The number of Space Start-Ups has gone up, from just 1 in 2014 to 229 in 2024, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
He said that following the sectoral reforms, the Indian space arena is witnessing a rapid growth of start-ups and private firms. "ISRO,
towards facilitating a vibrant space ecosystem in India, has been extending its technical support, sharing its expertise and facility utilisation through IN-SPACe," he said.
The Minister also informed that ISRO has been extending technical support to several space start-ups involved in launch vehicle building, satellite development, space applications, and ground systems.
The Minister also listed the major initiatives taken by the government to encourage more entrepreneurs to enter the space tech sector and contribute to the Indian space economy, including the creation of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization
Centre (IN-SPACe) in the Department of Space for promoting, authorising, and overseeing the activities of non-government entities (NGEs) in the Space Sector.
The other initiatives include formulation of the Indian Space Policy — 2023 by the Government to provide regulatory certainty to space
activities by various stakeholders, in order to create a thriving space ecosystem.
"In order to ease access to foreign capital by Indian NGEs, IN-SPACe along with the Department of Space has brought out a revised FDI policy for Space Sector. IN-SPACe has conceptualized and launched "IN-SPACe Pre-Incubation Entrepreneurship (PIE) Development
Program". This program will not only help to transform the idea into a prototype but also help in the development of entrepreneurs and allied business skills," the Minister added.
Nambi Narayanan Credits Chandrayaan-3's Success For Boost In Start-Ups
The historic success of Chandrayaan-3, the Indian Space Research Organisation's Moon mission, has captured the attention of several startups to tap the Indian space sector, said former scientist Nambi Narayanan. Speaking at the launch of the space technology accelerator Vaanam (Tamil word meaning sky) on Wednesday, Narayanan observed that though there are about 189 startups in space technology, the 'majority' of them were engaged in what ISRO did 50 years ago.
"Why do you want to do something that ISRO did 50 years ago? You need to do what ISRO needs today and in that, you will be able to compete globally, particularly with other countries," he said.
Narayanan expressed his long-term desire to set up an Asia Aeronautics Space Agency (AASA) comprising Asian countries, in line with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States. "You may induct countries like Maldives, Myanmar if they are interested (to set up the Asian Space Agency)" he said.
He said academic institutions should forge a partnership with space agencies like ISRO to foster education on space technology to students. He also pointed it was Princeton University that forged a partnership with NASA to tap the space sector allowing students to explore the opportunities in space tech.
"We need to tell kids, schools about space technology. It should be taken into the curriculum," he said and opined that a space exploration facility be set up to encourage kids.
"Maybe, the space exploration facility can accommodate about 100 students who will get an opportunity to see and feel how it will be in space and how other planets look from Earth. It may be like a simulation. This will encourage them ", Narayanan added.
Tamil Nadu Minister for Industries TRB Rajaa, who was also present at the event, said the achievements of space scientists and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) should be celebrated.
Welcoming Narayanan's view, Rajaa remarked that the achievements of ISRO and space scientists should be celebrated and showcased to the world.
"We need to celebrate these victories, instead of showcasing it as just one event. Achievements of ISRO and space scientists like Narayanan should be told (to the world)" he said.
The Minister also stressed that Chennai holds third position in the presence of startups engaged in the space sector while the majority of such startups were based out of Bengaluru. Referring to the DMK government's ambitious 'Naan Mudhalvan' scheme, Minister Raja said it enables youngsters to explore opportunities in various sectors including 'space sector'.