The government on Wednesday said the draft space law was undergoing thorough scrutiny as it was the maiden bill for the sector.
“Being the maiden bill in the sector, the same is undergoing thorough scrutiny in the government and will be introduced after all due processes are complete,” Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
The “Space Activities Bill” was first discussed in 2017 to establish a legal framework to regulate and promote space activities in India — specifically focussed towards private players in the sector.
Singh — who oversees the Department of Space, which falls under the PMO — said the Department of Economic Affairs and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade had concurred with the approval of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe) board for selection of Ms SIDBI Venture Capital Limited as investment manager for a Rs 1,000 crore venture capital fund for the space sector.
The fund was proposed by IN-SPACe to address the critical lack of risk capital in the high-tech space sector, which is essential to sustain growth and enable Indian companies to compete internationally.
The fund, announced in the Union Budget in July last year, is designed to address the unique needs of private companies operating in the high-risk, high-reward field of space technology. PTI