Why in news?

• The Centre’s updated Space Policy, cleared by the Union Cabinet on April 6 but made public recently, has drawn measured optimism from the India’s budding private sector start-up space.

What’s in today’s article?

• Space sector of India
• Indian Space Policy 2023

Space Sector of India

• ISRO has an exceptional success rate and is the 6th largest space agency globally.
• India has over 400 private space companies and ranks fifth globally in terms of the number of space companies.
• The satellite manufacturing capabilities are expected to reach USD 3.2 billion by 2025.
• ISRO also launched a student outreach program called SAMVAD to encourage space research among young minds.

Indian Space Policy 2023

• About
  • The Indian Space Policy 2023 is a comprehensive set of guidelines that outlines the roles and responsibilities of different entities in the Indian space sector.
  • The policy is expected to pave the way for much-needed clarity in space reforms and encourage private industry participation in the space economy.
  • It aims to encourage and institutionalize private sector participation in India's space sector, with the ISRO primarily focusing on research and development of advanced space technologies.
• Objectives
  • To augment space capabilities;
  • Enable, encourage and develop a flourishing commercial presence in space;
  • Use space as a driver of technology development and derive benefits in allied areas;
  • Pursue international relations, and create an ecosystem for effective implementation of space applications among all stakeholders

What are the key features of the Indian Space Policy 2023?

• Creates four distinct, but related entities
  • The policy creates four distinct, but related entities, that will facilitate greater private sector participation in activities that have usually been the traditional domain of ISRO.
  • These four entities are:
    • Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
    • IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre)
    • New Space India Limited (NSIL)
    • Department of Space
• Private companies allowed to undertake end-to-end space activity
  • Private companies, referred to as non-governmental entities in the policy, will be allowed to undertake end-to-end space activity.
  • These activities include –
    • Launching and operating satellites, developing rockets, creating ground stations, building spaceports and mobile launch platforms; and
    • Providing services like communication, remote sensing and navigation, nationally and internationally.
• Other roles envisaged for private entities
  • Private entities have also been encouraged to develop space situational awareness capabilities.
    • Space situational awareness capabilities is a mechanism to track objects in space and avoid collision of satellites and space stations with each other or space debris.
  • The policy also says that private players can engage in commercial recovery of asteroids or space resources.
  • Private participation will be limited to Indian companies.
    • The question of whether foreign direct investment via the automatic route will be permitted in space is as yet unresolved and pending government approval.
• Role of the IN-SPACe
• As per the policy, IN-SPACe will be the single-window agency for authorisation of all space activities.
• It will also develop space industry standards, promote identified space activities and work with academia to widen the space ecosystem and enable industry-academia linkages.
• Role of ISRO
  • ISRO, meanwhile, has been asked to move away from routine activities and focus on research and innovation.
  • This will mean developing new space technologies and applications in order to maintain India’s edge in the areas of space infrastructure, space transportation, space applications, capacity building and human spaceflight.
• Role of New Space India Ltd
  • The government’s commercial arm, New Space India Ltd, has been asked to commercialise technologies and platforms created by government entities.
  • It has also been tasked to manufacture, lease, or buy space technologies or assets, and provide space-based services to government as well as private entities.
• Role of the Department of Space
  • The Department of Space has been asked to implement the policy, interpret and clarify any ambiguities and establish a framework for safe and sustainable space operations.
  • It will be the nodal department for implementing space technologies.
  • It will also look after international cooperation and coordination in the area of global space governance and programmes in consultation with Ministry of External Affairs.
  • It has also been tasked to create an appropriate mechanism to resolve disputes arising out of space activity.
• Enables open satellite data access
  • Satellite images with a ground sample distance (GSD) greater than five metres (a satellite image where two adjacent pixels represent points five metres apart on the ground) would be freely available.
  • However, those with a GSD less than 30 cm will require INSPACe authorisation due to national security considerations.