Astrobase, a Bengaluru-based space technology company, will invest ₹500 crore to establish a rocket manufacturing facility in Karnataka, Industries Minister M.B. Patil said in a statement on November 3. The project is planned on 10 acres in the Adinarayana Hosahalli industrial area and is expected to create more than 1,250 jobs.
According to the minister, the facility will manufacture modern rockets and launch vehicles for the space sector. It is planned to produce 40 rocket engines a year once operational. The company is being run by former Indian Space Research Organisation scientists, he said.
Astrobase has already developed an indigenous engine called Everest, which the minister said is designed for launch vehicles capable of carrying payloads ranging from 8 tonnes to 26 tonnes into space. He said the proposed manufacturing project was significant because of global demand for launch vehicles.
The announcement places advanced space manufacturing alongside Karnataka’s established industrial and technology base. The proposed facility will use industrial land for a specialised manufacturing operation rather than a conventional commercial or information-technology development. However, the minister’s statement did not provide a construction schedule, commissioning date, investment phasing details or the specific approvals required before production begins.
The investment announcement was made together with details of a separate project by Bayer, the Netherlands-based company that produces agricultural inputs including fertilisers, pesticides and fungicides. Bayer plans to invest ₹200 crore to establish a global capability centre in Bengaluru, creating 220 jobs, according to the minister.
Patil said he had met Bayer’s leadership during a recent visit to the Netherlands aimed at attracting investment to Karnataka. The two announcements together represent a proposed ₹700 crore in investment and more than 1,470 jobs, based on the figures provided by the minister, although the projects belong to different sectors and have separate implementation plans.
For the Astrobase facility, the immediate urban and industrial implications will depend on how the 10-acre site is developed, when construction begins and whether the company proceeds with the stated annual production capacity. The minister’s statement did not identify the project’s total built-up area, infrastructure requirements, workforce composition or supply-chain partners.
The next steps will involve the development of the proposed manufacturing unit in the Adinarayana Hosahalli industrial area and the establishment of Bayer’s Bengaluru global capability centre. No project completion timeline was announced in the statement.
