Prime Minister Narendra Modi Launched Indian Space Association

• IAS NEXT, Lucknow
• 13, Oct 2021

Indian Space Association (ISpA) was recently formally launched by Prime Minister Modi.

• It will be the premier industry association of space and satellite companies.

Aims and objectives:

• ISpA aims to be a forum of the space industry in the Indian private sector and partner the Government of India and other key stakeholders across space industry segments in making the nation self-reliant in the area as well as to become a global service provider.
• ISpA aims to contribute to the Government of India’s vision of making India Atmanirbhar and a global leader in the space arena, which is fast emerging as the next growth frontier for mankind.

Composition/members:

ISpA is represented by leading home grown and global corporations with advanced capabilities in space and satellite technologies.

• Its founding members include Bharti Airtel, Larson & Toubro, Nelco (Tata Group), OneWeb, Mapmyindia, Walchandnagar Industries and Alpha Design Technologies.
• Other core members include Godrej, Hughes India, Ananth Technology Limited, Azista-BST Aerospace Private Limited, BEL, Centum Electronics, Maxar India.

Functions:

• The association will engage with stakeholders across the ecosystem for the formulation of an enabling policy framework that fulfils the Government’s vision.
• ISpA will also work towards building global linkages for the Indian space industry to bring in critical technology and investments into the country to create more high skill jobs.
• ISpA also plans to work in very close coordination with IN-SPACe to further the space vision of the Government.

Significance:

With our large talent pool, growing prowess of home grown technology startups and private enterprises the country is at an inflexion point of what will be a giant leap in the space arena.

• India has the potential to become a technology leader and frugal service provider to the global space industry.

Globally, private enterprise are increasingly contributing to unlocking the possibilities of space.

Space sector reforms:

For 75 years since independence, Indian space has been dominated by a single umbrella of Indian government and government institutions.

• Scientists of India have made huge achievements in these decades, but the need of the hour is that there should be no restrictions on Indian talent, whether it is in the public sector or in the private sector.
• Besides, according to ISRO, the current size of the global space economy stands at about USD 360 billion. However, India accounts for only about 2% of the space economy with a potential to capture 9% of the global market share by 2030.

How are space-based communications networks growing?

Several Indian and international companies have bet on satellite communications as the next frontier to provide internet connectivity at the retail level. This includes SpaceX’s StarLink, Sunil Bharti Mittal’s OneWeb, Amazon’s Project Kuiper, US satellite maker Hughes Communications, etc.

Benefits of satellite internet:

• Industry experts suggest that satellite internet will be essential for broadband inclusion in remote areas and sparsely populated locations where terrestrial networks have not reached.
• As of now, however, satellite communications remains limited to use by corporates and institutions that use it for emergency use, critical trans-continental communications and for connecting to remote areas with no connectivity.