FDI policy for space sector to be released soon, says ISRO chairman S Somanath

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Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman S Somanath on October 26 said that the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy for the space sector will be released soon.

Somanath, speaking at the inaugural session of the Indian Space Congress, said, "Foreign direct investment opportunities are also being described and that policy will be out soon."

In order to encourage more commercial activities and integrate space into India's larger economy, Somanath suggested that the way in which space is viewed needed to change.

"The whole approach of looking at space technology has to change. This is precisely what the government looked at while coming up with the space sector reforms... The whole idea of reforms is to look at how the demonstrative capabilities can be monetised and create a scale of economy where the space sector could grow," Somanath explained.

Moneycontrol was the first to report that the Indian space sector was seeking 74 percent FDI.

The ISRO chairman also discussed the types of projects that the organisation was working on and what he expected these projects to be in the future.

For example, the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System or NavIC, which is run by ISRO, is India's homegrown navigation system.

"Should Navic remain a regional satellite navigation system? How far should we expand or should it be a global navigation system? We need to strengthen NavIC in the coming days keeping the geostationary satellite as the base but bringing in newer satellites to expand the system," Somanath said.

The ISRO chairman also outlined the country's launch vehicle production plans for the future.

"The bigger goal for the future is to create cost-efficient rockets, whose designs will be made by ISRO in consultation with the industry and will be operated and maintained by the industry," Somanath said. Currently, ISRO is working on the design, he noted.

Nathan de Ruiter, managing director of Euroconsult,  a global consulting firm focusing on the space sector, was also present during the inaugural session.

"In India, the government expenditure in space has doubled, focus is on space exploration. There is also a push for legislative policies. We believe India is a key market for us," said Ruiter.

In addition, the session was attended by AS Kiran Kumar, a member of the Space Commission, K Rajaraman, a secretary in the Telecom department, among others.

The inaugural session concluded with an MoU being signed between the Taiwan Space Industry Development Association (TSIDA) and the SatCom Industry Association of India (SIA-India). The MoU entails collaboration between the two industry associations focusing on the growth of the space industry and working towards a collaborative work atmosphere.