BENGALURU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday set the tone and momentum for the space sector till 2047. He asked the private sector if creating five unicorns in the space domain in the next five years was achievable.
He also asked the private sector to come forward and launch 50 rockets every year, that is, one a week. Modi said the country is working on new space sectoral reforms and that India will soon launch the first PSLV rocket built by the private sector. India’s first communication satellite, which is under development, will also soon be launched, he said.
Virtually participating in the second National Space Day 2025 celebrations, Modi said preparations to launch the Earth Observation Satellite Constellation under a public-private partnership are also underway. Appreciating the growth of the space sector in the last 11 years and the involvement of over 350 start-ups in space technologies, the PM asked people to join the astronaut pool that is being created.
Modi said soon India will launch its Gaganyaan mission and the Bharatiya Antariksh Space Station. “We have already gone to the Moon and Mars and now there is a need to go to the deeper regions of space where many mysteries lie. Beyond the galaxy lies our horizon,” the PM said, adding that India is on the path of reform, perform and transform. “Many reforms have been done in the space sector over the years. India’s space sector policies also have no finality.”
The PM added that the Indian space sector is no longer limited to the launch of satellites, but is playing an essential role in ease of living, giving alerts to fishermen, disaster alerts and even government projects including PM Gati Shakti. He said space technology should come up with solutions for people.
Also present on the occasion, Minister of State for Space Dr Jitendra Singh said that in 2040, India will make its first declaration from the Moon’s surface in 2040 for 2047.
Singh said that in the present-day scenario, limited time is being spent by space sector agencies in making rockets, with 80% of the work focused on space applications in different sectors. The use of space science technology during Operation Sindoor is one recent example of this.
He said that space science has now become a part of every household and many do not even realise it. It is also being used by the government in the implementation and evaluation of schemes and projects including PM Gati Shakti. “Today India is not just using space data for its own work but is also sharing it with other countries,” Singh added.