Pawan Goenka, chairman of the Indian National Space Promotion & Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), announced India's plans to launch 25 small satellites annually using three Small Satellite Launch Vehicles (SSLVs). These SSLVs include Skyroot’s Vikram, Agnikul’s Agnibaan, and ISRO’s SSLV, which is being privatised. A dedicated launch centre for small satellite launches is also being set up.

The industry and government are focusing on making India a hub for small satellite launches, manufacturing and design, ground stations for satellite communication, and space applications and data services.

Private Sector Investment According to Goenka, private sector funding is approaching $1 billion, with projects awarded to ATL for launching a communication satellite with a ₹3,000 crore investment, a public-private partnership for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites expected to be around ₹1,200 crore, and SSLV development potentially seeing another ₹1,500 crore investment.

India is setting up a dedicated launch centre for small satellite launches. The Kulasekarapattinam spaceport in Tamil Nadu, developed especially for small launches, will be ready in two years and will coincide with SSLV tech transfer to the private sector.

ISRO is working to make India’s own regional navigation system (NaVIC) easily accessible to civilians by introducing seven navigation satellites with the new L1 band that will make NaVIC signals accessible in civilians’ mobile phones with a compatible chipset.

India aims for a $44 billion space economy by 2033, with $22 billion in investments.

Framework for private ground stations have been initiated. IN-SPACe has authorised four start-ups to set up private ground stations in India.

Agencies