Aerospace and defense, media & entertainment, banking, communications, agriculture, remote sensing and disaster management, etc are hugely reliant on Satellite technology. Satellite Communication has become widespread and ubiquitous throughout the country for diverse applications catering to these sectors which are irreplaceable in serving the nation's interest.

India has the strongest satellite broadcasting presence in the subcontinent with over 900 TV channels distributed to digital platform operators powered by satellites, nearly 50,000+ cable operators, and nearly 70 million DTH subscribers in India reaching 200+ million households. These channels are beamed in over 140+ countries. More than 1000 Movies are distributed annually through satellites supporting piracy prevention by over 20%.

In India the satellite communication landscape enables 5 Billion ATM transactions annually through 125000 VSAT enabled ATMs and helps network the $2 Trillion equity market besides providing cellular backhaul, enterprise networking, rural connectivity as well as in-flight, rail, and maritime communications. 50,000 Gas Stations are automated via Satcom for a reliable link to access information on a real-time basis. 6500 trains are fitted with GAGAN devices (satellite tracking of trains) which has improved efficiency in train operations to a significant extent.

There is a massive scope in India for the space-based solutions that are necessary to be harnessed owing to the massive demand generation taking place with the rise in WFH, OTT TV, mobile banking, and online education, and so on.

India has taken its first big step with the GoI setting up New Space India Limited (NSIL) earlier and now IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre). NSIL is going to be an assisting body to the ISRO to facilitate private participation in its space programs and IN-SPACe will work on ISRO's engagement with industries both local and global to meet demands of the private sector in the space program by ensuring a level playing field for private companies. This will allow private and foreign players to proliferate in the sector and leave ISRO to focus more on Research and Development (R&D), exploring new technologies, and planning new space missions.

With ISRO facilities opened up for private firms and startups to use their infrastructure and facilities to build satellites and rockets opportunities for the firms lacking such facilities and technology increase manifold. It will not only improve capacity but also result in increased economic activity and employment generation. ISRO is able to meet just 40% of the capacity locally at present and this step will help resolve the issue of demand not being met and will be key to boost the domestic capacity building.

The department of space (DoS) came out with the \u2018Draft National Space Transportation Policy-2020\u2019, according to which not only the current capabilities of DOS\/ISRO would be significantly enhanced but will also create a healthy ecosystem for private companies to develop launch vehicles within and outside the country with prior authorization from IN-SPACe. The Space Policy 2020 and the Space Activities Bill, 2017 are in the final stages of being announced. Union Minister Jitendra Singh in the Monsoon Session of the parliament this year said that the Space Activities Bill is under active consideration of the government. Indian Space Activities Law would harmonize the broad principles contained in the Outer Space Treaty while balancing the national aspirations and the sovereign commitments under the various international treaties, and also protect Public and Commercial interests.

India has signed various cooperative agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with other countries and organizations as an initiative to expand its international outreach in the areas such as remote sensing of the earth, airborne synthetic aperture radar, maritime domain awareness, satellite communication, launch services, space exploration, space law, and capacity building. And with a Space Act in place, it would make India\u2019s position strong, powerful, and strategic in the international fora.

At the India-US economic summit this year, Defence Minister stressed the possibility of foreign OEMs setting up manufacturing facilities individually or in partnership with Indian companies through a joint venture or technology agreement to capitalise on the \u2018Make in India\u2019 initiative. The draft Science and Technology policy by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) emphasizes upon the same policy, a collaborative model between India\u2019s atomic, space and defense sectors by identifying projects that the sectors can work on and build jointly with private companies and academia to strengthen the local innovation ecosystem.

The GoI has a very clear vision for Space Technology by transforming skill, capacity, and creativity to make the country self-reliant and technologically advanced. Hence the Govt is supporting various programs of the Department of Space (DoS) with an enhanced allocation of Rs 13,949 crore ($1.9 Bn) in the space budget 2021-2022, which is nearly Rs 4,449 crore more than fiscal 2020-21.

This would give ISRO a big boost to support its R&D activities and space missions as ISRO seek a massive target of cornering 10-15% of the global market share worth approximately $50 billion or more from the current $7 Bn in 10 years\u2019 time.

A new ecosystem is getting created around space and related technologies with over 120 startups already providing space-related services out of which 40 startups are engaged with the govt at present. Around 40 colleges and universities, government-supported institutions(IIST, NIT, etc.) and private (Amity, PES, etc) are running academic programs in space technology and also doing research. Incubators at IISC, IITs and other esteemed institutions are supporting these start-ups in some cutting-edge research in space technology.

The manufacturing sector is seeing a fresh boom in up-stream, mid-stream, and down-stream services being provided by the private sector and this leads to direct job creation. Firms that were earlier offering their services and products to ISRO now are all set to spread their wings further and offer services to private and foreign entities.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules allowing foreign companies to set up facilities in India and enabling 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the space sector will allow Joint Ventures (JVs) to promote the collaborative development of satellites paving the way for billions of dollars of investment and job creation. Measures such as these will help make India an attractive destination for investments and go a long way in bringing in the USD 100 billion of investments each year to reach its target of a USD 5 trillion economy by 2025.

Satellite broadband is a key area in the Global and Indian Satcom Market where the race to build satellite constellations that deliver low-cost, high-speed internet is fueling astronomic growth in the global space economy, projected to be worth $1trn by 2040 from the current $360Bn and Satellite internet is expected to account for between 50% \u201370% of the market\u2019s growth. India has tremendous scope in offering satellite broadband in the country as the unconnected and under-connected percentage is huge. India\u2019s Satcom user base is likely to reach up to 2 million by 2025, generating close to Rs 5,000-6,000 crore ($800 million) revenue annually as per the latest report by ICRA.

India is at the cusp of being a global Hub for increased use of satellite communication, which can attract billions of Dollars as FDI, generate huge employment, and enhance GDP growth. Close to $40bn private investments have already come in from major satellite broadband companies including Airtel (OneWeb) and Tata (Nelco) in India, and SpaceX (Starlink), Amazon (Project Kuiper), and Hughes, among many others in the global arena. They all are planning to offer satellite internet services as soon as next year. There is tremendous market demand for upstream and downstream applications and services as discussed above. With the international community watching keenly this is India\u2019s chance to achieve its stated target and take its rightful place on the global stage to play an important role in its ecosystem.","blog_img":"","posted_date":"2021-10-12 07:45:53","modified_date":"2021-10-12 07:45:53","featured":"0","status":"Y","seo_title":"India poised to become a major Satcom hub by 2030 ","seo_url":"india-poised-to-become-a-major-satcom-hub-by-2030","url":"\/\/www.iser-br.com\/tele-talk\/india-poised-to-become-a-major-satcom-hub-by-2030\/5122","url_seo":"india-poised-to-become-a-major-satcom-hub-by-2030"}">