Space-tech company Astrobase plans to invest ₹500 crore in Karnataka to establish a rocket engine manufacturing facility at Adinarayana Hosahalli Industrial Area, with an annual production capacity of 40 rocket engines.
Karnataka Industries Minister MB Patil said the proposed facility would come up on 10 acres and generate more than 1,250 jobs. The company is developing medium-lift launch vehicles, reusable launch systems and indigenous rocket propulsion technologies.
Astrobase aims to scale up its annual payload delivery capacity to 100 tonnes by 2032 and 1,000 tonnes by 2040. Given the growing global demand for launch vehicles, the proposed investment is a welcome development, Patil said.
The company is led by professionals with extensive experience in India’s space programme, including former ISRO scientists, he added.
Separately, Bayer, the Netherlands-based agricultural and life sciences company, plans to invest ₹200 crore to establish a Global Capability Centre (GCC) in Bengaluru. The proposed centre is expected to create 220 jobs, Patil said.
Patil recalled meeting Bayer’s leadership in Amsterdam during his recent visit to the Netherlands to attract investments. The company is keen to hold the groundbreaking ceremony before the Global Investors Meet scheduled for April 2027 and begin operations at the earliest, he said.
Bayer already operates a service and innovation hub in Bengaluru and a crop research centre in Chamarajanagar. The company has been operating in India for 125 years and employs around 11,000 people. Its Indian operations include seven manufacturing plants and three Global Engineering Centres (GECs), Patil said.
Astrobase Co-Founder Neeraj Khandelwal, Chief Financial Officer Nishant Jain and Head of Business and Strategy Puneet Balasubramanian, along with Bayer’s Himanshu Patel, participated in the discussions.
Published on November 3, 2026
