India is positioning itself to play a bigger role in the global space industry, with ambitions to increase its market share from a modest 2% to 10% by 2030. Speaking at the Kerala Startup Mission's Huddle Global 2024, ISRO Chairman Dr S Somanath spoke about the country’s plans to capitalise on its growing space tech ecosystem.
India's space startup ecosystem has seen a meteoric rise in just a decade. "In 2014, there was only one space-related startup in India," Dr Somanath said. "By 2024, this number has grown to over 250." The space startup boom represents an exciting shift in the sector, where private players are now increasingly involved in manufacturing satellites, providing geospatial solutions, and even setting up their own launchpads.
In 2023 alone, Indian space startups attracted investments worth Rs 1,000 crore, according to him, a clear sign of the growing confidence in the sector’s potential. Over 450 MSMEs and more than 50 large companies are now part of this space revolution, contributing to satellite manufacturing, communication systems, orbital transfer vehicles, and more. This surge in private sector activity has the potential to dramatically expand India’s space capabilities. Currently, India has just 15 operational space satellites in orbit, a figure Dr Somanath believes could grow exponentially to 500 in the coming years.
ISRO’s push for private sector participation is also evident in future projects. With ambitious missions like the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme and the proposed Indian Space Station on the horizon, ISRO is encouraging collaboration with private companies to push the boundaries of space exploration.
India’s space programme has also garnered international attention. To date, ISRO has launched 431 foreign satellites and collaborated with 61 countries on various space projects. These joint missions include NISAR, a collaboration with NASA, the TRISHNA mission with France's CNES, the G20 Satellite, and the Lunar Polar Exploration mission with Japan’s JAXA.
Dr Somanath also touched upon the significance of space research in driving innovation in other sectors. "We have identified hundreds of sectors that will benefit from the research done for space missions," he noted. Some of these technologies, from satellite communication systems to geospatial solutions, are already being transferred to industries in India, creating new avenues for growth across sectors such as agriculture, telecommunications, and defence.
India’s aspirations for its space programme are also reflected in its plans to boost its share of the global space economy, which is currently valued at USD 386 billion. With efforts to raise this figure to USD 500 billion by 2030 and USD 1.5 trillion by 2047, the country is positioning itself as a major player in an industry that is expected to see exponential growth in the coming decades.
In a nod to the future of space exploration, Dr Somanath also commented on the vision of SpaceX founder Elon Musk, saying that the idea of interplanetary habitation is a natural extension of human exploration. "We started out from one place and spread to different continents. It has always been human nature to travel and explore," he remarked.