INDIAN STARTUPS SET TO LAUNCH THEIR OWN SATELLITES, TEST ROCKETS: UNION MINISTER JITENDRA SINGH

Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Science and Technology, MoS PMO, Space and Atomic Energy, announced today that Indian start-ups will soon launch space satellites and satellite constellations, as well as test their rockets.

The Minister further stated that five PSLVs are being manufactured in India by L&T and HAL, and that OneWeb is preparing to launch satellites via ISRO and NSIL. 

Dr. Jitendra Singh stated at the India Space Conclave in Delhi on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Indian Space Association, ISpA, that PM Modi's revolutionary and out-of-the-box decision to open up the space sector to private industry in June 2020 changed the very nature of the country's space ecosystem.

According to Dr. Jitendra Singh, the power and inventive potential of our young and private industrial company will lead the global space technology disruption in the next years. He expressed his optimism that India's young technological wizards will break new ground in the realm of Space Technology as they seek to capitalise on the boundless prospects presented by the Space Domain.

Dr. Singh recalled this while announcing the formation of the Indian Space Association (ISpA), a leading industry association of space and satellite firms, on October 11, 2021, Modi said, “Our approach to space reforms is based on four pillars- freedom to the private sector in innovation, the role of the government as an enabler, making youth future-ready and seeing the space sector as a resource for the progress of common man”.

Singh also stated, "Space reforms have unleashed the innovative potentials of start-ups, and within a short period of time, from a couple of Space Start-ups three to four years ago, we now have 102 start-ups working in cutting-edge areas of space debris management, nano-satellite, launch vehicle, ground systems, research, and so on." According to the Minister, with equal stakes in R&D, Academia, and Industry, it is reasonable to conclude that a Space Revolution headed by ISRO in collaboration with the Private Sector and Start-ups is on the horizon.