India to establish $119mn fund for space startups
India is creating a $119 million venture capital fund aimed at advancing its space sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Thursday. The new initiative is intended to support innovation, create employment opportunities, and facilitate the growth of businesses within the sector.
Modi described the fund as having a "phenomenal impact on the youth," sharing the announcement on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). According to a government statement, the fund will support companies by providing resources for scaling operations, investing in research and development, and expanding the workforce within India's growing space economy.
The deployment period for the fund is anticipated to be up to five years from the launch of operations, the statement noted.
India's space sector has made notable strides in recent years, most prominently with the successful landing on the lunar south pole in 2023, a global first, along with several other significant missions. With an estimated market size of $8.4 billion, India's space economy is part of a global industry projected to grow between 6% and 8% in the coming years.
Over nearly six decades, India's space programme has progressed from reliance on foreign launch technology to self-sufficiency, marked by the development of indigenous launch capabilities.
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