* Ministry of Education’s innovation cell released the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2021 on December 29.

• ARIIA 2021 classifies participating institutions into two major categories; technical and non-technical.
• In the technical ranking, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has been recognised as the Most Innovative Educational Institute in India. This is the third time that IIT Madras has secured the first rank.
• Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has ranked first among central government-run non-technical institutions.

Major Indicators for consideration

• Assessment of innovation and startup ecosystem is based on Seven parameters with certain weightages allocated as below:

1. Budget, Expenses to Support & Revenue Generated (20 Marks).
2. Infrastructures & Facilities to Support Innovations and Start-ups (10 Marks).
3. Awareness Activities for Promoting Idea Generation and Innovation (20 Marks).
4. Promotion and Supporting Entrepreneurship Development (20 Marks).
5. Intellectual Property (IP) Generation, Technology Transfer and Commercialization (14 Marks).
6. Innovative Learning Methods & Courses (10 Marks).
7. Innovations in Governance of the Institution (6 Marks).

Categories of Ranking

• The rankings were made under two categories- Technical and Non-Technical.
• The technical category included 5 sub-categories- CFTIs, Central University, & Institute of National Importance, State University & Deemed University (Govt. & Govt. Aided), Govt. College/Institution (Govt. & Govt. Aided), University & Deemed University (Self-Finance/Private) and Private College/Institute (Self-Finance/Private).
• The non technical category included two sub-categories- CFIs/Central University/Institute of National Importance (Non-Technical) and General (Non-Technical).