Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh called upon industry leaders to significantly scale up investments and participation in India's space sector to accelerate the development of globally competitive indigenous technologies and reduce dependence on external sources. Addressing the 10th IN-SPACe Industry Connect, the Minister emphasized that achieving leadership in the global space economy requires stronger participation from established industries through enhanced funding, manufacturing strength, and market access.
Dr. Singh highlighted that the opening up of the space sector to private participation under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership marked a historic shift in India's approach to strategic sectors. The reforms were followed by the Indian Space Policy 2023, which provided strategic direction and regulatory clarity to stakeholders. The liberalization of the Foreign Direct Investment regime has helped attract investments and improve India's integration with global value chains.
The establishment of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) was described as a major institutional reform that has enabled, promoted, authorized, and supervised non-governmental participation across the entire space value chain. The government has introduced a ₹1,000 crore Venture Capital Fund and a ₹500 crore Technology Adoption Fund to facilitate innovation and commercialization in the sector. Additional initiatives include seed funding, incubation support, skill development programmes, and an AICTE-approved Space Technology curriculum to build a future-ready talent pipeline.
India's private space ecosystem has expanded from a handful of pioneering enterprises to over 400 start-ups and several hundred large and small companies. Indian enterprises are developing launch vehicles, satellites, propulsion systems, Earth observation applications, space situational awareness capabilities, and downstream solutions. Companies mentioned include Skyroot Aerospace, Agnikul Cosmos, Pixxel, Galaxeye, Digantara, and Dhruva Space as exemplifying India's entrepreneurial capabilities.
The Minister acknowledged industry concerns regarding the need for faster approvals, streamlined processes, and an effective single-window mechanism, emphasizing that governance should incentivize innovation rather than create barriers. He called for greater collaboration between government, industry, academia, investors, and state governments to realize the vision of Atmanirbhar Antariksh (self-reliant space sector), noting that start-up agility must be complemented by the scale and financial strength of established industries.