In an exclusive interview with DD News on Monday, Indian Minister of State (MoS) for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh said that, in the space sector, India has launched 389 out of its 424 foreign satellites, and earned $157 million and €223 million out of a total $174 million and €256 million, respectively, after the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014, the Department of Space said in release.
The press briefing was organised to showcase the space sector achievements of the Modi government, which completed nine years last month.
Overview
Singh said that India’s space sector is “fast gaining a pre-eminent position in the world.” Explaining the progress made by India, he pointed out that the nations that started launching satellites much earlier than India are now seeking its services and facilities to launch their satellites.
Singh alluded to the higher growth trajectory of the Indian space industry, saying, “Indian space applications have become a big source of livelihood opportunities through 130-odd Start-Ups,” which were set up after PM Modi opened up the space actor for private investments in June 2020.
Moreover, the growth of the space sector has helped young graduates coming out from technical institutions to get 100 per cent placements. The Minister said that more than 50 per cent of graduates are joining NASA for further studies.
He added that space technology applications are increasingly used in sectors, such as “Railways, Highways, Agriculture, Water Mapping, Smart Cities, Telemedicine and Robotic Surgery,” bringing about ‘ease of living’ for the common people of India.
News on Air: 389 foreign satellites launched by India in last 9 years#ISRO #9YearsofSeva
— Dr Jitendra Singh (@DrJitendraSingh) June 6, 2023
Read:https://t.co/gqXUTxLMhi pic.twitter.com/EHpAg2XFmg
ISRO Achievements
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the national space agency of India, has become known for flawless satellite launches and is credited with launching 104 satellites aboard PSLV-C37 in a day from Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, of which, 101 belonged to international customers, demonstrating Indian expertise in the global space industry.
The MoS also informed that India is ready to carry Indians into outer space as a part of Gaganyaan, the indigenous human space mission program. ISRO has completed the two mandatory tests for the Gaganyaan mission. India hopes to become the fourth nation after Russia, China and the US to send a human to space.
Start-Up Revolution
In the interview, the Minister also highlighted Indian accomplishments over the course of a special start-up scheme initiated by the PM in 2016. Singh claimed that, in 2013, India had only 350 start-ups, whereas, now there are more than 100,000 start-up ventures across the country, including more than 100 Unicorns.
The MoS also underscored that “Biotech Start-Ups” have grown multifold in the last eight years. India now has 5,500 start-ups in the biotechnology sector, which is a hundred times more than the 52 odd start-ups in 2014.