Snapshot
The Indian space sector is recognised for building cost-effective satellites with launch of the Mars probes successfully at first attempt and taking hundreds of foreign satellites to space. India constitutes 2-3% of the global space economy and is expected to enhance its share to more than 10% by 2030.
SECTOR SPECIFICS:
SATELLITE MANUFACTURING: There are collaborations between government agencies and private parties for manufacturing parts of satellites and their launchers; for instance, PSLV-C53 is the first official public –private collaboration for a space launcher in India.
SATELLITE LAUNCHES: The Indian Space Program under ISRO has achieved many considerable feats and has established India's name in the global picture as a provider of reliable and cost-effective space solutions.
Launch Missions:
- With the Mars Orbiter Mission or the Mangalyaan 2013, India became the 1st nation to reach Martian orbit in its first attempt.
- Coming up, India is also launching the Gaganyaan, India’s Human Spaceflight Mission aiming to launch India's first crewed flight into space by 2024.
- Others like Research satellites, Navigation satellites (NavIC) and even student satellites are promoted by ISRO.
SATELLITE LAUNCH SERVICES: ISRO provides launch facilities for private and foreign organisations.
- India has two operational launchers: Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). PSLV has had 55 launches with 52 successful ones (till July 2022).
- NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) was established as the commercial arm of ISRO, to move the commercial side of space sector away from ISRO by creating demand from private players through Technology Transfer and aggregator economy models
- India has launched 381 foreign satellites for 34 countries on a commercial basis between 1999-2022, with 36 OneWeb Gen 1 communication satellites launched in one go on 23rd October 2022.
SATELLITE APPLICATIONS: i.e. remote sensing, space-based navigation, earth observation, disaster management, testing, data analysis and others. Outside of ISRO, private space companies are also keen to harness the power of space data. India’s space structure is moving from building India’s capabilities under ISRO to further capitalisation of space-based technology for commercial applications as well as industry involvement in the sector. As the world is moving faster towards exploring space with fascinating new arenas in areas like space tourism and asteroid mining, India believes that privatisation will be the key to boost India's presence and capabilities in space.
- %
World space related companies in India
Foreign satellite launched of 34 countries
- $ Mn+
Revenue earned by India from launch of foreign satellites by ISRO
ISRO is the 6th largest space agency in the world and holds an exceptional success rate
ISRO has signed six agreements with four countries for launching foreign satellites between 2021-2023. From a commercial standpoint, these launches hold a potential of $ 141 Mn to be earned in revenues
With over 400 private space companies, India ranks fifth globally in no. of space companies
- Industry Scenario
- FOREIGN INVESTMENT
- INDUSTRY TRENDS
- POLICIES & SCHEMES
Industry Scenario
Indian Space Sector was valued at $9.6 Bn in 2020, contributes 2%-3% of the global space economy. The size of the sector is expected to reach $13 Bn by 2025, and by 2030 India further aims to capture a larger share of close to 10% of the global economy.
Acknowledging the role of Private Sector, Prime Minister of India said "India needs to increase its share in the global space industry and the private sector will play a big role in that."
Currently, the sector sees involvement from over 400 industrial firms including large Indian conglomerates as well as SMEs, working under the leadership of ISRO to develop subsystems for space launch and ground infrastructure.
India is the 27th country to sign the Artemis Accords, which establishes a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASA’s Artemis program. ISRO has signed six agreements with four countries for launching foreign satellites between 2021-2023. From a commercial standpoint, these launches hold a potential of $141 Mn to be earned in revenues.
NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) is now mandated to act as the exclusive public-sector aggregator for both demand and supply of space assets/services on a commercial basis, including offering satellite-based applications on a commercial basis, and the manufacture and launch of PSLV and other launch vehicles with involvement from private players.
NSIL has announced a total investment of $1.2 Bn in the next 5 years, to increase industry involvement and commercial activities in the sector.
Indian start-ups are taking active interest in the space market, from just 1 start-up in space sector in 2012, industry has grown to 189 start-ups in 2023. The funding received by these start-ups reached a total of $124.7 Mn in 2023 from $67.2 Mn in 2021. Currently, space cooperative documents have been signed with 61 countries and five multilateral bodies.
Favourable policy changes in the space ecosystem in India are earmarking the country's leadership role globally. The Space Policy 2023 is a forward-looking document reflecting good intentions and a vision for the Indian space ecosystem. It suggests that the private sector is a critical stakeholder in the entire value chain of the space economy. Space Activities Bill and 10 draft policies are in the pipeline, which will provide the necessary regulatory framework and procedural guidelines for private space activities, as well as open new channels for investments and technological support for the sector.
GROWTH DRIVERS
Increasing demand for satellite services
With new innovations in areas of satellite communication and other areas of application including geospatial data-based services, there is an increased demand for space-based services and thereby the need for more players to venture into upstream and downstream sectors in space to provide commercial offerings.
Encouraging Private Players
The Private players can participate in setting up of ground stations for space crafts which constitutes 48% of the space sector budget. They can also venture in applications of space technology which contributes 45% of the space economy. Also, small satellite segment and component manufacturing are predicted to be emerging sectors for private participation.
Emerging areas in the global sector
Future opportunities in fascinating areas like space tourism and commercial recovery of space resources are coming up, promising enormous scope of growth in the sector.
Complementary Aviation and Defence sector
Bengaluru is ranked among top 3 in global aerospace and defence cities in attracting foreign investment and India is one of the top countries in the world in terms of defence procurement and allied production.
Strong Adjacent industrial Support
India is a leading innovator in machine tools, capital goods with robust IT and software sector.
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