The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India and NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) have officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide grant assistance for the launch of Nepal’s Munal satellite.
The MoU was signed by Anurag Srivastava, Joint Secretary (North) from MEA, and Shri Arunachalam A, Director from NSIL. The ceremony was attended by Dr. Rabindra Prasad Dhakal, Secretary of the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), Dr. Surendra Thapa, Chargé d’affaires of the Nepali Embassy, and Dr. Abhas Maskey, Founder of Antarikchya Pratishan Nepal (APN).
This agreement follows the visit of India’s External Affairs Minister to Nepal for the 7th Joint Commission Meeting (JCM), where the launch service agreement for the Munal Satellite was exchanged between NSIL and NAST on January 4, 2024.
The Munal Satellite, developed by NAST with support from APN, a Nepali space startup, aims to create a vegetation density database of Earth’s surface. The satellite is slated for launch on NSIL’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle in the near future.