READY FOR LIFT-OFF

DESPITE THE RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT OF A NEW ENABLING POLICY, THE INDIAN SPACE ECOSYSTEM MAY REQUIRE FURTHER INTERVENTIONS TO TECHNOLOGY CONQUER NEW FRONTIERS

- MANISH PANT

Two days after the country launched its Chandrayaan-3 mission to explore the lunar surface, the GST Council, in a surprise announcement, exempted private launch service companies from paying GST if they launched satellites into space using their launch vehicles or rockets. Welcoming the announcement, Lt Gen. (Retd) Anil Kumar Bhatt, Director General of Indian Space Association (ISpA), the country’s apex industry body, tells Business Today that this will definitely incentivise the nation’s space industry and help in its growth. “We hope this is made available across all satellite service domains, including applications.”

Space technology start-ups in the country, currently around 150, are over the moon hearing the news. Skyroot Aerospace, which launched India’s first privately built rocket into space in November 2022, hails the move as a historic one towards a more level playing field. “Previously this [exemption] was only available to New Space India Ltd (NSIL, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation or Isro). It’s heartening to note that it has been extended to private players as well,” says Pawan Kumar Chandana, Co-founder & CEO of the Kondapur, Telangana-based spacetech firm Skyroot Aerospace. Bengaluru-headquartered space situational awareness (SSA) firm Digantara Research & Technologies, which recently raised an additional $10 million in funding, called the move “transformative”. “By eliminating this tax barrier, the government has demonstrated its commitment to fostering innovation and growth within the space tech sector,” says Co-founder & CEO Anirudh Sharma.