Private sector will be given a level playing field in building satellites, launches and other space based services as the government decided to open up the space sector. Private sector firms are also expected to play a big role in future projects for planetary exploration and outer space travel. Union Minister Jitendra Singh said private players would be allowed to use Indian Space Research Organisation's facilities and other relevant assets to improve their capacities.

How will it benefit the private sector?

• Permission to use the facilities of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will relieve companies of the burden of going overseas to test equipment, perform launches, and access geospatial data.
• Apart from access to facilities, access to the ISRO team would be invaluable for any start-up. The government has also said that the repository of geospatial data from ISRO satellites will be made available to private firms, although strict guidelines would be followed in releasing this data due to its sensitivity.
• The opening up of the sector will deepen those relationships and help to overcome manpower and budgetary constraints.
• Modern communications systems, as well as geospatially-dependent businesses, including agricultural and environmental management, and road alignment, depend on space activities. Space exploration has led to huge advances in health care, weather prediction, and material sciences. The opening up of the sector could lead to a burst of investment.

Benefits for India’s space sector

• ISRO, which tenders out much of its equipment, will actively seek partnerships in projects across various areas.
• The demand for satellite launches is growing. ISRO has estimated it must launch 15,000 satellites in the next six-nine years. It doesn’t have the manpower to do this and would require massive budgetary increases to build that capacity even though the satellite business represents a $30-billion opportunity. The private sector could help meet shortfalls without placing extra burden on the exchequer.
• There has also been relatively little investment in space exploration. As of 2019, cumulative funding for 120 start-ups was estimated at just $6-7 million. More investment in space will have huge positive externalities.

Current partnerships –

• Apart from space-focused start-ups, many established Indian firms are working with ISRO to develop and build space-related equipment. The agency tenders out components, though it does design in-house. Godrej and L&T, for example, are contracted with ISRO to build rocket systems, and by 2021, ISRO intends to completely tender out its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket systems to a consortium of companies, instead of sourcing parts from 200-odd suppliers and doing assembly, as is the current practice.

Some challenges related to privatization of space persist:

• Profit motive: Imagine how something like the Hubble Space Telescope would work if it was a product of the private sector. For a private company, there would need to be a way to recoup the cost and to return a profit sufficient to attract the investors that would fund that cost. So, how does one profit from something like the Hubble Space Telescope? One would have to charge researchers to use it and one would have to sell the data obtained from it. Both of those things would impede the progress of science. 
• Private companies can’t invest the kind of resources needed to build, launch, and operate a spacecraft like New Horizons or a telescope like Hubble with the hope that they’ll find ways to profit, later.
• There are areas of space utilization that will be best fulfilled by the private sector and there are areas that are and will continue to be best fulfilled by the public sector.
• The relationship between the two is symbiotic, not parasitic.

What needs to be done?

• Legislation like the pending Space Activities Bill needs to be passed, however, before Indian companies can launch satellites.
• A careful delineation of regulations to ensure consistency and predictability will be required to provide a level playing field for private players in satellite launches and space-based services.
• New legislation defining commercial space-based activities will be needed — this is overdue anyway, given that the US and other nations have started to legally redefine such commercial activities.
• This Bill will also need amendments to clarify eligibility criteria for licensing commercial activity. ISRO’s commercial arm, The New Space India Ltd, may also have to rethink its role to ensure that it becomes a more efficient interface between the government and private sector.
• Like others, ISRO may need to work out a less labour-intensive way to manage its future programmes. However, the opening up of the sector should result in a welcome expansion of opportunities and a rapid development of capacity in this high-tech area.

Road Ahead

• As part of the COVID Stimulus Package, the Government of India is encouraging the Private Sector Participation in Space Sector and the eminent speakers present in the virtual session on new space opportunities in India provided valuable points as to how the space sector can develop a robust ecosystem, where everyone contributes and thrives equally. The public-private partnership is definitely the way to go forward!