IN-SPACe to make first investment under Rs 1,000-cr venture fund this fiscal; seeks more details from Starlink, Kuiper for approval: Chairman

Pawan K Goenka- IN-SPACe

IN-SPACe is looking to make its first investment under the Rs 1,000-crore venture fund within this fiscal year and will soon start scouting deals in the space startup ecosystem. The space authorisation and regulatory body is currently in the process of hiring the fund manager who will scrutinise startups' applications in the pre-series funding stage.

IN-SPACe, an independent nodal agency under the Department of Space that promotes and oversees private sector involvement in space activities, has also sought more information and clarification and is working on authorisation applications from Elon Musk's Starlink and Amazon's Kuiper.

"We are open to all kinds of startups in the segment which we feel would succeed and develop a good business plan. The investment through the fund is about creating successful startups," Indian Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) chairman Pawan Kumar Goenka told Moneycontrol in an exclusive interaction.

"The government will have equity in the startups concerned with a plan to exit...the fund will work like any other VC fund. The only difference is that no other fund is focused on funding space startups... the plan is to stay invested for 12 years, which is a normal VC cycle," he said

The VC fund aims to support around 40 startups. Ticket size for investments will range from Rs 10 crore to Rs 60 crore, depending on a startup's development trajectory and long-term potential.

Goenka said the annual investment could be around Rs 200 crore- Rs 250 crore, depending on the industry's needs and growth opportunities. IN-SPACe expects the fund to be fully operational by the April-June quarter of FY26.

The top official said the venture fund will help attract FDI into the country's space sector, especially for startups and MSMEs.

"As Indian investors watch where government funding is investing, FDI people also watch where we are investing, and they will come in then. Around ten companies have reached the level where they would have serious revenue during the next fiscal year. And, once serious revenue starts happening, interest will also come. Most of the FDI will not be angel funding but private equity funding. I see heightened activity in the next few years," Goenka added.

So far, a total of $300 million has been invested in these startups, up from $120 million in April this year.

At present, the Indian space economy is valued at approximately $8.4 billion, constituting a 2 percent share of the global space market. The government wants to scale the space economy to $44 billion by 2033, including $11 billion in exports amounting to 7-8% of the global share.

Space Law in the works

Goenka said that IN-SPACe has created a final draft of the space law, for which consultations are expected to start in the January-March quarter. The law will give IN-SPACe legal and more punitive powers.

"Currently, IN-SPACe is not the legal regulatory body. It was found by the gazette notification by the government of India, and that does give it legal power. If it is a legal body, then what it says cannot be taken to the court of law. But, if someone wants to challenge the decision, they can currently go to the court. So, that's the reason why the law is needed. Once it comes in, IN-SPACe will become the legal regulatory body," Goenka explained.

IN-SPACe is creating infrastructure for the country's private space sector to help facilitate growth. "ISRO will be busier in the next ten years. The dilemma is how much support through its own infrastructure it can provide to the private ecosystem. Hence, IN-SPACe is creating private infrastructure to support the private sector, although the problem hasn't arisen yet.

When asked if IN-SPACe would intervene to ensure a level playing field for Indian and multinational satellite communication companies, Goenka said the government process is very well set.

"TRAI has been given the task to decide, and internally, IN-SPACe has given its thoughts. Now, it is time for the TRAI to determine the outcome. Hopefully, we will have a conclusion within the next month and a half."

Working on Starlink, Kuiper applications

IN-SPACe is currently working on authorisation applications from Elon Musk's Starlink and Amazon's Kuiper, having sought more information and clarification from them.

"That's also what we are working on and are in the pipeline. We have raised some queries, and they are being answered. Two have been cleared so far: Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio-SES…for satcom companies, two licenses are needed, which are GMPCS by the DoT and another from IN-SPACe," Goenka said. However, he didn't specify details about the information sought from Starlink and Kuiper.

During TRAI's consultations, ongoing discussions are taking place, and some Indian telecom operators have expressed concerns regarding the need for a level playing field between terrestrial and satellite services.

When asked if IN-SPACe plans to process Starlink and Kuiper's applications before they can secure a GMPCS license, Goenka said, "It will happen simultaneously."

Starlink and Kuiper are still awaiting a global mobile personal communication by satellite services (GMPCS) licence and regulatory approval to offer satellite broadband services. The GMPCS licence is the first step towards setting up a satellite internet by acquiring a trial spectrum at a nominal application fee.

Government Sources indicate that the telecom department is currently reviewing Starlink's application for a satellite broadband services license. They said that Starlink has agreed to comply with specific security and data storage requirements established by the government as eligibility criteria. Starlink needs to officially submit the application to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).