BENGALURU: Experts in the space domain have been both excited and wary of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s decision to boost private sector undertakings in India’s space programme. While they welcome the policy, they express concern over data sharing. “It comes as good news to several Indian space start-ups, industries and ISRO’s sub-contractors,” said Rakesh Sasibhushan, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Antrix Corporation Limited (ACL), the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
India has about 50 start-ups in the space domain. “With ISRO’s expertise and hand-holding , which was lacking till date, Indian start-ups and private industries now stand a great chance of succeeding globally,” he told The New Indian Express. This also would help capture a fair share of both Indian and foreign market, thereby, getting India the much-needed export revenue to actively contribute to the $5 trillion economy goal. This, with the benefit of Indian manufacturing costs being very attractive, he said.
“Lack of regulations has been affecting start-ups’ progress and access to capital,” he said. Cognizant of the private sector’s contribution , former ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said 60 per cent of ISRO’s budget is spent through industries. However, he wondered how many would take up the challenge to enter the space sector, as “Space exploration is still more complex because returns are negative and it is only a long- term investment.” However, experts expressed a few concerns. One, FDI norms are yet to be clarified by the Department of Space or the government.
The space sector is expecting clear details in the upcoming ‘Space Law’ and also awaiting further policy announcements -- on whether private companies from outside India will be able to develop their own satellites/set up their labs here. Two, there is also a tangible concern about data sharing. Madhavan Nair said there is a need for a proper control mechanism to ensure that sensitive and critical technologies do not fall into wrong hands. Former ISRO chariman K Kasturirangan said Space is certainly a national and strategic activity and we should look at the policies carefully and make sure that the expansion is facilitated with an appropriate policy framework. (with inputs from PTI)