Lack of trained talent stalls India's private space efforts

Only 8,000, or 0.5% of India's 1.5 million engineering grads last year specialized in aerospace

- Shouvik Das

India's private space startups are finding it hard to get top-notch talent as there aren't enough graduates trained in niche topics and specialized skills. And even the small number of candidates available prefer companies overseas because of low salaries back home.

While firms are increasing average pay and also training employees, niche talent in rocketry, propulsion technologies, photonics and sensors—the differentiating factors among space startups—is in short supply, according to founders, analysts and industry observers that Mint spoke with.

Around 175 institutions in India offer undergraduate degrees in aerospace engineering, while 75 offer postgraduate courses, according to Mint's analysis of five educational services platforms.

Around 8,000 aerospace engineers graduated last year, accounting for just 0.5% of the 1.5 million engineers who pass out of Indian colleges annually. That includes the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), which is affiliated with the Union government's Department of Space.