New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met the CEOs and founders of 20 Indian space startups, calling on the industry to find wider uses for space technology in everyday life and strengthen India’s position as a destination for global talent, companies and investment.
The interaction at Seva Teerth brought together startups working across areas such as rockets, reusable semi-cryogenic launch vehicles, satellites, avionics, advanced propulsion systems, space and defence intelligence, space debris removal and AI-based weather and climate intelligence.
The startup founders briefed Modi on the progress of India’s private space industry and their plans for the sector. They said considerable time and effort had gone into developing technologies and capabilities within the country, while government support and cooperation among companies had helped the industry move forward.
The executives also said the decision to open India’s space sector to private participation had created new opportunities. According to them, companies from across the world have shown interest in adopting and using technologies developed by India’s emerging private space industry.
India sees global opportunity in private space sector
Modi congratulated the entrepreneurs for entering a relatively new area and said their confidence had strengthened the vision behind opening the space sector to private companies.
He said many countries either cannot make large investments in the space sector or do not want to do so, creating an opportunity for India to expand its presence in the global space industry.
The Prime Minister asked space companies to look beyond their existing applications and examine how their technologies could be used to make people’s lives easier.
He also called for closer links between space startups and organisations working in other sectors. Companies developing technologies to deal with space debris, for instance, could work with environmental organisations to explore wider applications for their solutions.
Similarly, space technology companies working in agriculture could collaborate with agricultural universities and government departments. Such partnerships, he said, could help farmers make better-informed decisions and improve their output.
Modi calls for India to attract global space talent
Modi said India should create an environment in which the country becomes one of the first places the world looks towards when considering opportunities in space.
He said the Indian space sector could become a magnet for global talent, companies and investment as the country’s private space ecosystem develops.
The Prime Minister also suggested stronger collaboration between space companies and Atal Tinkering Labs to build curiosity about space among children from an early age.
The meeting was attended by CEOs and founders of 20 space startups — Skyroot Aerospace, Agnikul Cosmos, Pixxel, Dhruva Space, GalaxEye, PierSight, Bellatrix Aerospace, Digantara, SatSure, Suhora Technologies, Manastu Space, Astrobase, TakeMe2Space, VyomIC, Cosmoserve Space, OrbitAID Aerospace, SkyServe (Hyspace), Serendipity Space, Vassar Labs and mistEO.