India Aiming For 5-Fold Increase In Share Of Global Space Economy: Jitendra Singh

India is aiming for a five-fold increase in the space economy by 2030, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said.

“India’s space economy today stands at a modest $8 Bn, but our projection is that by 2040, it will multiply manifold. But a more interesting thing is that according to some international observers, for example, the recent ADL (Arthur D Little) report mentions that we have the potential of $100 Bn by 2040,” Singh said while launching a technical centre of Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) in Bopal area of Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

The minister also reiterated India’s target of boosting the space economy from 2% to 10% by 2030 which will be a five-fold rise. Highlighting the vision document, he underlined the government’s vision of 15% share in the global space economy by 2047.

The technical centre will be a single-roof facility for private companies to utilise ISRO infrastructure. It will also play a role in supporting, promoting, and guiding potential startups in the space sector, Singh said in an X post.

The IN-SPACe technical centre will contribute to the development of rockets, and will not be limited to satellites.

“This centre is primarily focussed on satellites and payloads, while the simulation facility that we have is for launch vehicles and mission planning,” said Pawan Goenka, chairman IN-SPACe.

IN-SPACe was formed in 2020 to promote, enable, authorise and supervise non-government entities (NGE) to undertake space activities. With more and more private players and startups entering the spacetech sector, the organisation has become increasingly relevant in the last two years.

It provides facilities like CSTF, TVAC, VTF, Spaces Systems Lab, RF Lab, and Clean Rooms for AIT activities, facilitating rigorous testing and validation of space technology.   It also houses the Spaces Systems Design Lab offering access to Simulation tools essential for mission planning and design analysis.

Goenka added that the centre has been constructed at a cost of “just under INR 100 Cr.”

Singh expressed satisfaction at the reduced scepticism between public and private sectors. He emphasised the need for collaboration, stating common goals unite both sectors. 

The minister also added that private entities invested INR 1,000 Cr in India’s space sector between April and December 2023.

In December last year, IN-SPACe introduced a ‘Seed Fund Scheme‘ aimed at startups in urban development and disaster management. The scheme involves providing selected startups with seed funding, mentorship, training, and networking opportunities, with financial assistance of up to INR 1 Cr to transform their ideas into prototypes using space technology.

In 2022, IN-SPACe authorised the first private sector launch of a launch vehicle by spacetech startup Skyroot Aerospace.

Meanwhile, Reliance Jio is close to obtaining landing rights and market access authorisations from IN-SPACe to launch its satellite-based gigabit fiber services in India. Jio has already submitted all necessary documents to IN-SPACe, and the approval, mandatory for deploying global satellite bandwidth capacity in India, is expected soon.