The Indian space sector is expected to see new opportunities in the next few years and many new companies are expected to join the domain on the back of some draft policies and some reforms which have been introduced, a top representative at Indian Space Association (ISpA) said.

“There are a few draft policies which are in circulation, some in public domain put up for comments and some being worked out, but not yet put in the public domain for comments. And, we believe there are seven in pipeline and three more to come. So, there’s going to be eventually about 10 policies which the government will release and that is essentially where the future will get defined,” Jayant Patil, Chairman, ISpA told BusinessLine in an interview.

Growth in market share

Patil said globally, the space industry market stands at around $360 billion right now and India has just two per cent market share currently, which is expected to grow to somewhere around nine per cent in the next decade. “Today we see about 50 start-ups in the space sector, and I believe now that it is formally being asserted in terms of the opening of the sector, more start-ups should be coming in the launch segment or into the satellite segment…the real big thing, real big numbers will start coming when the data is available and the utilisation of data and customising it to each and every user’s requirement,” he said.

Also read: PM launches Indian Space Association, asks industrialists to participate in making space sector vibran t

On localisation of hardware, Patil said that everything was localised and that it was the one sector which was not import-dependent, except for satellites, and some of the equipment that goes with the satellite. He said that it was because the space sector has always remained under international sanctions.

However, some equipment used in in ground applications for tracking radars, and in the Satcom segment are still imported .

Asked about employability in this sector, Patil said that although completely controlled by the government, as of today, ISRO has about nothing less than 250 industries which are part of the ISRO ecosystem.

“I would believe that these 250(firms) and some of the start-ups that have been just been launched and we have are where the nucleus would lie. Now, alongside organisations like L&T and Hindustan Aeronautics which typically would be running a big show,there would be smaller ones too. So today, it’s difficult to really talk in terms of where it will go in terms of numbers because that will happen once the business numbers spin off in the form of employment,” Patil added.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW