Private Sector in India’s Space Industry

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The government would soon come up with a new space policy to increase private sector participation in the industry.

• Enhancing space technology would be beneficial to bolster connectivity and combat climate-related implications through a more secure and effective means. 
• Private sector’s involvement in the long term, as with other commercial sectors, is believed to help spur investment and expertise in the realm which is capital-intensive and demands high technology. 

Why is development in the space sector important?

• Enhancing space technology would be beneficial to bolster connectivity and combat climate-related implications through a more secure and effective means.
• Satellites provide more accurate information on weather forecasts and assess (and record) long-term trends in the climate and habitability of a region. 
• As for connectivity, satellite communication can reach more remote areas where conventional networks would require a heavy complimenting infrastructure. 
• The World Economic Forum had stated (in September 2020) that satellite communication can help connect 49% of the world’s unconnected population.
• The space avenue is an integration of the aerospace, IT hardware and telecom sectors. It is thus argued that investment in this arena would foster positive carryover effects to other sectors as well.

Where does India stand in the global space market?

• As per Space Tech Analytics, India is the sixth-largest player in the industry internationally having 3.6% of the world’s space-tech companies (as of 2021). 
• The Indian Space Industry was valued at $7 billion in 2019 and aspires to grow to $50 billion by 2024. The country’s standout feature is its cost-effectiveness. India holds the distinction of being the first country to have reached the Mars’ orbit in its first attempt and at $75 million — way cheaper than Western standards.
• Most companies in the sector, globally, are involved in manufacture of spacecraft equipment and satellite communications. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), a majority of them were dealing in projects related to space debris management. 
• India’s total budgetary allocation for FY2022-23 towards the Department of Space was ₹13,700 crore. 

(IN-SPACe)

• An announcement for the establishment of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) was made.
• It was mandated the task of promoting, authorising and licensing private players to carry out space activities.
• As an oversight and regulatory body, it is responsible for devising mechanisms to offer sharing of technology, expertise, and facilities free of cost to promote non-government private entities (NGPEs).
• IN-SPACe’s Monitoring and Promotion Directorate oversees NGPE’s activities as per prescribed regulations and reports back in case any corrective actions or resolutions are required.
• ISRO shares its expertise in matters pertaining to quality and reliability protocols, documentations and testing procedure through IN-SPACe’s ‘interface mechanism’.

NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL)

• Additionally, constituted in March 2019, NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL) is mandated to transfer the matured technologies developed by the ISRO to Indian industries.

India is among a handful of countries with advanced capabilities in the space sector. With these reforms, the sector will receive new energy and dynamism, to help the country leapfrog to the next stages of space activities.