What ISRO and INSPACe plan to do to Indian space sector
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- The story: India will allow overseas companies to invest in the space sector with a revised foreign direct investment (FDI) policy, taking the next step in opening up the sector to not only private players within the country but also abroad. This was said by the chairperson of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
- INSPACe: India will set targets to increase its share in the global space economy from less than 2% at the moment to 10%. This was informed by Dr Pawan Goenka, the chairperson designate of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (INSPACe). It is the body responsible for promoting and regulating space activity in the country.
- The space FDI policy will open huge opportunities for space companies to invest in India, ensuring sustained engagement between Indian and overseas companies to benefit both.
- The space sector will not only be open in India but also to foreign investments.
- ISRO will concentrate on research and development as well as space science missions. It will work on overcoming challenges and reducing the technological gaps in a timely and more responsive manner.
- Government move: In 2020, the Union government opened up the space sector to private players, in June 2020, leading to a growth in the space start-ups. Several were working on space projects but were collaborating with other countries due to a lack of framework in India. An interim INSPACe, headed by Isro’s scientific secretary Dr Umamaheshwaran, is in the process of looking at nearly 40 applications by the industry for various space missions and space-based applications.
- Regulatory set-up: The regulatory mechanisms for INSPACe are under review. The government has a draft space activities bill, 2017 which provides a regulatory framework, but has not been tabled yet. In addition, the Department of Space is also finalising new policies on satellite-based communication and remote sensing to aid penetration of the industry in the space applications domain. The drafts of other policies to help the private sector such as satellite-based navigation technology are also being edited.
- What Pawan Goenka says: He is a former director at Mahindra & Mahindra and the chairperson designate of INSPACe. He said that thohgh India was one of the top space faring nations, it performed poorly when it comes to the space economy.
- Space is a $440 billion sector globally but India has less than 2% share even though India is a leading space fairing country.
- He said investment by space sector startups in India is just $21 to $22 million, less than 0.5% of that by global startups.
- Budget problem: ISRO’s budget hasn’t increased in recent times and that is an important driver of foreign investment. This step can create competition for Indian players but it is more likely to create partnerships. The newer, smaller space start-ups are always looking for various avenues for funding; youngsters are putting their money into the start-ups.
- Summary: The pandemic has been a major dampener for ISRO's own launches. Now the government wants to accelerate everything, and catch up soon. But in parallel, news came that ISRO was directed to put on hold the recruitment of scientific and technical personnel until further orders in the light of the space sector reforms initiated by the Central government. In a September 3 letter to the directors of the various ISRO centres, the Department of Space (DoS) stated that the manpower requirement in the scientific and technical categories was being reassessed in view of the sectoral reforms. The DoS decision was applicable to recruitments made via multiple modes, including direct recruitment by the centres, centralised recruitment and campus recruitments through the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT). The centres have also been directed to cease the hiring of personnel on contract until further orders. The ISRO Staff Association strongly denounced the move to privatise the space sector. ( news reference - https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/isro-centres-told-to-stop-manpower-intake/article36446720.ece )
- EXAM QUESTIONS: (1) Explain the changes that may arrive once Indian space sector is fully opened up for private sector. (2) Why was a freeze on recruitments in ISRO announced? (3) If large corporates enter space sector, will ISRO become another BSNL? Explain.
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