MEA to provide a grant to NSIL to launch Nepal’s Munal Satellite

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with New Space India Limited (NSIL) for the launch of the Nepalese satellite Munal. Under the MoU, the Ministry of External Affairs will provide NSIL with a grant to launch the satellite.

The MoU was signed by Anurag Srivastava, Joint Secretary (North) from the ministry and  Arunachalam A, Director from NSIL in New Delhi.

During Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishanker's visit to Nepal in January 2024, an agreement was signed between the NSIL and  Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) for the launch of the Munal satellite.

About Munal Satellite

• The Munal satellite has been developed by Nepalese students under the aegis of the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST). The NAST is an autonomous body which has been set up by the government of Nepal to promote science and Technology in the country.
• A Nepalese Space startup, Antarikchya Pratishan Nepal (APN), has assisted Nepalese students in the design and fabrication of the Munal satellite.
• The Munal satellite aims to build a vegetation density database of the Earth’s surface.
• The satellite will be launched by  NSIL’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

New Space India Limited (NSIL)

The New Space India Limited (NSIL) was established by the government of India on 6 March 2019.

The company is under the administrative control of the Department of Space, Government of India.

Function of NSIL 

• It is the marketing arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which was created to tap the global demand for commercial satellite launches.
• It provides space-based services to clients through its Earth Observation and Communication satellites.
• It builds satellites and launches them as per the customer's demand. 
• It will build launch vehicles in collaboration with the private sector as per customer requirements. 

Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka 

Chairman and Managing Director (CMD): Radhakrishnan Durairaj