GS Paper II

News Excerpt:

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) has announced a seed fund scheme to offer start-ups focusing on urban development and disaster management.

About the scheme:

• The IN-SPACe board has approved the "IN-SPACe Seed Fund Scheme for Indian Space Start-ups".
• It has launched the scheme in collaboration with ISRO’s National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC).
• A grant of up to One Crore would be provided to selected start-ups on a milestone basis in three or more instalments.
• The exact quantum of grants and installments for each start-up shall be decided by the Experts Committee (EC) based on the project's progress.
  • An EC will be constituted by the Chairman IN-SPACe, who will be responsible for the evaluation, selection, execution and monitoring.
  • EC shall comprise members from the IN-SPACe Board, IN-SPACe, senior government officials, and industry and venture capitalists.
• The progress of the proposals selected by EC shall be further reviewed and monitored by the Project Facilitation and Monitoring Committee (PFMC).
  • PFMC shall consist of IN-SPACe Directors, Joint Secretary and Deputy Directors and senior scientists from ISRO.

Objectives of the scheme:


• to promote the use of space technology by space start-ups in India
• to facilitate new and innovative technology development in the space sector
• to create a framework to engage with space start-ups
• to encourage a culture of technology co-creation in Space Sector

Eligibility criteria:

• Only Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) registered start-ups are eligible to apply.
• The start-up must possess an innovative business idea to develop and demonstrate a product or a service with market fit in the space domain.
• The product should have viability for commercialisation with the scope of scaling.
• A start-up should be using technology as the core of its product or service.
• Shareholding in the startup by Indians (employees, promoters and angel investors) should be at least 80%, and the company should not have gone through a funding round.
• However, investment from venture capitalists is permitted.
• Start-ups should not have received more than Rs 50 lakh of monetary support under other central or state government schemes.
• This does not include prize money from competitions and grand challenges, subsidised working space, access to labs, or access to prototype facilities.

Significance of the scheme:

• The selected start-ups will receive seed funding for transforming an original idea into a prototype using space technology.
• This scheme will enable space start-ups to demonstrate their novel idea and move to the next level, where they can seek loans from commercial banks or financial institutions or funding from investors.
• Startups will be getting ISRO facility support, including earth observation (EO) data, for validation of the concept, mentorship support, and access to a data algorithm as a technology transfer.
• This will build the capacities of startups and will help them compete at the global level.
• In urban development, the scheme will help in urban planning, infrastructure management, telecommunication, navigation, broadband connectivity, water resources management, energy efficiency, climate and weather monitoring and public health and healthcare. 
• Under disaster management, the scheme will accelerate technological advancement in Geographical Information Systems (GIS), early warning and monitoring systems, insurance and risk assessment, search and rescue operations.

Conclusion:

The role of the space sector is crucial to the overall development of the national economy. The latest seed fund scheme is part of efforts to provide a special thrust to enhance the nation's space activity capabilities with the active participation of start-ups.