Expo 2020 Dubai: India invites global stakeholders to invest in country's space sector

Dubai - India is expected to contribute about $40-50 billion to the sector by 2025

Nandini Sircar

Published: Sun 17 Oct 2021, 4:51 PM

Last updated: Sun 17 Oct 2021, 4:52 PM

India is eager to contribute to the global space sector and is aiming to increase industry participation and international collaborations.

That was the message from Dr K Sivan, chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Bangalore, India, while addressing the inaugural session on ‘Future of Space-International Participations & Collaborations’ at the the India pavilion at Expo 2020.

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In a video message, he said he was glad that the Expo 2020 showcased space at the mega event.

"The Indian space sector is one of the potential opportunities that can be offered to global industries. With our rich heritage in space technology, the need was felt to develop a local space related economy and also considering the growing demand in space based applications and technology," he said.

Dr Sivan added that the Indian government has recognised the need for the democratisation of space.

"It has announced reforms in the space sector by enabling private industries to take up space activities," he said.

Highlighting the reforms in the sector, Dr Sivan said that the government is open to inviting private players in the space sector and ISRO is tying up with start-ups and industries.

The Indian industry is positively reciprocating by expressing self-reliance in the space domain. Especially start-ups are aggressively progressing towards qualifying various critical systems with innovative ideas," he said.

"So, there are turning points towards setting up a fertile ecosystem for space industries and institutions to create new job opportunities, encourage innovation and at the same time contribute to the global space economy. India is focusing on international collaborations, including bilateral and multilateral partnerships.”

He also emphasised the need to make outer space safe and that it is a collective responsibility of the government and non-government agencies to ensure that.

“ISRO will be supportive of all international collaborations which benefit humanity,” he said.

Delivering the keynote address virtually, Dr Pawan Goenka, chairman of Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) said that India aspires to launch a dozen missions every year going ahead as against four to five currently.

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He added that the country is working on Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) and advanced applications.

“India will also offer private services to other countries and cooperate with international agencies to develop innovative missions with cost-effective and agile launch vehicles. It’s a new India that is emerging in the space sector.

“Global Space sector is expected to touch a trillion dollars by the end of this decade and the sector is going through a major transformation," he said.

Speaking at the panel discussion on the sidelines of the event, Mr Umamaheshwaran R, scientific secretary at ISRO, said that by supporting the investments from the private sector, India would be able to contribute significantly to the $360 billion invested in the space sector globally. India is expected to contribute about $40-50 billion by 2025.