India's Atal Incubation Centres promised to be the backbone of government innovation. With 500 crore rupees in initial funding and support from Niti Aayog, these 72 centres were supposed to nurture startups with grants, mentors, and infrastructure.
Nearly a decade later, the results are sobering. Of 3,500 incubated startups, fewer than 5% have raised external capital. Most centres lack basic websites or outcome metrics. No external audits. No unicorns.
Now the government wants to double down—allocating 2,750 crore rupees to expand the ecosystem. But nobody seems to care if the existing network actually works.
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