BENGALURU: At a session at the Bengaluru Space Expo on Tuesday, where space-based startups pitched themselves to potential investors, Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) Chairman Dr Pawan Goenka asked the audience to disregard media reports about the future of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Goenka’s assertion follows ISRO’s public statement on September 6, refuting claims of its potential privatisation as “completely baseless and incorrect.”
Calling for all stakeholders, public and private, in the country’s space sector to come together, Goenka echoed ISRO’s dismissal, while adding that he was not in a position to deliver any “written commitments”.
“We can build $44 billion worth of supplies by 2033, but will we have a commensurate demand for them? There is a renewed sense in the Union government that we are not fully leveraging the power of space. There is also a sense of urgency there. I do not know what the result will be; that is the caveat,” said a sceptical Goenka.
However, Goenka tempered his scepticism with optimism about the sector’s future. “I am reasonably convinced that by 2032-2033, we will be utilising space data into tangible value. The world is waking up to what ISRO and India can do. Countries like Japan see India both as a market and a source of technology. Our vendor base is also discovering what they can do outside India, beyond supplying to ISRO,” he said.
At the same time, Goenka cautioned startups against overselling themselves. “Do your homework. Don’t be in so much of a hurry that you forget to take care of the science. Don’t prioritise engineering over science,” he added.
Union Ministry of Commerce Joint Secretary Manish Chadha said “We have market access agreements with 61 countries, and need to build on them,” he added.
