Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget, announced setting up of a Rs 1,000 crore venture capital fund for promoting space technology. “Our focus remains on expanding the space economy five times over the next decade and we will be setting up a Rs 1,000 crore venture capital fund,” she said.
Reacting to the announcement, Dr Pawan Goenka, Chairman, Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), set up under the Ministry of Space to promote and oversee Non-Governmental Organisations (NGEs) undertaking space activities, said the announcement will provide a major boost to new entrepreneurs and NGEs in the space sector.
“At IN-SPACe, we look forward to supporting the growth of the space economy and fostering an enabling ecosystem for NGEs. This fund, together with existing policies in the space sector, will foster innovation and create fertile ground for NGEs to thrive.”
Sreeram Ananthayanam, Partner, Deloitte India said, “Meeting the investment needs of the emerging private space ecosystem requires a multi-pronged approach of government and private funding models. Since the nature and volume of investment needs vary depending on the maturity of the companies, the Indian government’s announcement to set up a Rs 1,000 crore venture capital fund will undoubtedly accelerate the journey of many early stage startups and lay the foundation for them to scale up faster.”
The Ministry of Space has seen a modest increase in its budgetary allocation for 2024-25, from Rs 12,543 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 13,042 crore. In the revised budget for 2023-24, the ministry received Rs 11,070 crore. In the interim budget for 2024-25, announced in February, the ministry received Rs 13,043 crore.
IN-SPACe, which received Rs 635 crore (revised budget), has received Rs 960 crore in the budget for 2024-25.
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