Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that India has acquired indigenous capabilities in the space sector across all domains
The Indian government on Wednesday informed the Lok Sabha that India’s share in the estimated USD 360-billion global space economy is approximately two per cent. Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh has reportedly said that India has acquired indigenous capabilities in the space sector across all domains, including space transportation systems, and space assets comprising a fleet of satellites catering to the needs of earth observation, satellite communication, meteorology, space science and navigation, according to news agency PTI report.
The minister additionally informed that India has ground infrastructure, and a host of operational programmes related to the applications of space technology to address national imperatives and the common problems of man and society. “The exact sizing of the Global Space Economy is a complex exercise and matter of much debate. A 2019 estimate pegs the global space economy at USD 360 billion with India’s share at approximately 2%,” the minister said.
The minister, in reply to a separate question, further informed that six startups were selected and supported by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with a grant-in-aid of a maximum of ₹50 lakh each in areas like geospatial information, propulsion and robotics, and augmented reality and virtual reality.
He said ISRO along with Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), and NITI Aayog launched the ANIC-ARISE-1.0 programme to seek, select, support and nurture technology-based innovations that solve sectoral challenges of national importance, according to the PTI report. Additionally, the minister said 24 start-ups submitted their proposals, out of which six were selected and supported with a grant-in-aid of a maximum of ₹50 lakh each.
The minister shared that ANIC-ARISE-1.0 has three space sector challenges to get project proposals from start-ups. These are geospatial information propulsion and Robotics/Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality, while also adding that ANIC-ARISE-2.0 has been launched with four space sector challenges – GIS solutions, propulsion, navigation and artificial intelligence/machine learning modelling for space applications, seeking project proposals from start-ups in these areas, according to the report. Singh further added that the elected start-ups will be supported with a grant-in-aid of a maximum of ₹50 lakh each, the report said.
(With inputs from PTI)
Source:thelivemint.com