There’s space for security – The Economic Times

When India began its space programme in the 1960s, it was a developing country with limited resources, and it focused on using space to push its social and economic development agenda. But the space programme has expanded over the past decade, with two important changes: an ambitious space exploration programme and an increased use of space for national security.

Intensifying security concerns regarding China, including Beijing’s growing counter-space capabilities, will likely be a major driver of New Delhi‘s space goals in the coming years. This is likely to result in greater attention to national security and to develop space security partnerships….

Military and security imperatives have gained greater prominence in Indian thinking about space utilisation. Although New Delhi does not have a declared space policy document, the growing military orientation can be gleaned from official statements in the Parliament and from organisations such as the UN.

India’s approach to space is now driven by a sense of pragmatism and by national security concerns, as opposed to the morality- and sovereignty-related considerations that shaped the programme until the 1990s. It has developed launch capabilities and a mix of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and Earth observation satellites.

From ‘India’s Space Priorities are Shifting Toward National Security’, The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace