Opening space sector for private players a priority; will make India a global leader: ISRO chairman K Sivan

ISRO Chairman K Sivan gave insights at Times Now Summit 2021 in the session ‘Space – The Final Frontier’ on Thursday. On being questioned by Rahul Shivshankar, Editor-in-Chief, Times Now & Editorial Director, about what is the roadmap now for ISRO in terms of its plans and projects, Sivan said that space is identified as a crucial tool and he stressed that our government has high hopes from ISRO in making the country a global leader in the space.

Talking about the recent sectoral reforms in space, Sivan said, “ISRO will continue and enhance focus on the development of innovative space technology and applications to expand the footprints of the country in space. Thus, a comprehensive decadal plan is being formulated to boost the R&D capabilities of the country along with building the technology gap. The requirement of space is also committed to playing a greater role in these post-space sectors in promoting and building the private sectors to thrive in the country.”

DOI has taken proactive steps in ensuring a level-playing field for premiered players through enabling mechanisms in space. Sivan added, “Through predictable policy, and legal framework, the operational space activities of ISRO will be open for private industry to take up and commercially benefit from it. At the same time, for sustaining the existing capabilities of ISRO, the New Space India Limited will play an enhanced role in meeting user-driven demands. Thus, the Indian space roadmap will be a mix of governmental, non-governmental space engines which complement each other, thereby boosting the economic growth of the country.”

While underlining the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on his plan, Sivan said that the COVID-19 pandemic had paused activities all around the world to large extent. The pandemic also affected ISRO’s plans and also delayed various activities. He added that COVID has given them an opportunity to work in an easier and cost-effective way. Using the techniques, the organisation was back on track and all the hours that had been lost were compensated. A huge quantity of work was completed including two important missions were also accomplished and he hopes all the schedules will take place as per the plan.

ISRO chairman highlighted his speech at the Annual Aeronautical Conference and talked about his take on FDI in the space sector. On being asked how will this help in innovation in the field of space, he said, “If one looks at the opportunity in space future, the global space economy has emerged stronger and proven its resilience in the fluctuating global economy. Space is thereby well-positioned for growth in growing investment, market development, employment opportunities across multiple sectors. As per him, these are the turning points for setting up multiple fertile ecosystems for space industries across the world to create new job opportunities, encourage innovations and also contribute to the global space economy. The GOI has recognised the need to start developing a local space-based economy considering India’s strength in space keeping in mind growing demand and opportunities in space-based applications. Thus, announce reforms in the space sector by enabling the private industries to take up space activities. He added that the revision of FDI policies will definitely open up huge avenues for powering space companies to invest in India. The policy enables foreign companies to tie up with Indian companies and help in creating a fertile ecosystem for the space industry and industries with new opportunities.”

K Sivan also spoke about the connection between the private sector and ISRO in space exploration. He said that ISRO has a space-sighted mission and with the revised mandate of the GOI, the private sector can complement ISRO in space exploration as well. It will be made possible as industries will have opportunities to develop enabling technologies for exploration and it being a new area, the industries can really work well here. System requirements and specifications will be listed by ISRO and they will realised by the industries. 

Sivan highlighted how ISRO will offer its facilities for interface testing along with the space qualification by system run. “This framework will also be useful for the development of novel technologies including AI, machine learning, debris management, etc. In nutshell, unliking the potential of the private sector will have an enormously positive effect on space exploration. He stressed how the space ecosystem is divided into two parts- commercialization and other is to take part in innovative technological development. After a few years, he wishes India should be number one in all space activities,” he added.

Talking about India’s first man-space mission Gaganyaan, Sivan said that it is one of the most fascinating areas of ISRO and it shall make India’s entry into the club of nations with acumen space freight ability. In fact, this is also the flagship programme that has been announced by honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the organisation is working hard in this regard. 
“The activities of Gananyaan are progressing concurrently across all ISRO centres, other national space researches to achieve our target. The mandate is to demonstrate the human space play technology of safely launching humans into space and bringing them back. This needs to be achieved through unmanned lounges followed by the crewed mission. He talked about what really needs to be done regarding the mission,” the ISRO chairman said.

Sivan talked about the maximum duration of the mission i.e. 3 days and the Gaganyaan mission will be launched from Sri Hari Kota. “Many international and national space agencies have been collaborated to execute the mission. Meanwhile, the programme has reached a critical maturity level. Astronauts’ selection is also completed and training is underway. The launch making and orbital module have entered the testing phase. Most of the engineer systems are being developed by ISRO. The human-centric system, both national and international expertise, have been roped in. Every activity of Gaganyaan is going in full swing and he hopes that the target will be achieved,” Sivan asserted.

Sivan also talked about the timeline for the crewed space mission and said that the first uncrewed mission will take place next year, and in 2023, the remaining uncrewed and the crewed mission is their target.