India’s private space sector has urged the government to classify space assets as critical infrastructure and allocate funds to procure products and services from domestic companies, ahead of Union Budget 2026-27.
According to founder and chief executive officer (CEO), Pixxel Space, while the government has taken positive steps through the research, development and innovation fund and the deep-tech fund, capital must now start flowing into capital expenditure (capex)-intensive businesses that can position India as a global force in space and artificial intelligence (AI). He said that targeted funding support is essential to scale companies with high-growth potential.
Meanwhile, the Indian Space Association (ISpA), along with Deloitte, has recommended that space assets be formally recognised as critical infrastructure to enable access to low-cost, long-term financing. ISpA said Indian private players now have proven capabilities across satellites, launch systems, Earth observation data and ground infrastructure, but limited assured government demand continues to restrict large-scale growth. It pointed out that NASA sources around 80 per cent of its systems from industry, while the European Space Agency follows a nearly 90 per cent industry-led procurement model.
Further, the co-founder and CEO of GalaxEye said that long-term clarity on government procurement, particularly for defence and strategic geospatial applications, will be key for startups to confidently develop mission-ready platforms. He said GalaxEye is preparing to launch Mission Drishti, a multi-sensor satellite designed to enable all-weather Earth imaging by combining optical and radar data.
Furthermore, ISpA and Deloitte highlighted that space infrastructure supports critical sectors such as telecommunications, defence, navigation, finance, weather forecasting, disaster response and governance. They said formal recognition would enable infrastructure-grade financing, lower capital costs by 2-3 per cent, and strengthen national resilience.
ISpA also proposed that all central ministries, state governments and urban local bodies procure satellite imagery and geospatial data exclusively from empanelled Indian companies. It further suggested setting up a geo-tagging framework for space entities and authorised users, and restricting access to sensitive satellite data to ensure security and regulatory compliance.
Moreover, the co-founder and CEO of Suhora Technologies said that the Budget 2026-27 should introduce targeted measures to accelerate the downstream space economy, particularly in converting satellite data into actionable insights for defence, agriculture, disaster management and climate resilience. He also called for a significant increase in defence allocations for satellite data analytics to strengthen intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, terrain monitoring and maritime domain awareness, enabling deeper integration of Made-in-India private solutions into strategic operations.
