Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: From the current $8 billion, India’s space economy is expected to surge to $44 billion in the forthcoming 10 years, Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology said on August 23..
Speaking at the celebration of the first-ever National Space Day at Bharat Mandapam, Jitendra said that India has made significant progress in the space sector in the past decade, which includes the successful Mars Orbiter Mission, the launch of AstroSat, Chandrayaan-2, and Chandrayaan-3, the upcoming Aditya-L1 solar mission, and the XPoSat, an X-Ray astronomy mission.
“With these successful missions, India’s space economy currently stands at $8 billion and contributes to around 2-3 per cent of the global space economy,” he said.
“However, “India’s space economy will grow from $8 billion to $44 billion in the next decade,” Jitendra said. He traced India’s Space journey, which began just 55 years back in 1969 when the US astronaut Neil Armstrong had already set foot on the Moon.
He attributed this success also to the Government’s policy support and leadership which “unshackled” the space sector, accelerating scientific missions and unlocking the potential of India’s scientific community.
Jitendra also noted the significant increase in Space startups, now numbering nearly 300, following the opening of the Space sector to private participation. Listing the future mission, he said “an Indian will land on the surface of the Moon, fifteen years from now, in the year 2040”.
Jitendra said that the Space Vision 2047 also “includes the commissioning of the Bharatiya Antariksha Station (BAS) by 2035 and Indian astronauts landing on the Moon by 2040”.
He expressed confidence that what begins with human spaceflight in Low Earth Orbit will expand to India’s own scientific activities onboard an indigenous space station, leading to further lunar exploration and beyond.
