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(GIST OF YOJANA) Startups in Space Tech

[April-2022]

Startups in Space Tech

Introducion:

Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) has been constituted as an autonomous agency in the Department of Space (DOS) for enabling space activities, as well as, usage of DOS-owned facilities by Non-Government-Private Entities (NGPEs) and to permit, regulate, promote, hand-hold, monitor, and supervise Space Activities of NGPEs in India.

Steps taken by the government:

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has taken steps to attract new startups in the field of Defence and Space. Technology Development Fund (TDF) Scheme is a programme of MoD executed by DRDO under the Make in India initiative. The Government has approved TDF Scheme to encourage industries, especially MSMEs and startups to develop various defence technologies. The Scheme operates in Grants-in-Aid Mode. At present, a total of six projects costing Rs 3310.58 lakhs, have been awarded to six startups under TDF Scheme and out of which one project in the field of Space tech has been awarded to two startups.
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) with its mandate to support entrepreneurship and innovation across India has supported various initiatives and challenges related to Space Tech over the years.

Under Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) Scheme: Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) launched the ATL Space Challenge. The ATL Space Challenge was open to all school students across the country and was presented with four broad challenge themes Explore Space, Reach Space, Inhabit Space, and Leverage Space.
A total of eight virtual YouTube Live sessions were conducted to guide and motivate the students over a period of six weeks. The Challenge concluded with an overwhelming response of more than 2500 entries comprising of 6500 students’ participation. The Top 75 teams were announced in January 2022.
Under Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) Scheme: AIM has supported more than 15 startups working in Space Tech and related industries across India. The focus areas for these startups are in UAV, Drone and Surveillance Equipment, Aero tech, Air Taxi, Space debris tracking and monitoring service, and space education among others.
Under ANIC Scheme: ANIC-ARISE programme of AIM in association with the ISRO launched challenge statements in the below focus areas:

a. Propulsion- Green propellants, Electric propulsion, advanced air-breathing.
b. Geo-spatial information using Machine Leaming/Artificial Intelligence (ML/AI).
c. Application of robotics, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) techniques.
These problem statements were made open for startups/MSMEs through a call for application. After three rounds of technical and financial reviews, six startups are supported with grant-in-aid upto Rs 50 lakhs over the duration of 12 months.