The government on Thursday approved the Indian Space Policy 2023, which seeks to institutionalize private sector participation in the space sector, with ISRO focusing on research and development of advanced space technologies.
The Indian Space Policy-2023, approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also outlined the roles and responsibilities of ISRO, space sector PSU NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) and the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-) Has gone. space).
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“In short, the Indian space policy will provide clarity on the role of established components (in the recent past),” Union Minister Jitendra Singh told reporters here.
Singh said the policy would allow the private sector to participate in end-to-end space activities which include making satellites, rockets and launch vehicles, data collection and dissemination.
He said strategic activities related to the space sector would be carried out by NSIL, a public sector undertaking under the Department of Space, which would operate in a demand-driven mode.
When contacted, ISRO Chairman S Somnath told PTI that the space policy will focus on increasing the participation of private companies in the space sector.
Somnath said the recently created INSPACe would be the interface between the Indian Space Research Organization and non-governmental organizations.
He said the policy creates a framework for the private sector to use ISRO’s facilities for a small fee and encourages them to invest in building new infrastructure for the sector.
Somnath said ISRO would not undertake any operational and production work for the space sector and would focus its energies on the development of new technologies, new systems and research and development.
The operational portion of ISRO’s missions will be transferred to NewSpace India Limited, a public sector undertaking under the Department of Space.
Somnath said India’s share in the global space economy is currently less than two per cent and the space policy will help increase it to 10 per cent in the future.
Lt Gen A.K. Bhatt (retd), Director General of the Indian Space Association, told PTI.
Bhatt said that the private sector was waiting for this policy for a long time and its announcement on Thursday came as a pleasant surprise.
“We eagerly await the details of the policy. We would like to thank the Prime Minister for his visionary leadership, with a special focus on long-awaited reforms in the Indian space sector,” Bhatt said.