This Will Change Spacetech In India

Often I have looked at America’s privatization of the space industry and its ancillaries, thinking to myself, when, oh when, will I be able to see my own country become a recognized juggernaut in privatized space. A little bit of research has given me three beacons of hope in this regard:

The first is that the Indian space tech industry witnessed a record-breaking $126 million in funding in 2023, a 7% increase from 2022 and a massive 235% jump from 2021, according to the Tracxn Space Tech Geo Report 2024.

The second is that the Union Budget unveiled on July 23 the allocation of Rs 1000 crores to support spacetech startups boost the sector's development and attract further investment. (The only thing I was happy with in the Union Budget btw)

Third and perhaps most important of all is that last Wednesday, Indian entrepreneurs Hariharan Vedamurthy and Sameer Bharat Ram, under the mentorship of Padma Bhushan Nambi Narayan, launched Vaanam, India’s first private space tech accelerator in Chennai. Think of it as the Indian counterpart of the Techstars Space Accelerator.

The advisory board also includes industrialist Ravi Mariwala and actor/director R. Madhavan.

The primary objectives of the Vaanam Space Tech Accelerator are to help startups achieve product-market fit by providing commercial expertise and specialized tools, foster local space tech innovations, and act as a springboard for early-stage businesses, among other goals.

Renowned former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayan, who was also present at the launch ceremony, further commented that startups in the industry should focus on working on something that is useful to ISRO, the country, or the international market, such as building a rocket engine with LOX or methane, as opposed to duplicating existing technology.

All in all, I guess we could say that the Vaanam Space Tech Accelerator is one small step for the industry, one giant leap for India.