IN-SPACe is the regional regulator for private players.
India has made a weak start in terms of investment in this sector and by 2021, the cumulative investment was only $100 million, he said in ‘Development of Space Startup Ecosystem in India’.desi) in Bangalore. However, investment in this sector is increasing every year.
“There was a huge jump in 2019-20. There was an increase in 2020 and 2021 as well. Four companies have invested more than $10 million (in 2022 alone). I am waiting for the first unicorn. Once we have the first unicorn, there will be a queue of investors to invest in Indian space startups,” Goenka said.
Referring to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, he said: “We’ll have to wait some time. I can’t say when it will happen, but it will.”
Minister of State for MeitY, Rajiv Chandrashekhar, who inaugurated the conference, said that the space economy was around $440 billion in 2021, and the global space industry is expected to exceed $1 trillion by 2040.
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Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman S Somnath said, “It is necessary to plan strategy and vision for the next decade i.e. 2022-2032 to grow this part of the space business.”
According to a report by Space Tech Analytics in May 2021,
India has 368 space startups And the country has seen investments of $146.83 million since 2016.
“The industry is not risk averse, but they should focus on financial payouts because ultimately they are accountable to their shareholders. They don’t care about long gestation, but they should look at the financial viability of any project. Space is an easy one. There is no business,” said Goenka.
Goenka said that he had told Chandrashekhar that almost 100% of the electronic components and advanced specialty materials required in this sector are imported. Although ISRO has many global partnerships, India needs partnerships between private players and agencies outside the country.
“Another focus area is the ability of small startups to attract capital,” Goenka said.
Elaborating on this, Indian Space Association (ISPA) Director General Lt Gen AK Bhatt said, apart from financial challenges, there is a regulatory void in the sector, availability of test facilities on the ground and in space, paucity of manpower, no assured market demand. No, restrictions on import of dual critical components and lack of support in creation of intellectual property are the major challenges.