Space industry seeks PLI scheme, tax incentives

India's nascent private space sector has presented a wishlist of tax incentives and a production-linked incentive scheme in the upcoming Union Budget to boost local manufacturing and spur research and development.

"In the 2023-24 budget, we would like to request a space-based production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for space tech startups to help boost local manufacturing and encourage capability building within the country," Awais Ahmed, co-founderof Pixxel, a space startup based in Bengaluru, said.

Last year, Pixxel became the first Indian startup to launch its own hyperspectral imaging satellite, "Shakuntala", onboard SpaceX's rideshare rocket and followed it up with another similar satellite, "Anand", using the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) PSLV rocket. It plans to have a constellation of earth observation satellites soon.


"In the Budget 2023-24, we request a further ?100 crore issuance as viability gap funding (VGF) to set up new infrastructure," Kranthi Chand, the head of strategy and special projects, DhruvaSpace, said.

DhruvaSpace, a Hyderabad-based startup, also launched two satellites onboard the PSLV rocket in November and has plans to set up a satellite-manufacturing unit for a range of applications.

Chand also wants the government to make a dedicated allocation of ?1,000 crore for the Defence Space Agency (DSA) for the procurement of new technology from the industry. He noted that an acceptance of necessity (AoN) has been accorded by the Ministry of Defence and Services headquarters for several satellite and space technology projects.