India Unveils Space Policy 2023 to Boost Homegrown Startups in Spacetech Industry

• ByStartupStory     |    April 21, 2023

Weeks after receiving the Union Cabinet’s approval, the Centre on Thursday, April 20, publicly released the Indian Space Policy, 2023. 

India’s aspirations to lead the global spacetech revolution and significantly strengthen the domestic startup environment are laid out in an 11-page document. The strategy intends to establish a favourable environment to accelerate technology development and promote a “flourishing commercial presence” in the space sector with a view to assisting the local spacetech sector. 

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), and other space institutions have their tasks and responsibilities outlined in the policy.

IN-SPACe has been appointed as the nodal body for promoting and authorising space activities in the country, while NSIL will be responsible for commercialising space technologies and platforms. The policy seeks to augment, enable, and encourage space capabilities for socio-economic development, security, and peaceful exploration of outer space. It also highlights the government’s commitment to promoting space-related education and innovation, including support for space sector startups.

“The government will focus on… promoting space-related education and innovation, including support to space-sector startups,” notes the new space policy.

NGEs will be encouraged to offer national and international space-based communication systems, as well as establish and operate ground facilities for satellite control centres. This will benefit companies like Starlink, OneWeb, and Jio Space Tech, all of which have already applied for SatCom licenses.

Also, startups like AgniKul, Skyroot Aerospace, and Dhruva Space will be able to operate ground facilities and develop technologies for satellite navigation, communication, space transportation, and remote sensing. The policy also envisages the establishment of launch infrastructure and the undertaking of research in the spacetech domain. The framework will enable spacetech players to undertake any commercial space activity approved by IN-SPACe.

The Indian spacetech industry has witnessed significant growth in recent years due to liberalisation since 2020, which has attracted renewed investor interest. Companies like Dhruva, AgniKul, Pixxel, and Skyroot have raised millions of dollars in cumulative funding and are backed by marquee names from around the globe. The homegrown commercial spacetech market is projected to reach a market size of $77 billion by 2030. The 2023 policy aims to empower existing agencies and give regulatory heft to the ecosystem, further boosting the growth of the industry.

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