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Brain Booster for UPSC & State PCS Examination

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Topic: Private Players in Space Sector

Why in News?

• In a historic decision, the Union government in June 2020, opened India’s space programmes to private players. It is one of the big bang announcements that has led to the deregulation of space sector.
• The government also approved the creation of a new organisation, Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), to ensure greater private participation in India’s space activities.

About IN-SPACe

• IN-SPACe will act as an arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), but will be under the Department of Space.
• IN-SPACe will have its own chairperson and board, and regulate and promote building of routine satellites, rockets and commercial launch services through Indian industry and startups.
• IN-SPACe is to be an “autonomous nodal agency", which won’t be influenced by ISRO and it won’t influence ISRO’s work.
• IN-SPACe will act as a facilitator and also a regulator.
• It will act as an interface between ISRO and private parties, and assess how best to utilise India’s space resources and increase space-based activities.

Reasons Behind

• Indian industry had a barely three per cent share in a rapidly growing global space economy which was already worth at least $360 billion. ( Only two per cent of this market was for rocket and satellite launch services, which require fairly large infrastructure and heavy investment. The remaining 95 per cent related to satellite-based services, and ground-based systems.
• Until now there was limited participation from private industries in India’s space sector. It was restricted mainly to the manufacturing and fabrication of rockets and satellites.
• Additionally, there are two main reasons why enhanced private involvement in the space sector seems important. One is commercial, and the other strategic.
• There is need for greater dissemination of space technologies, better utilisation of space resources, and increased requirement of space-based services. And ISRO seems unable to satisfy this need on its own.
• The private industry will free up ISRO to concentrate on science, research and development, interplanetary exploration and strategic launches. Right now, too much of ISRO’s resources are consumed by routine activities that delay its more strategic objectives.
• This will not only result in an accelerated growth of this sector but will enable Indian Industry to be an important player in global space economy.
• With this, there is an opportunity for large-scale employment in the technology sector and India becoming a Global technology powerhouse.
• The space-based economy is expected to “explode” in the next few years, even in India, and there would be more than enough for all.
• In addition, ISRO can earn some money by making its facilities and data available to private players.
• These reforms will allow ISRO to focus more on research and development activities, new technologies, exploration missions and human spaceflight programme. Some of the planetary exploration missions will also be opened up to private sector through an ‘announcement of opportunity’ mechanism.

Other Initiatives

• IN-SPACe is the second space organisation created by the government in the last two years.
• In the 2019 Budget, the government had announced the setting up of a New Space India Limited (NSIL).
• NSIL is a public sector company under the Department of Space and will serve as a marketing arm for ISRO.
• Its main purpose is to market the technologies developed by ISRO and bring it more clients that need spacebased services.
• It will endeavour to re-orient space activities from a ‘supply driven’ model to a ‘demand driven’ model, thereby ensuring optimum utilization of our space assets.
• It will market the technologies and space services provided by ISRO and will bring clients.