Union Minister Jitendra Singh has announced a Rs 1,000 crore funding scheme to support space-related startups. The scheme will help to expand the sector in the coming years.
In October of last year, the Union Cabinet approved the establishment of a venture capital (VC) fund to support India's space sector.
The Rs 10,000 crore fund will be managed by SIDBI Venture Capital, which aims to help space technology startups scale up and become globally competitive while addressing the issue of risk capital.
The fund will deploy the funds over a five-year period, with Rs 150 crore set aside for the 2025-26 fiscal year, followed by Rs 250 crore each in the next three fiscal years, and Rs 100 crore in 2029-30.
"The budgetary allocation to the Department of Space has increased by 138%, from Rs 5,615 crore to Rs 13,416 crore." This represents only the government's contribution. "The pool is much larger because we have opened up the space sector," said India's union minister, Jitendra Singh.
The Indian Space Policy, approved in April 2023, seeks to boost the Indian space economy by encouraging private sector participation, emphasizing research and development activities, and providing access to public sector infrastructure and expertise.
