The current size of the Indian space economy is estimated at around USD 8.4 billion, Union Minister Jitendra Singh told the Rajya Sabha on December 7.
Jitendra Singh responded to a query in a written reply when asked about the current size of the country’s space economy and the share split between Government and private entities.
“Of this, the downstream services market, primarily comprising communication and data applications, accounts for close to 80 per cent of the total space economy, wherein the private sector is a major contributor,” Jitendra Singh replied to the query of an Independent MP from Rajya Sabha Kartikeya Sharma.
“The upstream market, such as satellite and launch operations, is primarily contributed by the Government, with the private sector in a vendor-oriented role towards manufacturing and delivering sub-systems and components,” he added.
As per various market surveys, the Minister said the space economy has grown with an average Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 8 per cent.
Asked whether the Government proposes to increase the share of the private sector in the country’s space economy, the Minister said in the affirmative.
Highlighting the major initiatives, the Minister said the Government should increase the share of the private sector in the Indian space economy.
“The space sector has been liberalised, and the private sector is allowed to carry out end-to-end space activities. The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) was created in the Department of Space for promoting, authorising and overseeing the activities of non-Government entities (NGEs) in the space sector and India Space Policy 2023 has been released, where the roles and responsibilities of all the stakeholders contributing to the overall Indian Space Ecosystems are defined,” said the Minister.
He further said that various schemes to encourage and handhold the private sector were also announced and implemented by IN-SPACe, like seed fund schemes, pricing support policies, mentorship support, design labs for NGEs, and skill development in the space sector.
“The aspirational targeted size of the Indian space economy is about USD 44 billion by the year 2033. The role of the private sector will be prime in achieving the expected figure,” said the Minister.
It is expected that the private sector will take up independent end-to-end solutions in satellite manufacturing, launch vehicle manufacturing, providing satellite services and manufacturing ground systems, said Singh, adding, “In addition to these initiatives, the investment in space start-ups has increased from USD 6 million in 2019 to over USD 125 million in 2023 (USD 370 million cumulative).”
“The revised FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) policy is in its final phase of approval, which will enable investment in all the sectors of the space economy,” added the Minister.
(with inputs from ANI)
