educational and learning ‘do it yourself’ (DIY) kits and equipment on – science, electronics, robotics, open-source microcontroller boards, sensors and computers. Regional and National level competitions, exhibitions, workshops on problem solving, designing and fabrication of products, lecture series etc. are conducted at periodic intervals as per the guidelines from Atal Innovation Mission.
ATL is an approach of the Central government of India to create an environment of scientific temperament, innovation, creativity amongst Indian Students. It is a step towards the new India. Realizing the need to create a scientific temper and cultivate the spirit of curiosity and innovation among young minds, APS, Kamaraj supports the establishment of a network of ATAL Tinkering Laboratories (ATL)