Indian govt announces Rs 1,000 crore funding scheme to support startups in the space sector

A major boost for India's space sector has been announced by Union Minister Jitendra Singh, who said the government will provide Rs 1,000 crore to support the country's emerging spacetech startups.

In October last year, the Union Cabinet approved the establishment of a Rs 1,000 crore venture capital fund for the space sector under the aegis of IN-SPACe.

Support through SIDBI venture capital

The Rs 1,000 crore venture capital fund will be managed by SIDBI Venture Capital Limited, which aims to help space startups become globally competitive while addressing the challenge of risk capital.

SVCL, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), has extensive experience in managing venture capital funds across diverse sectors.

According to the reports, the money will be deployed over five years, beginning with Rs 150 crore during the 2025-26 financial year, followed by annual allocations of Rs 250 crore each in the next three years, and Rs 100 crore in the 2029-30 financial year.

Growing budget for the Department of Space

Jitendra Singh pointed out that the Department of Space's budgetary allocation has risen from Rs 5,615 crore to Rs 13,416 crore, which represents a 138% increase. He added that this is only the government's direct contribution, and the overall investment pool is even larger now that India has opened up its space sector.

The government's push comes as part of the Indian Space Policy, approved in April 2023, which aims to grow the nation's space economy by encouraging private sector participation, focusing on research and development, and offering access to public sector infrastructure and expertise.