Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced the creation of a ₹1,000 crore venture capital fund in the Budget 2024 aimed at expanding the space economy “fivefold over the next decade”. This move follows the government’s 2020 decision to open the space sector to private companies, which has led to a significant increase in space startups, now exceeding 200.

India has set ambitious goals, including establishing the ‘Bharatiya Antariksha Station’ by 2035 and sending the first Indian to the Moon by 2040.

Also Read | Budget 2024: Here’s what gets cheaper and costlier

The new venture capital fund is expected to stimulate private sector involvement in space activities, supporting startups and established firms in advancing innovative space technologies.

Additionally, the creation of 12 industrial parks across India will provide a significant boost to the space and satellite manufacturing industry, addressing longstanding calls for dedicated space parks.

Private companies react

Several stakeholders, including the Indian Space Association (ISpA) and leaders from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe) and Pixxel Space, have welcomed the Budget 2024-25 provisions, noting they will significantly enhance the sector’s growth and development.

News agency PTI reported IN-SPACe Chairperson Pawan Goenka as saying that introducing a ₹1,000 crore dedicated venture fund will greatly benefit new entrepreneurs and non-government entities (NGEs) in the space sector.

Goenka expressed enthusiasm for supporting the expansion of the space economy and fostering an environment conducive to the growth of NGEs.

Awais Ahmed, CEO of Bengaluru-based startup Pixxel Space, highlighted that the venture capital fund will offer essential financial support to innovative startups and companies, helping them scale their technologies and contribute to India’s space goals.

Also Read | Budget 2024: How the changes in new tax regime will benefit the salaried, explained

ISRO chairman on private sector participation in space activities

According to news agency PTI, in May, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman S Somanath said that the Indian space industry presents a significant opportunity for the private sector, marking it as a new area for growth and development.

He mentioned that the union government envisions the space sector expanding to a $9 to $10 billion industry within the next 5 to 10 years, up from its current value of $2 billion.

Chandrayaan 3 and Aditya L1 missions

In 2023, India achieved remarkable milestones with the successful soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon’s South Pole and the launch of Aditya-L1, the country’s first solar mission. These accomplishments solidified India’s position in the global space economy and energised the country’s private space sector.

India was the first nation to land the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on the Moon’s south pole. Named “Chandrayaan-3,” meaning “Mooncraft” in Sanskrit, this mission successfully touched down near the less-explored lunar south pole, following the unsuccessful Chandrayaan-2 mission in 2019.

The Aditya-L1 mission is designed to explore the Sun’s upper atmosphere, specifically the chromosphere and corona. Its goals include studying heating mechanisms, ionised plasma physics, coronal mass ejections, and solar flares.

Important ISRO’s upcoming space missions

Gaganyaan 1 Human Spaceflight: The initial test flight of the Gaganyaan spacecraft, which is designed to carry three astronauts and includes capabilities for rendezvous and docking.

2024 NISAR Earth Observation: A collaborative project with NASA to launch a dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar satellite for remote sensing. This mission is notable for being the first satellite to use dual-band radar imaging.

Chandrayaan-4 Lunar Exploration: The fourth mission in the Chandrayaan series, aimed at lunar exploration. It is a sample-return mission featuring multiple modules to support various stages of the mission.