Indian Space Policy needs more clarity in key aspects, experts say

Experts said the policy is not clear on many aspects and that this could lead to legal challenges, conflict of interest etc

The Indian Space Policy has been hailed for giving a clear set of dos and don'ts when it comes to what private companies can do such as building rockets and launching satellites.

Stakeholders lauded the emphasis on the Indian Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) as the single-point authority for the sector and appreciated the change in the role of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from rocket manufacturing and allied activities to research and space exploration.

However, experts said the policy is not clear on many aspects and that this could lead to legal challenges, conflict of interest, and conflating of roles. Here’s a look at the key concerns raised by experts:

IN-SPACe's legal status: Established in 2020, IN-SPACe is a single-window autonomous agency under the Department of Space. It has turned out to be crucial for space tech startups in matters related to permissions, integration, launches and so on.

The policy makes it clear that the body will play the role of a regulatory authority by providing authorisation to government bodies and non-government entities for space activities such as the establishment and/or operation of space objects, launch of rockets, the establishment of launchpads, and planned re-entry of space objects.

However, its legal status is not clear.

“What is unclear is the legal status of IN-SPACe itself. We thought that this (policy) would be introduced like a bill in Parliament, where IN-SPACe will be given legal powers,” Pranav R Satyanath, a research analyst at Takshashila Institution working on space policy, told Moneycontrol.

He cited the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, which was passed by Parliament in 1997, and ultimately led to the setting up of the telecom regulator.

"There is no act backing IN-SPACe. This was simply created by the Department of Space. For it to be a real regulator, for it to issue and take away licences, it has to have a legal basis. It has to be established by law," Satyanath added.

How IN-SPACe will develop standards: Among the functions and roles of IN-SPACe listed in the policy, it is tasked with defining “frameworks for developing space industry standards, based on global benchmarks.”

Experts have been quick to point out that the policy does not say how IN-SPACe will do this.

Ashok GV, a partner at Factum Law, provided an example of how stakeholders in the space-communication business can face difficulties because of this lack of clarity.

“From an investor's point of view, the main questions that they are going to have is: If I invest in a space-comm business, will I get licences in a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory manner? Second question is, what is the timeframe within which I can become operational? So, how long will all these regulatory clearances take?” Ashok asked.

According to Ashok, the policy states IN-SPACe will evolve the criteria without specifying how they will work. He said the policy must be clear in this regard to avoid pitfalls such as the 2G spectrum licence cancellation.

Ownership of space resources: According to the Indian Space Policy, non-governmental entities can engage in commercial recovery of an asteroid or a space resource.

“Any NGE (non-government entity) engaged in such a process shall be entitled to possess, own, transport, use and sell any such asteroid resource or space resource obtained in accordance with applicable law, including the international obligations of India,” the policy stated.

However, experts pointed out that international space treaties do not allow any entity to claim sovereignty over such space territories.

"This is a legal challenge. You can own these resources, but you cannot actually own the territory. It would be like mining – the government allocates mining and then you have to leave it and restore the area,” said Satyanath of Takshashila. "These regulations will similarly be improved further on. So eventually, in international forums like the United Nations, they will have to agree on what are the standards for extracting space city resources and it helps India because India now has a firm policy on what it thinks about space resources.”

Factum Law's Ashok pointed out that the US has come up with a regulation earmarking the Moon landing site as a heritage location.

"It's a very nice way of saying, look, we will preserve history, but in essence, you're saying that because it is ‘my history.’ So countries have already started making these noises in a very subtle manner. And I think it's prudent for India also to adopt a realpolitik kind of view and start following the trend,” he added.

ISRO's authority, independence of others: In what has been welcomed by stakeholders, the policy states that the nation’s premier space organisation’s primary focus would be on research and development of new technologies and applications.

The space policy states that ISRO will transition from the existing practice of manufacturing operational space systems. However, Satyanath seeks more clarity on how this transition will be made.

"A while ago, ISRO announced that they will be developing a reusable rocket. But in the policy, it has also been said that ISRO will transition from a launch vehicle to research. How will that transition happen? A lot of the propulsion labs like the Satish Dhawan Space Centre are still under ISRO. I would like to know whether all of these facilities will go to NewSpace India,” he said.

NewSpace India is under the Department of Space, and the space policy states that it will be responsible for commercialising space technologies and platforms created through public expenditure.

“In case of rockets like PSLV, if ISRO still continues to say that we will provide designs, improvements, and we will just transfer this to NewSpace India, how is it that ISRO will be transitioning to research or letting go of control?" he asked.