Ministry of Finance notifies new Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules for space sector

Posted 18 Apr 2024

2 min read

New rules ‘Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) (Third Amendment) Rules, 2024’ amend Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019.
- Government notified new rules under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999.
- FDI in India is governed by FDI Policy announced by Government of India and provisions of FEMA, 1999.
Under amended FDI policy, 100% FDI through both automatic and government route is allowed which is in line with strategy under Indian Space Policy 2023.
- Earlier, FDI was permitted to establish and operate satellites only through government’s approval route.

Space Sector/Activity	Sectoral Cap	Entry route
Satellites-Manufacturing & Operation Satellite Data Products Ground Segment & User Segment	100%	Up to 74%: Automatic Beyond 74%: Government route
Launch Vehicles and associated systems or subsystems Creation of Spaceports for launching and receiving Spacecraft	100%	Up to 49%: Automatic Beyond 49%: Government route
Manufacturing of components and systems/ sub-systems for satellites, ground segment and user segment	100%	Up to 100%: Automatic

Need of FDI in Space Sector
- Integrate Indian companies into global value chains.
- Attract potential foreign investors in Indian space companies and Enhance Ease of Doing Business.
- FDI inflows generate employment and enhanced share of global space economy.