Chennai: In the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Parliament on Friday i.e. February 26, 2010, Indian space programme got a tremendous increase of 58 percent for the fiscal 2010-11, compared to that of previous year.
The budgetary allocation for the Department of Space has gone upto Rs 5,000 crore for the next fiscal as compared to the revised estimates of Rs 3,172 crore for 2009-10. The budget has allocated Rs 500 crore for building Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) two rockets - Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).
Further, a sum of Rs 153 crore has been allocated for the development of GSLV Mark III, a rocket that can carry four-tonne payload and Rs 250 crore for development of semi-cryogenic engine. Compared to Rs 230 crore allocated to ISRO's manned mission in 2009-10, the funds for the next fiscal have been reduced to Rs 150 crore. ISRO has worked out the total cost of the mission at Rs 12,000 crore. While Rs 100 crore has been set aside for the lunar mission, Rs 262 crore has been provided for setting up navigational satellite systems.
