NEWS – Karnataka Unveils Space Policy 2024-29

HIGHLIGHTS

Strategic Goals

• Market Share Objectives:
  • Capture 50% of India’s space sector.
  • Attain a 5% share in the $44-billion global space industry by the next decade.

Policy  

• Drafted by the Department of Electronics, IT, Biotechnology, and Science and Technology.
• Focus Areas:
  • Commercial space operations.
  • Defence applications.
  • Research in astronomy and astrophysics.

Key Missions

The policy outlines five key missions:

• Skill Development: Train 5,000 students and professionals, including 1,500 women, for space sector employment.
• Investments: Attract $3 billion in investments through incentives, outreach, and campaigns.
• Infrastructure: Establish space manufacturing clusters and testing centres via public-private partnerships (PPPs).
• Innovation & Facilitation: Foster 500 startups and MSMEs with grants, funding, and subsidies.
• Adoption & Awareness: Promote downstream applications of space technology across various sectors.

Developmental Initiatives

• Space Manufacturing: Creation of testing facilities accessible statewide.
• Satellite Launch Ambitions: Support the launch of over 50 satellites with significant indigenisation efforts.
• Digital Infrastructure:
  • Leverage the Digital Public Infrastructure and Digital Public Goods (DGI/DGP) model.
  • Focus sectors: agriculture, forestry, fisheries, urban development.

Partnership and Collaboration

• Memorandum of Understanding (MoU):
  • Signed with DRDO to promote Karnataka’s defence industrial ecosystem.

Bengaluru: India’s Space Tech Capital

• Strategic Hub: Home to key organizations like ISRO, NAL, HAL, BEL, and numerous space-tech startups.
• Infrastructure Expansion: Request for 250 acres for infrastructure development.
• Downstream Applications: Focus on space-tech innovations applicable to industries like agriculture, mining, safety, and cybersecurity.