Chennai-based Martin group of companies, founded by ‘lottery king’ Santiago Martin, is keen on venturing into the space sector and may pick up with a stake in Space Zone India, a startup focusing on rocket manufacture.
The Martin group has funded the initial development of Space Zone’s RHUMI rocket, giving the startup ₹8 crore from its CSR funds.
The group was in the news in March when it was revealed that it was the biggest buyer of electoral bonds, worth ₹1,368 crore.
At a press conference convened to announce the scheduled launch of RHUMI on August 24, Jose Charles Martin, Managing Director of the group and son of Santiago Martin, replied “not yet” when asked if the group had a stake in Space Zone India.
Later, he told businessline on the sidelines of the conference that the ₹22,000-crore group was keen on entering the space sector.
The Martin group has interests in the lottery business, real estate, renewable energy and textiles.
The RHUMI rocket, which is slated to be launched from the back of a truck near the East Coast Road that runs along the Bay of Bengal in Chennai, is a sounding rocket — it goes up and returns unguided. But Space Zone India is also developing bigger rockets that are capable of launching up to 250 kg payloads to an altitude of 250 km, the startup’s founder and CEO, Dr Anand Megalingam, said.