ISRO set to offload most space activities to private players
The Indian Space Research Organisation intends to offload most of its space-related activities to industry and enhance focus on advanced research, its Chairman K Sivan has said, as the government opens up the sector to get private players on board. Sivan was addressing a webinar organized by the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) on the Future of Aerospace & Avionics in India.
Private players being given an equal opportunity
Sivan said that the reforms initiated in the sector by the government in June last year to promote enhanced private participation in the space domain have generated enthusiasm among the industry. "Future of space activities is now changing. Otherwise (earlier), all the space activities were done by only ISRO. Now, we are giving equal opportunity to private players to also do it," he said.
We are trying to bring them to our level: Sivan
Sivan said, "ISRO can share its technologies with private players and is giving them the opportunity to utilize its facilities." "We want to hand-hold them to bring them to our level so that most of the activities that ISRO is doing can be offloaded to industry and we can spend more time on advanced research to take India to the next level," he added.
Establishment of IN-SPACe was announced to help private players
As part of space reforms for unlocking the space potential of India, to enable private players to carry out end-to-end space activities, the establishment of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) has also been announced.
The body regulates usage of ISRO facilities by NGPEs
An autonomous body under the DoS, IN-SPACe acts as a single-window nodal agency for enabling and regulating space activities and usage of ISRO facilities by NGPEs (non-government private entities). It works out a suitable mechanism to offer sharing of technology, expertise, and facilities free of cost wherever feasible or at a reasonable cost basis to promote NGPEs.
ISRO is not looking to collaborate with NGPEs: Sivan
Sivan, however, made it clear in the interaction with students and faculty of the Dehradun-based private university last Friday that Bengaluru-headquartered ISRO is not looking at collaboration with NGPEs at this stage. ISRO can only have collaboration with partners with equal strength, like international space agencies, he argued, noting that NGPEs in the space sector are still in the growth stage.
35 space start-ups and industries in talks with ISRO
Union Minister Jitendra Singh, who heads DoS, has said that 35 space start-ups and industries were in consultation with ISRO for support related to various domains of space activity such as the development of satellites, launch vehicles, designing applications, and providing space-based services.
NSIL has been working to improve potential of Indian industries
ISRO's commercial arm NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), incorporated two years ago, is also proactively working to improve the potential of Indian industries by way of technology transfer from ISRO in several identified areas. NSIL's Managing Director G Narayanan said, "So far, we have entered into 14 such technology transfer agreements and you will see much more such transfers in the days to come."
