According to a report by the Economic Times, the government has invited the founders of space tech startups including Agnikul Cosmos, Bellatrix Aerospace, Pixxel, Dhruva Space, Digantara, Skyroot Aerospace and SatSure to meet Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk in New Delhi on Monday (April 22).
What Elon Musk may discuss with these startups
The startups believe that the main agenda during Musk’s visit will be to talk about Starlink and electric car maker Tesla.In a statement to ET, one of the space startup founders who chose to remain anonymous said: “This trip is mainly about Tesla and servicing the Indian market through Starlink. I don’t think there is anything beyond this agenda.”
“It’s just about showing him what the Indian space ecosystem is up to. More than 50% of space assets are of Starlink owned by Elon Musk. Back in the day, we did not have a private ecosystem. Now the government has opened a lot of things including FDI relaxation. The meeting is just to show our budding private space ecosystem and talk about innovative technologies of Indian space companies. It is good to show the Indian legacy” the founders said.
Earlier, in February, the government allowed foreign direct investment (FDI) under an automatic route in the space sector. Under this, companies can accept 74% for satellite manufacturing, 49% for launch vehicles and up to 100% for manufacturing of components and systems.
With the FDI rules eased, Indian space startups will be able to work on capital-intensive space projects and expand manufacturing and production capacity.
Last month, a group of startup executives and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) officials visited SpaceX’s facilities in Hawthorne, California. This visit was as a part of the US Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Programme.
Meanwhile, to launch their satellites, startups like Pixxel and Digantara have also used SpaceX's rockets in the past.
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