Funding in India’s space sector, a key part of the country’s ambitions to become a global superpower, plummeted by 55 per cent in 2024 to $59.1m (R1.10bn) from $130.2m (R2.43bn) the previous year, according to data from market intelligence platform Tracxn.
The drop, which came amid a global 20 per cent decline in space sector investment, marks the first fall in at least five years. Globally, space companies raised about $28bn (R523.22bn) over the last five years, while their Indian counterparts secured approximately $354m (R6.61bn) in the same period, Tracxn data showed. India’s space industry has gained global attention with the Chandrayaan-3 lunar landing and the Aditya-L1 solar probe launch. Its private space sector growth is increasingly seen as crucial for achieving the long-term goal a $44bn (R822.20bn) private space economy.
The government has sought to stimulate the sector by approving a 10-billion rupee (R2.22bn) fund in October 2024 to support space startups and setting plans to expand India’s share of the global commercial space market by 2033. Industry participants said they expected to see a pickup in funding in 2025.
