Space alliances could aid India’s strategic pursuits

The Indian Space Association’s launch follows 2020’s move to open up this sector to private enterprise. These reforms are welcome. So, too, are American overtures on space cooperation

Livemint
Published12 Oct 2021, 10:46 PM IST
Photo: PTI
Photo: PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s launch of an Indian Space Association (ISpA) was part of the Centre’s follow-up of reforms begun last May to give this rarefied sector the ballast of private enterprise. This industry body can serve as a platform to bring public space agencies and private players together to work on making the most of India’s potential. Shortly after the government said in 2020 that it would lift its monopoly in some spheres and let our private sector participate directly in a range of space activities from rocket launches to satellite operations for commercial services, it set up the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre, a nodal agency for our fledgling industry that could well act as its licence-issuing regulator. While our state-run spacefarer Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) has had private suppliers, its laboratories and launch pads have excited the interest of tech startups keen to leverage its facilities to spread their wings into the far yonder. ISpA should assure them a voice.

Our reform thrust is aimed at the commercialization of near-earth contraptions for the use of telecom services, internet apps and so on, with competition among companies expected to lead them up the innovation curve. To begin with, the mapping of India and pin-pointing of locations could be sharpened with the help of orbital devices designed for domestic purposes. Weather-forecast apps rarely offer the hour-to-hour precision in India that they do in the West and this is another gap waiting to be plugged. Remote parts of the country could benefit in myriad ways once advances overhead open up even newer possibilities. And there’s space tourism too, for which a market may emerge.

As envisioned, Isro’s role will be to focus on space exploration and research. These are vital not just for knowledge, but also India’s strategic orientation, and a successful industry could form a bedrock for ambitious missions. As another space race gets underway, with the US-led Artemis programme trying to whizz past China and Russia in setting up a habitable outpost on the moon, complete with lunar orbiters, we must keep pace with other space-faring nations. Isro’s Chandrayaan project has had such successes as the lunar water spotted by it, but it could get overshadowed by the rivalry of those two literal moon-shots. Meanwhile, from a security vantage-point, space must not just be kept free of weaponry, the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 needs to be upheld by all. Under its terms, outer space is “the province of all mankind” and not subject to “national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.” Given Beijing’s record of rule-defiance and assertion of territorial claims, its respect for exploratory principles farther away cannot be counted upon. This was the broader context in which Washington reportedly made New Delhi a recent overture to join the Artemis Accords, with the four-nation Quad’s agenda looking likely to include space cooperation. If close alliances with the space agencies of countries that share our interests can be struck without having to compromise our autonomy of action, these would be worth exploring. Though the US is developing a space force to supplement its land, sea and air forces, such a sign-up need not have any military dimension. The great yonder offers enough to justify investments that will eventually help raise the quality of everyday life on our planet. And we mustn’t fall behind.

Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.

MoreLess
First Published:12 Oct 2021, 10:46 PM IST
Business NewsOpinionViewsSpace alliances could aid India’s strategic pursuits

Get Instant Loan up to ₹10 Lakh!

  • Employment Type

    Most Active Stocks

    Tata Steel share price

    150.90
    03:56 PM | 7 NOV 2024
    -2.7 (-1.76%)

    Bharat Electronics share price

    300.20
    03:58 PM | 7 NOV 2024
    -1.65 (-0.55%)

    Bank Of Baroda share price

    262.90
    03:29 PM | 7 NOV 2024
    0.3 (0.11%)

    Indian Oil Corporation share price

    144.20
    03:59 PM | 7 NOV 2024
    -0.45 (-0.31%)
    More Active Stocks

    Market Snapshot

    • Top Gainers
    • Top Losers
    • 52 Week High

    Apollo Hospitals Enterprise share price

    7,424.60
    03:40 PM | 7 NOV 2024
    454.75 (6.52%)

    Welspun Corp share price

    798.00
    03:29 PM | 7 NOV 2024
    24.55 (3.17%)

    City Union Bank share price

    181.50
    03:29 PM | 7 NOV 2024
    2 (1.11%)

    Federal Bank share price

    206.00
    03:57 PM | 7 NOV 2024
    1.2 (0.59%)
    More from 52 Week High

    Hindalco Industries share price

    648.35
    03:51 PM | 7 NOV 2024
    -59.9 (-8.46%)

    Trent share price

    6,498.45
    03:59 PM | 7 NOV 2024
    -454.6 (-6.54%)

    Glenmark Pharmaceuticals share price

    1,658.00
    03:29 PM | 7 NOV 2024
    -110.95 (-6.27%)

    Blue Star share price

    1,776.95
    03:56 PM | 7 NOV 2024
    -101.8 (-5.42%)
    More from Top Losers

    Swan Energy share price

    535.60
    03:29 PM | 7 NOV 2024
    39.05 (7.86%)

    KEC International share price

    1,050.30
    03:40 PM | 7 NOV 2024
    74.8 (7.67%)

    Apollo Hospitals Enterprise share price

    7,424.60
    03:40 PM | 7 NOV 2024
    454.75 (6.52%)

    FSN E-Commerce Ventures share price

    192.90
    03:29 PM | 7 NOV 2024
    11.45 (6.31%)
    More from Top Gainers

    Recommended For You

      More Recommendations

      Gold Prices

      • 24K
      • 22K
      Bangalore
      78,575.00-1,790.00
      Chennai
      78,581.00-1,790.00
      Delhi
      78,733.00-1,790.00
      Kolkata
      78,585.00-1,790.00

      Fuel Price

      • Petrol
      • Diesel
      Bangalore
      102.92/L0.00
      Chennai
      100.80/L0.00
      Kolkata
      104.95/L0.00
      New Delhi
      94.77/L0.00

      Popular in Opinion

        HomeMarketsPremiumInstant LoanMint Shorts