India’s space sector takes off with around 440 startups, says ISRO chief

India’s space sector now has around 440 startups, marking a significant expansion of private participation in an industry that was once dominated by government institutions, ISRO Chairman and Department of Space Secretary Dr V. Narayanan said at the third National Space Day celebrations in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Narayanan said the increase in the number of startups had followed reforms in the space sector that opened greater opportunities for private companies and entrepreneurs.

The figure places India’s emerging private space ecosystem at the centre of the country’s broader effort to expand its role in the global space industry.

“After the reforms in the space sector, there has been a significant increase in the number of startups in the country, and today around 440 startups are operating in the space sector,” Narayanan said.

The ISRO chairman said India’s space programme, which began in 1962, had developed from its early years into a programme with applications directly serving ordinary citizens.

Narayanan highlighted some of the country’s major achievements, including Chandrayaan-1’s discovery of water molecules on the Moon, the advanced camera technology used on Chandrayaan-2 and the successful soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 near the lunar south pole on August 23, 2023.

National Space Day is observed to commemorate the Chandrayaan-3 achievement. The expansion of the private sector is also taking place as India pursues larger missions.

"The country is working on the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme and the proposed Bharatiya Antariksha Station. The first module of the space station has been approved, with the target of establishing the station by 2035," he said.

The event was organised by ISRO’s Space Applications Centre under the theme ‘Towards Viksit Bharat: Innovating, Collaborating and Aspiring to Global Space Leadership’.

The programme also included discussions on preparing young people for careers in space science and technology, expanding India’s new space ecosystem and developing international collaboration.

Representatives from academic and research institutions, private space companies, startups and industry participated in the discussions.

The event also saw awards presented to winning teams of the ISRO Robotics Challenge, Indian Space Hackathon and Dr Vikram Sarabhai Space Quiz.

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