The global space economy was $ 386 billion in 2021 with India’s share in it at 2%.
India is looking at easing foreign direct investment (FDI) rules in the space sector to attract overseas players, secretary in the Department for Promotion Of Industry and Internal Trade Rajesh Kumar Singh said Monday.
At present, FDI policy only allows up to 100% for establishment and operations of satellites with prior government approval. The review will enable the private sector to operate in other areas related to space and with foreign partners and investments.
As the space sector is one of the strategic sectors, government approval is likely to be mandatory before bringing in FDI.
Additional areas that could be opened for FDI include launch vehicle operations and manufacturing and subsystem manufacturing, reports suggest.
Several non-government entities have expressed interest in participating in the space sector and this has already resulted in some successes like launch of private satellites and rockets. Private launchpads, control centres and private satellite assembly facilities have been built in the country.
Recently the government has approved the Indian Space Policy – 2023 which envisages a greater role for the private sector across the entire value chain of space activities.The policy aims to unlock the potential of India in the space sector, he said.
Globally, the private sector has played an increasingly important role in the global space economy with companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic and Arianespace having revolutionised the sector by reducing costs and turnaround time. In India the private sector has been limited to being suppliers or vendors to the government space programme. The Space Policy seeks to enable private entities within the Indian space sector to establish themselves as independent players capable of the entire spectrum of space activities.
Since the space sector has been opened up for private participation more than 250 applications from MSMEs, start-ups, academia, and large established business houses have been filed for authorization, hand-holding, facility support and consultancy and technology transfer.
The global space economy was $ 386 billion in 2021 with India’s share in it at 2%. The US has the biggest share of 40% and the UK 7%. From $7.6 billion in 2021, India’s space sector is expected to grow to $50 billion by 2025, according to government projections. India can increase its share of the space market to 9% by 2030, according to government projections.
Source:financialexpress.com