15% hike in outlay, ISRO gets exploration thrust

As the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) steps up its forays into outer space, its exploratory programmes have received a 15 per cent fiscal boost in the Budget for 2025-26. The overall allocation for the Department of Space is up by about 14 per cent.

A sum of Rs 12,515 crore has been allocated to ISRO in the coming financial year for undertaking various projects and schemes compared to the revised estimates of Rs 10,859.25 crore for 2024-25.

The allocation for 2025-26 on this account include Rs 6,455.99 crore under the revenue head and Rs 6,059.01 crore for capital acquisitions, which would cover space technology, space applications, space sciences and the INSAT systems.

The domain of space technology includes activities of various ISRO centres involved in research, development and fabrication of rockets, launch vehicles and facilities, satellites, space-related technology and systems, telemetry, communication networks and command and control systems, while space sciences involve academic research projects, development of sensors, planetary science programme, climate and atmospheric studies, astronomy and other experiments in space.

Allocation for the INSAT systems provides for the expenses of various INSAT and GSAT class of satellites, including the expenses on service charges on leasing of transponders, while the head for space applications covers activities such as remote sensing, space application projects, national natural resources management, earth-observation applications and disaster management support.

The entire Budget for the Department of Space for 2025-26 has been pegged at Rs 13,416.20 crore, up by Rs 1,691 crore from the revised estimates of Rs 11,725.75 crore for 2024-25. This includes the expenses of all establishments, centres and activities of the department in addition to ISRO.

The hike in the allocation comes in the wake of the Cabinet recently approving several big-ticket missions such as the Chandrayaan-4, Venus Orbiter Mission, development of the Next Generation Launch Vehicle and construction of a third launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

ISRO has developed immense capability to launch various types of satellites for Indian as well as foreign agencies and has emerged as part of a group of just four countries to possess highly advanced space technology. Its latest such mission, called SpaDeX, was the docking of two satellites orbiting at high speed in space. Several space launches are also scheduled for 2025.