India’s space-tech sector experienced remarkable growth, expanding from a single startup in 2014 to over 250 by 2024, ISRO Chairman Dr S. Somanath said at Huddle Global 2024, Kerala’s flagship startup festival.
In 2023 alone, space startups attracted Rs 1,000 crore in investments, supported by over 450 MSMEs and more than 50 large companies actively driving the sector’s rapid expansion.
Dr Somanath noted that India’s space industry is undergoing a transformative shift, with private players and startups taking a pivotal role in enhancing the country’s global presence.
“Despite India’s status as a space power, its share of the USD 386 billion global space economy remains at just 2 per cent. The goal is to raise this to USD 500 billion by 2030 and USD 1.5 trillion by 2047,” he said during his address on Friday at Kovalam in Thiruvananthapuram.
Dr Somanath highlighted the potential for growth, pointing out that India currently has only 15 operational satellites, far fewer than its capability to deploy up to 500. “Private companies are now emerging with the ability to manufacture and launch satellites, and even private launchpads are becoming a reality,” he added.
Future projects, including Gaganyaan, India’s human spaceflight program, and the Indian Space Station, will rely heavily on public-private collaborations. Opportunities abound in areas such as small satellite design, geospatial solutions, communication systems, and orbital transfer vehicles.
Dr Somanath also discussed ISRO’s ongoing technology transfer initiatives aimed at commercializing research for broader applications.
On the global front, he highlighted India’s partnerships with 61 countries and joint missions like NISAR (NASA), TRISHNA (France), and the Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (Japan).
When asked about Elon Musk’s vision of interplanetary habitation, Dr Somanath lauded the ambition, aligning it with humanity’s inherent drive to explore. “It’s in our nature to travel and expand from the very beginning,” he remarked.