Parliament Question: Venture Capital Fund for the Space Sector

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF SPACE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6060 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 01, 2026 VENTURE CAPITAL FUND FOR THE SPACE SECTOR

6060. SHRI BASTIPATI NAGARAJU:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

(a) the details of number of startups invested in through the venture capital fund for the space sector and the amount of investments made, year-wise;

(b) the details of the list of startups supported, their area of innovation along with investment received by each startup under the fund especially of those based in Andhra Pradesh;

(c) the details of the utilisation of the investment, year and company-wise;

(d) the details of the returns provided by supported startups to the Government, year and company-wise;

(e) the details of estimated jobs created through the said fund and its investment, year and company-wise; and

(f) the details of the technical assistance provided to startups through this fund? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES & PENSIONS AND IN THE PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE (DR. JITENDRA SINGH):

****(a) to (f) The venture capital fund for space startups has been set up by SIDBI Venture Capital Limited (SVCL) as the investment manager in the name of Antariksh Venture Capital Fund. The Fund received SEBI’s registration on October 31, 2025 and declared its initial closing on November 10, 2025 at ₹1,005 crores. Subsequently, post SEBI registration activities viz.

appointment of the custodian, registration with depositories for issuance of AIF units, and constitution of the Screening Committee and Investment Committee (IC), were completed.

In parallel, evaluation of Spacetech startups has been continuing and four proposals are at an advanced stage following the Pre-IC approval. Given the nascent stage of the Spacetech ecosystem, particularly in cases where startups have had limited or no prior exposure to institutional investors, there is a need felt to provide handholding to such startups, in

order for them to organize their data better and share the requisite information with SVCL for the sanction process.

With the handholding, SVCL is hopeful to complete the detailed appraisal shortly and place it before the Investment Committee for its consideration. It is expected that SVCL will be in a position to fund the approved startups in the first quarter of FY2027 after satisfactory completion of the third party due-diligence and execution of definitive documentation.

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