India Has 140 'Brilliant' Space Startups: Union Minister Jitendra Singh At 4th Space Economy Leaders Meeting

Jitendra Singh said at the 4th Space Economy Leaders Meeting that India now has 140 'brilliant' space startups. This year's meet was organised by the Indian Space Research Organisation.

Union Minister of Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said at the 4th Space Economy Leaders Meeting on Thursday, July 6, 2023 that India is now almost a frontline nation as far as the country's space technology and capabilities are concerned. He stated that India now has 140 'brilliant' space startups, news agency ANI reported. 

"I must compliment the G20 Sherpa and his team for having this event over here. This was the Space Economy Leaders Meeting, the fourth of its kind and we had presentations from as many as 17 or 18 out of the 20 G20 countries," Singh was quoted as saying by ANI. 

Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Singh said: "Ever since PM Modi took a number of revolutionary decisions in the last nine years including opening up of the space department, we now have as many as 140 very brilliant startups". 

India's G20 Sherpa is Amitabh Kant. The theme of the fourth edition of the Space Economy Leaders Meeting is 'Towards A New Space ERA (Economy, Responsibility, Alliance).

This year's Space Economy Leaders Meeting was organised by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The first, second and third editions of the meet were organised by the Saudi Space Commision (2020), the Italian Space Agency (2021), and the National Research & Innovation Agency, Indonesia (2022), respectively. 

The 2023 Space Economy Leaders Meeting is being held in Bengaluru from July 6 to 7. The G20 heads of space agencies and the heads of G20 space industries have come together for the meeting. 

The Indian space economy ecosystem includes ISRO, Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe), and New Space India Limited (NSIL), and also academia, startups and the industry.

The Indian space segments which contribute to the country's space economy are satellite manufacturing, launch services, ground segment and satellite services. Satellite manufacturing is projected to have a market value of $3.2 billion by 2025, ground segment a market value of $4 billion, launch services a market value of $1,046.6 million, and satellite services a market value of $4.6 billion, according to a joint report by Ernst & Young (EY) and the Indian Space Association (ISpA), the apex industry body created to be the collective voice of the Indian space industry. 

ISpA unveiled the report titled 'Developing the space ecosystem in India: focusing on inclusive growth' on October 10, 2022, on the occasion of its first anniversary. 

The Indian space economy is projected to grow to $12.8466 billion by 2025.