BENGALURU: IT-BT Minister Priyank Kharge, along with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Director S. Somanath, released the Draft Space Tech Policy 2024-2029 on Wednesday. The policy outlines ambitious targets, including capturing a 50% market share and positioning Karnataka as a global hub for space technology.
The draft policy aims to identify key strategic areas such as skill development, investments, foreign investments, and support for startups, MSMEs, and IT ventures. The announcement was made during the 27th edition of the Bengaluru Tech Summit.
The policy aims to train and upskill 5,000 students and young professionals, including 1,500 women, to meet the demands of domestic and international space companies; design incentives to attract investments worth $3billion into the state’s space ecosystem; encourage public-private partnership in creating testing facilities and manufacturing clusters and support 500 startups and MSMEs to launch over 50 satellites with substantial indigenisation. It also aims to set up dedicated manufacturing parks for space companies and testing centres across Karnataka, and help startups and MSMEs in research and development.
An official from the IT-BT department said the Department of Electronics, Information Technology, Biotechnology, Science and Technology, had held an open house industry consultation to understand the vision, challenges and expectations of the emerging NewSpace ecosystem and traditional space ecosystem.
ISRO Director S. Somanath highlighted ongoing discussions between the automotive and space sectors in India to develop Made in India sensors for cars. He stated:
"Currently, car sensors are imported, while sensors used in rockets and spacecraft are manufactured in India. The challenge lies in engineering issues and the lack of large-scale production. We are working to enable large-scale, low-cost production of these sensors. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated India's capability to achieve self-reliance."
As part of the initiative, the government also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to promote cooperation, support for defence startups, and access to testing facilities.
Speaking to TNIE on the sidelines of the MoU signing, Dr BK Das, Director of Electronics and Communication, said the MoU focuses on creating facilities for startups to undertake innovative projects. These efforts include regular engagements with startups and providing them with guidance to help them become unicorns. While DRDO aims to extend these benefits to startups across India, the current focus is on Karnataka. A similar initiative has been implemented in Tamil Nadu.
Dr BK Das also mentioned that work is progressing on Industry 5.0, focusing on man-unmanned teaming, a critical future direction for India. He explained that this innovation is crucial as automation in warfare continues to advance.
