Indian Space Association (ISpA)

Why in news?

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 11^th October 2021 launched the Indian Space Association (ISpA), an industry body consisting of various stakeholders of the Indian space domain.

About Indian Space Association:

• The members of the organisation include government bodies such as Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and private telecom companies such as Bharti Airtel’s One Web, Tata Group’s Nelcom, L&T, MapMyIndia, and others.

Why is the formation of ISpA significant?

• Ever since the race to reach the space and then land on the Moon began between the US and the erstwhile USSR, governments across the world have poured millions of dollars to push the envelope in term of exploring the edges of the space.
• With time, governments and government agencies collaborated to explore newer planets and galaxies in search of life forms that exist outside Earth.
• In the recent past, private sector companies such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin have taken the lead in spaceflight, promising to start tourist flights to space.
• Though India too has made significant strides in space exploration over time, state-run ISRO has been at the centre and front of this progress.
• Several private sector companies, however, have shown an interest in India’s space domain, with space-based communication networks coming to the fore.

What does ISpA aim to achieve?

• One of the main goals of the organisation is to supplement the government’s efforts towards making India a global leader in commercial space-based excursions.
• ISpA will undertake Policy Advocacy and engage with all stakeholders in the Indian Space domain, including the Government and its Agencies, to make India self-reliant, technologically advanced and a leading player in the space arena.
• Of late, ISRO’s rockets have been carrying the payload and communication satellites of various countries; now, private players will also look to broach this space with the new organisation.
• ISpA will also work towards building global linkages for the Indian space industry to bring in critical technology and investments into the country to create more high skill jobs.
• ISpA also plans to work in very close coordination with IN-SPACe to further the space vision of the Government.

Who are the stakeholders in this organization?

• ISpA will be represented by leading domestic and global corporations that have advanced capabilities in space and satellite technologies.
• The founding members include telecom service providers such as Bharti Airtel, engineering firm Larson & Toubro, and other companies such as Nelco of Tata Group, OneWeb, Mapmyindia etc.

Add ons:

• In India, the space-based communications network has taken off with several Indian and international companies betting on it as the next frontier to provide high-speed and affordable Internet connectivity to inaccessible areas as well.
• This includes SpaceX’s StarLink, Sunil Bharti Mittal’s OneWeb, Amazon’s Project Kuiper etc.
• In addition, StarLink and Amazon are also in discussion with the Indian government for a licence to offer satellite-based Internet services.
• Industry experts suggest that satellite Internet will be essential for broadband inclusion in remote areas and sparsely populated locations where terrestrial networks have not reached (such as North East region of India)
• As of now, India had only 3 lakh satellite communications customers, compared with 45 lakh in the US and 21 lakh in the European Union.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

With reference to ‘Indian Space Association’, consider the following statements:

1. The members of the organisation include Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and private telecom companies

2. It will work towards building global linkages for the Indian space industry to bring in critical technology and investments into the country

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer