Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an ambitious plan for the country’s space sector, aiming to launch 50 rockets annually and establish up to five space start-ups over the next five years.
Modi said the country is working on new space sectoral reforms and that India will soon launch the first PSLV rocket built by the private sector. India’s first communication satellite, which is under development, will also soon be launched, reported The New Indian Express.
Virtually participating in the second National Space Day 2025 celebrations, Modi said preparations to launch the Earth Observation Satellite Constellation under a public-private partnership are also underway.
Appreciating the growth of the space sector in the last 11 years and the involvement of over 350 start-ups in space technologies, the PM asked people to join the astronaut pool that is being created.
In his special message, the Indian Prime Minister said:"On Space Day today, I want to tell the ountry’s space startups that in the next five years, we can create five unicorns in the space sector. Currently, India carries out around 5–6 major launches annually from its soil. I want the private sector to step forward so that in the next five years, we are able to see 50 rocket launches in a year, that means one every week."
Setting the tone and momentum for the space sector till 2047, Modi said it was time for the private sector to come forward and launch 50 rockets every year, that is, one a week.
He asked the private sector if creating five unicorns in the space domain in the next five years was achievable.
Modi said soon India will launch its Gaganyaan mission and the Bharatiya Antariksh Space Station.
The PM urged the private sector to come forward and build five space Unicorns in the next five years, reported Times of India.
"At present, we have five big launches every year; can we scale it to 50 rockets every year, that is one per week?” he asked the private sector. He also announced that the first PSLV rocket built by the private sector will soon be launched.
Modi expressed happiness that India’s first private communication satellite is also under development and said preparations are underway to launch an earth observation satellite constellation through public-private partnership. "A vast number of opportunities are being created for India’s youth in the space sector," he stated.
"We have already gone to the Moon and Mars and now there is a need to go to the deeper regions of space where many mysteries lie. Beyond the galaxy lies our horizon," the PM said, adding that India is on the path of reform, perform and transform.
"Many reforms have been done in the space sector over the years. India’s space sector policies also have no finality," he stated.
The PM added that the Indian space sector is no longer limited to the launch of satellites, but is playing an essential role in ease of living, giving alerts to fishermen, disaster alerts and even government projects including PM Gati Shakti. He said space technology should come up with solutions for people.
V. Narayanan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), affirmed during the event that India will launch a communications satellite manufactured in the US within two months, to be followed by the launch of a radar satellite developed in collaboration between the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and ISRO.
