Karnataka has unveiled a five-year space technology policy aimed at transforming the state into India’s dominant space hub, targeting 50% of the national space market — projected at $22 billion by 2033 — and capturing 5% of the global share. The policy positions Karnataka as a full-stack space-tech ecosystem spanning upstream, midstream, and downstream capabilities.
Building India’s Largest Space-Tech Workforce
The policy lays out one of India’s most aggressive talent development plans:
50,000 skilled professionals to be trained,
including 15,000 women,
through dedicated programs for school students, diploma holders, engineering graduates, and young professionals.
Karnataka will support colleges to set up space-tech labs, upgrade courses, and run training modules with ISRO and IN-SPACe. This is part of the state’s strategy to tighten its grip on India’s space R&D and manufacturing landscape.
₹3,000 Crore Investment Push with Strong Incentives
Karnataka aims for $3 billion (approx. ₹25,000 crore) in cumulative investments during the policy period, supported by one of the most aggressive incentive packages in the country.
For investments below ₹100 crore, companies will receive:
20% subsidy on plant and machinery
25% land subsidy on five acres
5-year rent reimbursement
Full stamp duty exemption
Concessional registration charges
Full reimbursement of land conversion fees
50% subsidy for Effluent Treatment Plants
Full electricity duty exemption for five years
For investments above ₹100 crore, Karnataka will offer bespoke special packages to attract large-scale manufacturing.
Dedicated Space Parks, Testing Facilities and Single-Window Cell
To reduce bottlenecks, the government will set up:
Dedicated space manufacturing parks with plug-and-play units
Common testing labs to address long wait times at national facilities
A single-window space technology cell to fast-track project approvals
This infrastructure is meant to support startups, OEMs, and global space companies looking for reliable, high-speed scale-up environments.
Support for 500 Startups and MSMEs
Karnataka plans to nurture 500 space-tech startups and MSMEs with a wide set of incentives:
Technology acquisition reimbursement up to ₹75 lakh
Quality certification support up to ₹75 lakh
Testing reimbursement up to ₹1 crore
Patent support up to ₹10 lakh (international filings)
Global marketing support up to ₹1.5 crore
R&D support up to ₹75 lakh
PF + ESI reimbursement of ₹1,800 per employee per month for two years
Internship support up to ₹30 lakh
Special grants up to ₹1 crore for biotech–space research
These incentives aim to create a startup-heavy ecosystem capable of competing globally.
AI-Powered Governance and Earth Observation
The state will use KSRAC to drive government adoption of space technologies. An interdepartmental panel will shortlist use cases across:
agriculture
mining
water resources
forest management
disaster response
Leading universities will receive grants to build AI-driven Earth observation models, strengthening Karnataka’s push toward space-tech applications in governance.
Beyond Bengaluru: New Regional Space-Tech Clusters
The government aims to expand space-tech growth into:
Hubballi–Dharwad
Belagavi
Shivamogga
Mysuru
Mangaluru
These regions will gain labs, training centers and manufacturing nodes—reducing Bangalore’s concentration and distributing high-value jobs across the state.
Karnataka Positions Itself as India’s Full-Stack Space Engine
By combining policy support, financial incentives, diversified space-tech infrastructure and aggressive talent development, Karnataka aims to cement its lead as India’s largest space-tech hub.
Once notified, the policy will run for five years and apply only to companies registered under KITS with IN-SPACe authorisation or vendor credentials to ISRO or global OEMs.
