100 days of Modi govt: VC fund for space start-ups, National Research Fund, Vigyan Dhara scheme

New Delhi : India's space and science sector has seen a slew of schemes such as venture capital fund for space start-ups, the National Research Fund, and 'Vigyan Dhara' in the first 100 days of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third government.

In a major boost to new entrepreneurs and non-government entities (NGEs) in the space sector, PM Modi's government announced in the Union Budget a venture capital fund of Rs 1,000 crore to promote space technology. The scheme is part of the government’s continued emphasis on expanding the space economy by five times in the next 10 years.

The government also celebrated the first National Space Day on August 23 to mark the success of Chandrayaan.

In a significant step towards fostering a culture of research and innovation, the Lok Sabha in July passed the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) Bill, 2023. The bill, introduced by Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh, aims to establish a Rs 50,000-crore fund to "seed, grow, and promote" research and development across India's academic institutions.

The first meeting of the ANRF governing board, chaired by PM Modi, focussed on a discussion about India’s science and technology landscape and redesigning of research and development programmes.

In another significant move to boost science and technology, the Union Cabinet merged three umbrella schemes into a unified Central sector scheme titled ‘Vigyan Dhara’ under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), with an outlay of Rs 10,579.84 crore. The unified scheme has three broad components -- science and technology institutional and human capacity building; research and development; and innovation, technology development, and deployment.

The country also saw the successful launch of an Earth-observing satellite (EOS-08) on the new Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) rocket -- its third-ever mission.

The government has also established a national database for disaster management and a Bhuvan Panchayat portal for rural land records. The portal will support space-based information for decentralised planning and empower the citizens at the grassroots level in Panchayats.