Article Posted on : - Feb 17, 2009

For Chandrayaan-1 and its future missions, the government has provided Rs 90 crore as against Rs 88 crore last year

NEW DELHI (BNS): India’s space agency got a 27 per cent hike in its budgetary allocations in the interim budget presented in the Parliament on Monday.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was allocated Rs 4,459 crore, an increase of Rs 960 crore over last year's sanction of Rs 3,499 crore. Out of this a major portion of it will be spent on missions to moon, development of the semi-cryogenic engine and building a rocket for launching heavier satellites.

Giving the break up of the budget, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said that Rs 75 crore as against Rs 4.09 crore last year has been earmarked for development of a semi-cryogenic engine for future advanced satellite launch vehicles. The Cabinet recently approved the project for development of the semi-cryogenic engine.

For Chandrayaan-1 and its future missions, the government has provided Rs 90 crore as against Rs 88 crore last year, while the Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III project has received Rs 217 crore as against Rs 240.19 crore last year.

According to officials, the GSLV Mk III, which will have the capability to put in orbit four-tonne satellites, is expected to be launched soon.

For training space science personnel, the ISRO has received Rs 175 crore as against Rs 65.25 crore last year. The Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, currently functioning from Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram, is constructing its own infrastructure at Valiamala in Kerala.

For sending man into space, the space agency has received Rs 50 crore. According to ISRO, the objective of the Human Space Flight Programme is to develop a fully autonomous manned space vehicle to carry a two-member crew to a 400-km low earth orbit and ensure their safe return to earth.

In the interim budget, Mukherjee has provided the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (INRSS), a constellation of seven satellites, Rs 270 crore. The IRNSS is expected to provide position accuracies similar to the Global Positioning System in a region centered around the country with a coverage extending up to 1,500 km from India.

On the other hand, a lead facility for development of satellite launch vehicles, the VSSC has received Rs 613.42 crore as against Rs 494.69 crore last year.