IN-SPACe has selected three Indian space startups as the first beneficiaries of its ₹500 crore Technology Adoption Fund (TAF), marking the first direct financial deployment by India’s space regulator to private entities. Astrobase Space Technologies, SatSure Analytics India, and TM2SPACE Technologies were chosen after a multi-stage evaluation by an expert committee comprising ISRO, DPIIT, DST, and industry representatives for projects spanning rocket propulsion, artificial intelligence, and satellite navigation. The selections signal a strategic shift in India’s space ecosystem, where the government now directly funds private companies to bridge the gap between early-stage innovation and commercial space readiness.
IN-SPACe and the Technology Adoption Fund
The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) was established in October 2021 as an autonomous nodal agency under the Department of Space (DOS). It was created following the landmark space sector reforms announced by the Union Cabinet in June 2020, which opened up India’s space activities to private participation. IN-SPACe is headquartered in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and is chaired by Dr. Pawan Kumar Goenka, a former Managing Director of Mahindra and Mahindra. The agency serves as a single-window regulator, promoter, and facilitator for Non-Governmental Entities (NGEs) in the space sector, including startups, research institutions, and private companies.
The Technology Adoption Fund (TAF) was launched by IN-SPACe in February 2026 with a total corpus of ₹500 crore. The scheme is designed to help Indian industry absorb, adapt, and commercialise advanced space technologies, bridging the gap between early-stage development and operational deployment. TAF provides milestone-linked financial support of up to 60% of the project cost for startups and MSMEs, and up to 40% for large industries, with a maximum funding cap of ₹25 crore per project. Any intellectual property developed under the scheme remains with the company, though licensing of such IP requires prior approval from IN-SPACe.
The three selected projects emerged from a rigorous multi-stage evaluation process conducted by an expert committee with members from ISRO, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the Department of Science and Technology (DST), industry bodies, academic institutions, and IN-SPACe itself. IN-SPACe will provide continued technical guidance, monitoring, and milestone-linked disbursement of funds to ensure successful implementation of the projects.
The Three Selected Projects
The TAF-backed projects cover three distinct layers of the space economy: access to space (propulsion), operation in space (satellite navigation), and monetisation of space-derived data (Earth observation analytics).
Astrobase Space Technologies: Reusable Rocket Engine
Astrobase Space Technologies, based in Bengaluru and founded in 2024 by former ISRO propulsion scientist Devakumar Thammisetty and CoinDCX co-founder Neeraj Khandelwal, will develop an 800 kN-class closed-cycle reusable liquid rocket engine powered by liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The engine uses a Full-Flow Staged Combustion (FFSC) cycle, one of the most thermally efficient propulsion architectures, and incorporates extensively 3D-printed core components.
The engine is designed for medium- and heavy-lift launch vehicles and is intended to serve as a commercial propulsion solution for next-generation launch systems and orbital stages. Astrobase has already completed sub-scale hot-fire tests and has established a 21.5-acre test facility in Andhra Pradesh, the only high-thrust cryogenic engine test site in India outside ISRO’s infrastructure. The company has received what is claimed to be India’s largest industrial metal 3D printer for producing multiple engines annually, and aims for its maiden orbital launch by 2029.
SatSure Analytics India: Dhaarini Earth Observation Model
SatSure Analytics India, a Bengaluru-based geospatial analytics company founded in 2017 by Prateep Basu, Rashmit Singh Sukhmani, and Abhishek Raju, has received a grant of approximately ₹24.6 crore from IN-SPACe under TAF to build Dhaarini, a Large Earth Observation Model (LOM). Dhaarini is envisioned as India’s foundational AI platform for remote sensing applications, purpose-built for India’s diverse geography, monsoon dynamics, agricultural landscapes, and urban expansion patterns.
Unlike general-purpose global AI systems that frequently misread Indian conditions, Dhaarini will be trained on multi-source satellite and aerial data, including optical imagery, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), and drone telemetry. The platform is expected to generate actionable intelligence across sectors such as agriculture (crop monitoring and yield estimation), infrastructure (urban planning and construction monitoring), disaster management (early warning systems and damage assessment), and finance (risk assessment and insurance underwriting). Dhaarini also supports SatSure’s participation in India’s upcoming commercial satellite constellation programme.
TM2SPACE Technologies: AI-Powered Star Tracker
TM2SPACE Technologies (TakeMe2Space), a Hyderabad-based deeptech company founded in 2023 by Ronak Kumar Samantray, will develop StarSense, India’s first indigenous AI-powered star tracker system for satellites. Star trackers are high-precision sensors that determine a satellite’s orientation in space by observing stars and comparing them against onboard reference catalogues, enabling the single-digit arcsecond pointing accuracy required for high-resolution imaging and communications missions. India currently depends entirely on imports for this critical subsystem.
TM2SPACE is developing two variants: StarSense Lite, optimised for CubeSats and academic programmes, and StarSense Pro, a high-performance variant for satellites above 50 kg. The company has already space-qualified its technology across two orbital missions in 2024. Beyond the star tracker, TakeMe2Space is working on a larger vision of building a 1 gigawatt Orbital Data Centre, a planned constellation of 20,000 high-performance compute satellites.
A Broader Push for India’s Space Economy
The TAF selections are part of a much larger government effort to build a self-reliant space ecosystem in India. Following the space sector reforms of June 2020, the government released the Indian Space Policy 2023, which defined clear roles for all stakeholders: ISRO focuses on research, development, and exploration missions; IN-SPACe regulates and promotes private sector activities; and New Space India Limited (NSIL) handles commercialisation of ISRO’s technologies.
The number of space startups in India has grown from around 50 in 2020 to over 200 in 2026, reflecting the impact of these reforms. To further accelerate this growth, the government has separately announced a ₹1,000 crore venture capital fund managed by SIDBI Venture Capital Ltd, which will support nearly 40 space startups across the value chain over the next five years.
In a related development, the Gujarat government and IN-SPACe recently announced plans to establish common technical facilities and a dedicated Space Manufacturing Park at GIDC Khoraj, with 50 acres of land allocated to support startups and MSMEs. These initiatives collectively aim to increase India’s share of the global space economy from the current $8 billion to $44 billion by 2033, a target set by IN-SPACe in its 10-year roadmap.
Key Takeaways
- The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) was established in October 2021 as an autonomous nodal agency under the Department of Space (DOS), with headquarters in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
- The Technology Adoption Fund (TAF) was launched in February 2026 with a corpus of ₹500 crore, offering milestone-based funding of up to 60% of project cost for startups and MSMEs, capped at ₹25 crore per project.
- Astrobase Space Technologies will develop an 800 kN-class reusable LOX-LNG Full-Flow Staged Combustion rocket engine, with a maiden orbital launch target of 2029.
- SatSure Analytics India received a grant of approximately ₹24.6 crore to build Dhaarini, a Large Earth Observation Model for India-specific remote sensing applications.
- TM2SPACE Technologies will develop StarSense, India’s first indigenous AI-powered star tracker, with two variants for CubeSats and larger satellites.
- The government has separately announced a ₹1,000 crore venture capital fund managed by SIDBI Venture Capital Ltd to support nearly 40 space startups over the next five years.
