Vacuum in Law Keeps Private Sector From Exploring Space

Lack of urgent notification of space law and FDI rules is stagnating business potential

- Shouvik Das

As India waits for the final draft of its first space law and guidelines for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the space sector, home-grown space startups remain in line to grab larger pieces of the incoming businesses and investments.

Industry stakeholders that Mint spoke with, requesting anonymity, said a formalization of India's operating procedures for space project procurement, coupled with on-paper confirmation of how foreign investors can approach the government for large investments in India in space, can open up a multi-billion-dollar opportunity for the sector, which seeks to quadruple its net annual revenue within eight years.

"There is a lot of scope for India to create demand in the domestic space industry internally itself. To do that, a formalized procedure is crucial, which the first space law will help establish. This is a potential setback to the industry, which right now is in a waiting phase of over two years for a formalized set of laws and rules to truly take off," a senior executive of one of India's top space startups said, requesting anonymity since they work closely with the Union government.