By IANS
New Delhi : In order to maintain India’s growth and global presence in space, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Friday allocated Rs.36 billion for space research during 2008-09 in areas like launch vehicle technology and human space flights.
Of the total outlay, Rs.23.13 billion would be spent on developing space technologies like the Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), cryogenic upper stage project and the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
The space technology outlay would also boost the human space flight programme, ongoing projects at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and ocean satellites.
The budget has made a provision of Rs.2.79 billion for space applications, which includes expenditure at the Development and Education Communication Unit (DECU), Earth Observation Research Mission, regional remote service centres and the North-Eastern Space Application Centre.
A provision of Rs.2.49 billion has been pegged for space sciences, which includes Rs.357.2 million for the Physical Research Laboratory, Rs.103 million for the Notational Atmospheric Research Laboratory and Rs.193.8 million for other schemes like the balloon facility, multi-agency funded projects and micro-gravity research.