India, now has the distinction of being part of the elite space club as the country set its footprint on the moon. Though America, Russia, and China successfully landed on the moon’s north pole, the south pole remained a challenge for the entire world, and Bharat eventually succeeded in her second effort. After the recent failure of a Russian spacecraft, the entire world was curious about the outcome. The bulk of the world’s perceptions of India’s scientific, technological, and innovative potential have shifted, resulting in significant positive impulses.
How the successful landing affect internal and external perception?
Despite the fact that the frequency and number of foreign satellites launched by ISRO rose after 2014, it will now grow exponentially to become the world leader in space exploration. Scientists’ confidence and morale have skyrocketed, which will benefit future large missions such as Gaganayan, Mangalyan 2, Aditya L1, and NASA-ISRO SAR. It will help the software and electronics industries much more. The semiconductor business will expand rapidly in the future years.
Aside from ISRO, the private sector will begin to invest more in inventing, making scientific and technological improvements in space exploration. Start-ups and job possibilities will grow even more.
After 2014, changes that are visible in the space program
ISRO, the country’s space agency, has carried out 89 launch missions delivering satellites into orbit since its start in 1969. According to an examination of these missions, the Narendra Modi government has launched more ISRO missions than all preceding governments combined.
According to Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, of the 424 foreign satellites launched by India to date, 389 were launched during the last nine years of the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi: With the successful launch of foreign satellites, India’s space sector is quickly attaining a world-leading position. Dr. Jitendra Singh stated that of the 174 million US dollars earned, 157 million came in the last nine years, and of the 256 million Euros earned, 223 million came during PM Modi’s tenure alone.
Dr. Jitendra Singh stated that, aside from the main function of rocket launching, India’s Space Applications have become a major source of livelihood chances through 130 or more start-ups after Modiji’s opening of the Space Sector in June 2020. Furthermore, in the academic arena, technical institutes in Trivandrum, Jammu, and Agartala have 100% placements for students, and almost 50 per cent of them go to NASA to pursue higher education.
Dr. Jitendra Singh stated that space technology has touched nearly every home in India, referring to applications in sectors such as railways, highways, agriculture, water mapping, smart cities, telemedicine, and robotic surgery that have provided ‘comfort of life’ to the average man.
ISRO has launched 104 satellites onboard PSLV-C37 from Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, of which 101 are for international clients, demonstrating India’s growing footprint in the global space business. Furthermore, the indigenous human space project Gaganyaan is almost ready to launch Indian astronauts into orbit. If successful, India will be the fourth country to send a human into space, joining the United States, Russia, and China.
Singh stated that a central PSU called “NewSpace India Limited (NSIL)” has been established to promote and foster public-private partnership projects and start-ups. He stated that the “Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe)” has been established as a single-window nodal body to promote non-government businesses and to develop an ecosystem for private companies in the space sector. IN-SPACe has received 135 applications from non-governmental organizations and start-ups in the space sector, according to Singh.
In response to a query about sector start-ups, Singh stated that the IN-SPACe Board has authorized a new seed fund scheme to provide first financial assistance to Indian space start-ups. Singh stated that a revamped FDI policy in the space sector to enable foreign investment in non-government firms, as well as a national space policy, are nearing completion.
The country’s youth must understand that this is the “Best of Times” for Bharat and that they should not become slaves of their own ambitions. He stated that the Modi government has opened many new channels in the last nine years, where the youth of the country have the luxury of changing their goalposts since there are plenty of outlets ready to be grabbed upon. He stated that the National Education Policy-2020 is also in line with “Naya Bharat” and that a mindset shift is required.
According to Jitendra Singh, the Modi government is “providing more resources and an enabling policy milieu” for the increased pace of space missions. “Previously, we were operating with limited manpower, limited resources, not allowing others to participate, not allowing funds to come in, the government could not have afforded such huge funds, and thus, in a way, we were actually incapacitating ourselves,” Singh explained when asked about the ISRO’s busy calendar this year.
Those who doubt PM Modi and give credit to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru should study and analyze the conditions before and after 2014. If we look closely at the case of great scientist Nambi Narayanan, we can understand how scientists were previously treated. Was there any pressure from the United States, China, or Russia on our space agency during prior administrations? What prompted our space agency to improve the speed and precision with which satellites are launched over the last nine years? Someone needs to look into these issues seriously.
It is time to commemorate these priceless moments, and our ancient Rishis, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, and Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam must be rejoicing in heaven.
