India’s recent achievements in space exploration have garnered significant global attention (e.g., Chandrayaan-3’s soft-landing on the lunar south pole; Aditya-L1’s solar study mission; and hitting key milestones in terms of achieving manned spaceflight capabilities as part of the Gaganyaan project). However, private sector participation in space activities continues to be hamstrung through a combination of: (i) financial constraints (e.g., a lack of access to capital, including continued challenges with respect to securing asset-based financing, such as on account of the mobility of such underlying assets); along with (ii) regulatory ambiguity (e.g., in terms of attributing and quantifying liability, including in respect of third-party liability insurance, as well as with regard to corresponding caps).
Nevertheless, several new initiatives in India hold promise, such as: (i) the Indian Space Policy, 2023; (ii) a stated commitment to increase the country’s global market share, including by moving away from a demand-based model to a supply-centric approach; (iii) the ongoing and time-bound processing of private sector applications (related to space activities) by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe) – a single-window nodal agency – including for the purpose of assisting erstwhile vendors and suppliers to move up the value chain; (iv) the aggregation of user requirements by NewSpace India Limited – a Central Government-owned enterprise – including for the purpose of utilizing new space assets optimally based on determinations of stakeholder accountability, as well as creating new ones based on demand confirmations; along with (v) the launch of the SpaceTech Innovation Network (SpIN) in order to foster entrepreneurial innovation – especially in respect of startups and SMEs.
This note outlines India’s efforts to enhance and improve upon space regulation – including through reforms and liberalization – while also highlighting obstacles in both policy and practice.
