New Delhi, Aug 12 (IANS) In India’s largest-ever school-based tinkering event, over 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) mobilised more than 4 lakh students from across the country to build, innovate together in real-time, Niti Aayog said on Tuesday.
The ‘Mega Tinkering Day 2025’ was hosted virtually and simultaneously in schools from 35 states and union territories by Atal Innovation Mission (AIM).
A total of 4,73,350 students from 9467 ATL-equipped schools participated in the event and engaged in a hands-on project to design and build a DIY vacuum cleaner, using everyday materials available in their labs.
The activity was guided by a step-by-step instructional session streamed online, enabling students to learn scientific concepts and collaborate in real time no matter where they were.
“Mega Tinkering Day 2025 is a milestone demonstration of the power of grassroots innovation,” said Deepak Bagla, Mission Director at Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog. He stated that the event is “in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of Viksit Bharat, where innovation and youth are one of the driving forces of national transformation”.
“In this live event, over 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs came together in one synchronised hour of creativity, with thousands of students across India building, learning, and innovating as one. No other country in the world has mobilised innovation at this scale inside its school ecosystem,” Bagla said.
The students were from schools belonging to the northernmost region of India, like Leh, Ladakh, and Kargil, Kashmir, from the remotest villages of Aspirational Districts like Virudhunagar, North East regions like Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, and from southern regions like Kanniyakumari, and westernmost regions of Bhuj and Kutchh.
“This is India’s moment to lead to show how young minds, when empowered, can shape solutions not just for our nation, but for the world. The future is being built in our classrooms today,” Bagla said.
The AIM team also joined and built a vacuum cleaner.
Since its inception, AIM has established over 10,000 ATLs in schools that offer students access to tools like 3D printers, robotics kits, IoT devices, and more. These labs provide middle- to high-school students with hands-on exposure to modern technologies and foster real-world problem-solving skills.
–IANS
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