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New Delhi [India], July 22 (ANI): India's private space sector has received over 800 applications for facilitation and authorisation in the last four years since the sector opened up to private investment, with the space regulator issuing 130 authorisations so far, including to rocket-maker Skyroot Aerospace, a senior official said on Wednesday.

PK Jain, Director, PMAD, at the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), Department of Space, was speaking while chairing a session at the IAFI and Forum Global Space Policy Conference here.

Jain said IN-SPACe facilitates private companies by providing access to ISRO's test facilities, technical support, and technology transfer, apart from granting formal authorisation for space activities. He said more than 100 technologies have been transferred to private industry so far, while over 100 data-dissemination registrations have been granted, permitting the release of data from around 800 satellites, including 23 Earth-observation constellations, within the country.

On the growth of the sector, Jain noted that India had fewer than ten space startups six years ago; that number has now crossed 450. He cited Skyroot Aerospace's emergence as the country's first space unicorn and the successful maiden launch of its privately developed launch vehicle as key milestones.

On funding, Jain said Indian space startups have raised around USD 390 mn over the past three years, with roughly 150-160 million raised in this year alone.

He added that the government has also committed USD 120 million toward a venture capital fund dedicated to supporting Indian space startups, alongside other schemes such as a Technology Adoption Fund.

Jain said that with the sector now more than six years into its liberalisation, it was time to assess whether the current policy framework was delivering results and identify remaining gaps.

He noted that recently notified Department of Telecommunications rules have simplified the satellite service authorisation process, consolidating it into a prime service authorisation, a miscellaneous category, and a captive category.

He further disclosed that IN-SPACe is working with the Department of Telecommunications, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and other departments to develop a single-window interface allowing applicants to submit one application instead of approaching multiple departments separately, a process he said is still underway but has been agreed upon in principle.

On manufacturing, Jain said IN-SPACe is targeting India as a global hub for small satellite manufacturing (up to 500 kg) and launch services, given the country's growing base of capable launch operators. He also flagged that India currently depends on non-Indian satellite capacity for 40-50 per cent of its requirements, and said the agency was working to help Indian private operators deploy their own satellites to close that gap.

He cited IN-SPACe's recent move to make an Indian ITU satellite filing accessible to a private operator, who is expected to deploy a high-throughput satellite within the next two to two-and-a-half years. (ANI)

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