New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced the setup of a venture capital fund of Rs 1,000 crore for expanding the space economy by five times in the next 10 years, courtesy of a stellar display of prowess with soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the South Pole of the Moon and the successful launch of Aditya-L1, India's first solar mission.
As far as the allocation for the Department of Space is concerned, it has received a hike of nearly Rs 2,000 crore in the Budget 2024-25 as against 2023-24.
Since Budget 2024-25 is an extension of the interim budget presented earlier this year in February 2024, the government retained the same numbers as FM Nirmala Sitharaman presented the NDA 3.0’s maiden Budget in Parliament.
In the interim budget, the Department of Space was allocated Rs 13,042.75 crore, a significant increase as according to the revised estimates for 2023-24, the allocation for the department was Rs 11,070.07 crore.
On the other hand, the Budget estimates for the Department of Atomic Energy for 2024-25 stand at Rs 24,968.98 crore net of recoveries - down from Rs 25,078.49 crore in 2023-24.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target for the Department of Space to build a 'Bharat Antariksh Station' by 2035 and land an Indian astronaut on the moon by 2040.
The Department of Atomic Energy has been allocated Rs 36,159.93 crore in the interim Budget, a slight decrease from Rs 36,905.45 crore in 2023-24.
Of the total allotment of Rs 36,159.93 crore, the Department of Atomic Energy has been allocated Rs 15,908.79 crore for capital expenditure which will be spent on power projects, atomic energy agencies and research. A sizeable portion of the allocation for capital expenditure will be spent on repaying loans for power projects.
The government has approved building 10 indigenously developed nuclear power plants of 700 MW each in fleet mode across the country. Anticipation focuses on developments for the space sector with upcoming launches in FY25.
