PIB TrackerRs 116 crore for a green thruster that has flown
TDB put RDI Fund money into Manastu Space's hydrogen-peroxide propulsion system - already demonstrated in space - to take it from TRL-6 to TRL-9.
What happened
- The Technology Development Board (DST) signed an agreement with Manastu Space Technologies Private Limited, Navi Mumbai, for Rs 116 crore of support under the RDI Fund.
- The total project cost is Rs 277.63 crore, and the support is given as optionally convertible debt rather than as a grant.
- The project develops a scalable, integrated green propulsion system for satellites and launch vehicles across the 5 mN to 300 N thrust class.
- It uses a hydrogen-peroxide-based propellant with additives, an integrated engine and catalyst system, and an ultra-high-temperature ceramic catalyst; the system has already been demonstrated in space.
- The funding takes it from TRL-6 to TRL-9 through engineering, integration, testing and validation; it is classed under deep technology, with space technology as the sub-sector.
For Prelims
- TDB: the Technology Development Board under the Department of Science and Technology; its Secretary framed the RDI Fund as backing technology-intensive programmes from advanced development towards deployment.
- RDI Fund: a Rs 1 lakh crore Research Development and Innovation corpus, approved by the Cabinet on 1 July 2025 and launched on 3 November 2025.
- Fund structure: money flows through second-level fund managers - TDB and BIRAC were the first - and support is capped at 50 per cent of project cost.
- This project: Rs 116 crore of Rs 277.63 crore (about 42 per cent), as optionally convertible debt - repaid, or converted into equity.
- The technology: a hydrogen-peroxide-based green propellant with additives; integrated engine and catalyst; an ultra-high-temperature ceramic catalyst for reliable operation under demanding conditions; propellant feed systems.
- Thrust class: 5 mN to 300 N - from small-satellite applications to higher-thrust launch-vehicle use, on one scalable architecture.
- TRL: Technology Readiness Level runs 1 to 9; this project moves from TRL-6 to TRL-9, the top of the scale.
- Classification and aim: Deep Technology sector, Space Technology sub-sector; stated aim to strengthen domestic capability in a critical part of the space value chain and reduce reliance on externally sourced technology.
For UPSC: TDB (DST) RDI Fund: Rs 116 cr of Rs 277.63 cr to Manastu Space as optionally convertible debt; hydrogen-peroxide green propulsion, 5 mN-300 N, TRL-6 to TRL-9.
What it is NOT: This is not ISRO funding and not a grant - it is optionally convertible debt from the RDI Fund to a private start-up, and the technology has already flown. The release does not give the interest rate, tenure or conversion terms of the debt, the mission on which the system was demonstrated, or a date for reaching TRL-9.
For Mains
Syllabus: GS3.13 · GS3.12 · Linkage L2
Anchor
Space start-ups rarely fail at invention; they fail between a first flight and a qualified product. TRL-6 to TRL-9 - from a demonstrated system to one ready for wider deployment - is exactly that gap, and it is the gap this money targets.
Substantiation (data)
Rs 116 crore of a Rs 277.63 crore project - about 42 per cent - from a Rs 1 lakh crore fund that caps its share at half of project cost and works through second-level fund managers such as TDB.
Exemplification
A hydrogen-peroxide propellant is pitched on reducing the operational challenges of conventional propellants - the 'green' in green propulsion is handling safety and cost as much as environment, which matters for a firm selling to many small-satellite operators.
Problematisation
Convertible debt suits firms close to revenue. Deep-tech companies further from market may find a repay-or-convert obligation harder to carry than a grant, and the release gives no interest rate, tenure or conversion terms.
Way-forward
Pair RDI Fund money with assured early orders from public space missions and with access to test facilities, so that scale-up has both a buyer and a qualification route.
Position
The government's stated aim is to strengthen domestic capability in a critical component of the space value chain, reduce reliance on externally sourced technology, and make access to space safer and more sustainable.
Deploys into: Space technology + indigenisation (GS3.13, GS3.12) · private space sector, research financing instruments and the valley of death between prototype and product.
Ministry of Science & Technology · 2026-10-26 · PRID 2328399 · PIB source ↗