NEW DELHI, Feb 8 : Today, the Rajya Sabha was briefed by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy, and Space about a number of government efforts aimed at increasing space start-ups. The Minister declared, “The Government of India has released Indian Space Policy 2023, which defines the roles and responsibilities of all the stakeholders contributing to the overall Indian space ecosystems.”Dr. Jitendra Singh responded to a question by listing a number of programmes that IN-SPACe has announced and put into place to support and encourage the private sector. These programmes include the Seed Fund Scheme, the Pricing Support Policy, Mentorship support, the Design Lab for NGEs, the Skill Development in Space Sector, the Technology Transfer to NGEs, and regular meetings and roundtables with the national and international industries to discuss possible business opportunities.About 51 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) have been inked by IN-SPACe with Non-Governmental Entities (NGEs) to supply the required assistance for the implementation of space systems and applications that these NGEs envision. This is anticipated to boost industry participation in the production of launch vehicles and satellites. He said that there are roughly 189 start-ups registered overall on the Digital Platform. Dr Jitendra Singh said that as of right present, ISRO has no plans for deep space probes. However, he said that conceptualization work is being done for more ambitious space exploration projects, such carrying on with the human spaceflight programme and sending more follow-up flights to the Moon and the Bhartiya Antriksh Station.The “Make in India” space technology effort is a calculated move to increase homegrown production, creativity, and independence in the space industry. Space technology is independent and serves both the upstream and downstream industries. Over the past five years, the Indian space programme has reached various new heights, demonstrating indigenous capabilities across all segments of space activities. This progress has been made possible in large part by the contribution of local enterprises. Important accomplishments include the creation of SSLV, the commercial launches of LVM3 and PSLV, earth observation satellites, navigation satellites, soft landings and moon rovings, the mission to study the Sun (Aditya-L1), and significant advancements towards the demonstration of human space travel.The following are some of the main points of the Minister’s response regarding the Made in India initiative and its results. Domestic Space Hardware Manufacturing: Through IN-SPACe and ISRO, respectively, critical technologies and industrial ecosystems are being created. Indian NGEs are setting up production facilities for satellites and space systems. NGEs are setting up systems realisation facilities for launch vehicles.According to Dr. Jitendra Singh, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the United States Aerospace Administration (NASA) are already collaborating on the realisation of a combined satellite mission called “NISAR (NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar),” which is currently in the advanced stages of development. Thermo Infrared Imaging Satellite for High Resolution Natural Resource Assessment, or TRISHNA, is a collaborative satellite mission that ISRO and CNES (the French National Space Agency) are implementing. The programme is still in its early phases. To achieve a cooperative lunar polar exploration mission, ISRO and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) conducted a feasibility assessment.The Indian Space Policy-2023, which gives the private sector the freedom to innovate and pursue end-to-end space-related activities, was recently announced. Furthermore, to promote, approve, and encourage private sector participation in the space sector, the India National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) has been operating as a single-window agency. With the goal of improving the Indian space program’s ability to advance programmatic priorities, expanding ground station networks, strengthening space science and Earth observation data bases, improving products and services through cooperative experiments, and building platforms for the influx of expertise, ISRO actively seeks out international collaboration.
