The parliament was informed that India’s share in the estimated $360 billion global space economy is approximately 2 per cent. Detailing further, Jitendra Singh, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office noted that India has acquired indigenous capabilities in the space sector across all domains, including space transportation systems, and space assets comprising a fleet of satellites catering to the needs of earth observation, satellite communication, meteorology, space science and navigation. Further, India also has ground infrastructure, and a host of operational programmes related to the applications of space technology to address national imperatives and the common problems of man and society, the minister informed.
Separately, the minister said that six startups were selected and supported by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with a grant-in-aid of a maximum of Rs 5 million each in areas like geospatial information, propulsion and robotics, and augmented reality and virtual reality. With regard to the recent development, the Singh mentioned that ISRO along with Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), and NITI Aayog launched the ANICARISE-1.0 programme to seek, select, support and nurture technology-based innovations that solve sectoral challenges of national importance.
