Companies such as Bharti Group-backed OneWeb, Elon Musk’s Starlink, Amazon’s Project Kuiper, Canada’s Telesat and the Reliance-SES combine, amongst others, are eyeing the nascent market. EY estimates India’s space economy to grow to about $13 billion by 2025 from around a $1billion annual revenue opportunity now.
In a notification, the government said the new space policy allows non-governmental entities (NGEs) or `private satellite players’ to offer national and international space-based communication services, through owned, procured or leased geostationary orbit (GSO) and non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO: LEO/MEO) satellite systems.
It also enables private satellite players to establish and operate satellite earth stations and satellite control centres (SCCs) in India. Private satellite players would also be allowed to use Indian and/or non-Indian orbital resources to establish space objects for communication services over India and outside the country.
Till date, satcoms services could only be delivered via geostationary orbit (GEO) satellite operators in India. The new space policy was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security on April 6 but the government announced the details Thursday.
The policy though was silent on the new foreign direct investment (FDI) rules for private LEO/MEO operators, an element which satellite services industry say is critical to attract big-ticket foreign investments from global satellite biggies. Senior industry executives, though, are hopeful that FDI norms for the space and satellite services will be shortly issued by the Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT).
The Space Policy 2023 said New Space India Ltd (NSIL) – the commercial arm of ISRO –will be responsible for commercialising space technologies and platforms and also service the space-based needs of private and government-run space/satellite entities.The Department of Space (DoS) will be the nodal department for implementing Space Policy-2023 through detailed policy directives. The DoS would also create mechanisms to resolve disputes arising out of space activities as per extant laws.
The new policy also said that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) would transition from manufacturing operational space systems to focus its energies on R&D in advanced technologies and applications. ISRO would, it said, also share technologies, products, processes and best practices with private and government companies in the space/satellites sector.
The government seeks to pursue a holistic approach by encouraging and promoting greater private sector participation in the entire value chain of the space economy, including in creation of space and ground-based assets. “…the government shall focus on creating a stable and predictable regulatory framework to provide a level playing field to NGEs in the space sector through IN-SPACe,” it said.
The policy has empowered IN-SPACe – an autonomous central regulatory body – to act as the sole single-window agency to authorise the gamut of space activities by both government and private satcom players.
This move will result in faster regulatory approvals and quicker rollout of satellite broadband services, said industry executives. Such authorisations will include the vital landing rights and market access clearances that are vital for satcom players to use their satellite constellations and launch internet-from-space services in India.
“The space policy will create opportunities for the private sector to engage in all aspects of the space industry, from setting up and operating space objects and ground-based assets, to offering related services like communications, remote sensing and navigation,” Lt Gen A K Bhatt, director general, Indian Space Association (ISpA), a grouping of space and satellite companies, said.
He added that ISpA is confident that IN-SPACe and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will work speedily to ensure all necessary clearances for private players in India.
Anil Prakash, director general, Satcom Industry Association India, is hopeful that FDI norms will come soon to build investor confidence and drive investments in the satellite broadband sector.
“An internal note suggesting multiple FDI caps for key businesses in the space sector is awaiting final approvals, following which the DPIIT is likely to finalise the regulations shortly,” a senior industry executive aware of the matter told ET.
Back in 2019, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said the government would create a level-playing field for private satellite builders, satellite launchers and space-based service providers under its new space communication policy, which would ring in a more predictable regulatory regime.