Astrobase plans ₹500 crore rocket-engine factory in Karnataka

Astrobase plans to invest ₹500 crore in a rocket-engine manufacturing facility in Karnataka, according to Moneycontrol and The Economic Times, which reported an announcement by state industries minister M. B. Patil on November 3. The proposed plant would occupy ten acres at Adinarayana Hosahalli Industrial Area in Bengaluru Rural district.

Patil put the planned capacity at 40 rocket engines a year, both publications reported. The Economic Times said the project was expected to generate more than 1,250 jobs. These figures describe proposed capacity and projected employment; the reports do not establish that the plant is producing engines or that those jobs have been created.

The announcement followed Patil’s meeting with company representatives in Bengaluru. The Economic Times identified Astrobase co-founder Neeraj Khandelwal, chief financial officer Nishant Jain and business and strategy head Captain Puneet Balasubramanian among those attending.

Astrobase’s website describes its work on reusable rockets and the EVEREST oxygen-and-methane engine. It lists a manufacturing floor in Bengaluru and an engine test facility in Ananthapuramu, Andhra Pradesh. The Karnataka manufacturing proposal and the Andhra Pradesh test location are separate facilities in the reviewed accounts.

Neither November 3 report gives a construction start, a commissioning date or the financing structure for Astrobase’s proposed investment. The ₹500 crore figure is a planned manufacturing investment, rather than a disclosed funding round or confirmation that the money has been spent.