Synopsis
The report “Indian Space Program and Its Drivers: Possible Implications for the Global Space Market” by Namrata Goswami discusses the Indian space program's history, drivers, and its impact on the global space market. The Indian space program is one of the oldest in the world and has played a critical role in India's national development and external power projection capability. The program is known for its low-cost launches and has sent missions to the Moon and Mars. The paper identifies three main drivers for India's space program: nationalism, entrepreneurship, and national security.
Nationalism plays a significant role in India's space program, as it contributes to nation-building, regime legitimacy, internal national development, and external status. Entrepreneurship is another driver, with India aspiring to play an entrepreneurial role in space capacity building. The country has established commercial arms like Antrix Corporation and New Space India Ltd (NSIL) to encourage the growth of the commercial space sector. National security is the third driver, with space playing a critical role in nuclear command, control, and communication (NC3), military command and control, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).
India's space capacities include civilian, military, and commercial sectors. The civilian space capacity consists of indigenous launch capacity, satellite launches to multiple orbits, and a national security space infrastructure. The military space capacity includes the development of India's own navigation system, ISR capacities, and the establishment of a Defense Space Agency. The commercial space capacities involve the emerging Indian commercial space sector and its growing role in the Indian space economy.
The paper concludes by discussing the impact of the Indian space sector on the global space market and offers recommendations for better coordination of Indian space policy.