Weeks after receiving the Union Cabinet’s approval, the Centre on Thursday, April 20, publicly released the Indian Space Policy, 2023. 

India’s aspirations to lead the global spacetech revolution and significantly strengthen the domestic startup environment are laid out in an 11-page document. The strategy intends to establish a favorable environment to accelerate technology development and promote a “flourishing commercial presence” in the space sector with a view to assisting the local spacetech sector. 

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), and other space institutions have their tasks and responsibilities outlined in the policy.NSIL has been assigned with the responsibility of commercializing space technology and platforms while IN-SPACe has been designated as the nodal authority for promoting and authorizing space activities in the nation.

The paper seeks to strengthen, facilitate, and promote space capabilities for the nation’s socioeconomic development, security, and peaceful space exploration. 

The new space strategy states that “the government will concentrate on promoting space-related education and innovation, including support to space-sector startups.”

The largest gainers from the new strategy appear to be startups, notwithstanding the abundance of sops that have been offered. The paper has expanded startup access to the space industry and outlines a wide range of end-to-end operations that non-governmental entities (NGEs) are permitted to carry out in accordance with current legal frameworks. 

In accordance with the new policy, businesses will be permitted to develop and run ground facilities for the operation of space objects, such as satellite control centers, and NGEs will be encouraged to offer national and international space-based communications networks. 

Global and regional firms that have already applied for SatCom licenses include Jio Space Tech, Airtel-backed OneWeb, and Elon Musk’s Starlink.  The encouragement to run ground facilities, on the other side, will help firms like AgniKul, Skyroot Aerospace, and Dhruva Space and boost the neighborhood ecosystem. 

Private businesses will also be able to put up SatCom objects and remote-sensing satellite systems for communication and other uses by using local orbital resources. 

These NGEs will be permitted to create, produce, and market technology for satellite navigation, communication, space travel, and remote sensing, among other things. Additionally, the policy calls for the development of launch infrastructure and the conduct of space technology research. 

The companies in the spacetech industry will also be free to engage in any commercial space activity that has been authorized by the IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre). 

A five-pronged strategy will be used by the policy to advance the spacetech industry:

By promoting cutting-edge R&D in the space industry 

  • utilizing space technology to deliver public goods and services for national priorities
  • By establishing a reliable and consistent regulatory environment 
  • By fostering space-related education and assisting start-ups in the field
  • using space as a catalyst for the advancement of technology as a whole and encouraging a scientific mindset 
  • By fostering and supporting greater private sector involvement across the whole space economy value chain
  • However, there was no clarification regarding the new space policy’s treatment of foreign direct investment (FDI), which is essential for luring high-value international companies. Senior business leaders allegedly held out hope that the Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT) will soon publish FDI guidelines for the satellite and space industries.

The government unlocks the data vault 

Additionally, the regulation addressed a long-standing need from companies looking for increased access to satellite and related data. Through its numerous limbs, the Centre will disseminate high-resolution earth observation data and satellite-based remote sensing data. 

Free and open access to remote sensing data with a Ground Sample Distance (GSD) of 5 meters will be provided. NGEs will need to pay a specific amount for access to data with GSD less than 5 meters, but government entities will have free access to it.  Due to national security concerns, the startups will also need to request IN-SPACe authorization before disseminating data with high resolution (GSD less than 30 cm).

Additionally, ISRO would make historical satellite data ‘free and open’ly available. This action will make it possible for private businesses and startups to access a vast amount of data and create products for a variety of applications on top of it. Researchers and professionals will be able to further broaden their resource bases thanks to this knowledge, which will help encourage R&D and innovation across the nation.  The policy also contemplates contributing crucial remote sensing satellite data for disaster management to global initiatives. 

In general, the Department of Science will serve as the central organisation for carrying out the Indian Space Policy 2023 and developing any mechanisms to deal with problems brought on by space activity. Additionally, the agency will create a legal framework for ethical and sustainable space operations.

The Centre wants to enable a healthy space ecosystem by giving the spacetech industry “regulatory certainty” through the policy.

Local spacetech businesses, who have recently experienced a resurgence in growth as a result of the liberalization of space beginning in 2020, would immediately profit from the framework. While the prior changes created a large number of new agencies, the 2023 policy seeks to go farther, empower them, and give the ecosystem more regulatory heft. 

Many new players have emerged as a result of the space’s expansion, including Dhruva, AgniKul, Pixxel, and Skyroot. In addition, this has rekindled investor interest, which boosted the spacetech sector in 2022 despite the challenging funding year. These players are supported by well-known figures from around the world and have raised millions of dollars in funding overall.