Government backs Bengaluru firm with ₹64.05 crore to build AI-enabled intelligence satellite constellation

The government has signed an agreement to give Bengaluru-based Astrome Technologies ₹64.05 crore to develop a constellation of small satellites that use artificial intelligence to collect electronic intelligence for national security.

The Technology Development Board (TDB) of the Department of Science and Technology will provide the money from the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund as Optionally Convertible Debt. The total project cost is ₹128.11 crore.

What will be built

The project, a sovereign space-based AI-enabled Electronic Intelligence (AI-ELINT) constellation, has three parts: an ELINT payload to detect and analyse signals across a broad frequency range, AI-based ground software to process the data, and links that let satellites talk to one another.

The plan is to develop and progressively launch microsatellites in the 50 kg class into low Earth orbit. The release says a constellation can give wider coverage and more frequent observation of areas of interest.

The programme aims to take the technology from Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 to TRL 9. It will cover development, engineering, integration, testing and validation.

What they said

Rajesh Kumar Pathak, Secretary of the Technology Development Board, said the RDI Fund supports Indian firms "working on frontier technologies that can strengthen the country's strategic technology capabilities".

An authorised representative of Astrome said the support "will help us accelerate the development and integration of critical technologies" for its AI-enabled space-based intelligence programme.

What is not said

The release does not give a launch date, the number of satellites planned or the repayment terms of the debt.

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Source: official release by the Ministry of Science & Technology, issued through the Press Information Bureau, Government of India (12 NOV 2026 12:56PM by PIB Delhi). Read the full official text: TDB-DST signs agreement with Astrome for ₹64.05 crore RDI support to develop sovereign space-based AI-ELINT constellation.