Vernacular Innovation Program(VIP): NITI Ayog

In News

• Atal Innovation Mission(AIM) and NITI Ayog have launched the Vernacular Innovation Program(VIP). 

About theVernacular Innovation Program(VIP)

• Aim: 
  • It will enable innovators and entrepreneurs in India to have access to the innovation ecosystem in 22 scheduled languages. 
• Components:
  • Training a Vernacular Task Force (VTF) in each of the 22 scheduled languages. 
  • VTF comprises vernacular language teachers, subject experts, technical writers, and the leadership of regional Atal Incubation Centers (AICs). 
  • The train-the-trainer program in collaboration with the Design Department of IIT Delhi to coach the VTF in design thinking and entrepreneurship and the adaptation of these subjects in the 22 languages and cultures. 

Benefits

• It will help in overcoming the barriers of language and empower innovators in the farthest areas of the country.
• It will decouple creative expressions and languages of transaction.
• It will assist India in building a strong local network of design experts and innovation practitioners.
• It will strengthen the design and innovation capabilities of our communities
• It will assist local entrepreneurs, artisans, and innovators to seamlessly assimilate the knowledge cum technical materials that AIM will develop. 
• It will cement the cognitive and design thinking attitude in young and aspiring minds.

Need of Vernacular language in Innovation

• Only 10.4% of Indians speak English, most as their second, third, or fourth language. 
• Only 0.02% of Indians spoke English as their first language. 
• Create equal opportunity for the vernacular innovators who represent 90% of our population. 
• The excluded population, no matter which Indian language they speak, is at least as creative as the rest. 
• By providing access to learning in one’s language and culture, AIM looks forward to enriching the local, regional, national, and global innovation pipelines.

Source: PIB