Staff Reporter, Gulf Today

India is revising its existing policies and is also in the process of bringing in the new ones to increase industry participation in the space sector, Dr K. Sivan, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) & Secretary Department of Space, Govt. of India said today while addressing the inaugural session on ‘Future of Space-International Participations & Collaborations’ at the The India Pavilion, Expo 2020 Dubai.

Dr Sivan emphasised that the recent reforms in the sector has ensured that the role of private sector has evolved from being just suppliers to partners in the process.

In his video message, Dr. Sivan highlighted that space is one of the significant areas India is looking at for international cooperation, adding, “I hope space cooperation will further strengthen with commercial and technological collaborations.” Indian industry has to play a big role in the space sector globally, said Dr. Sivan.

Highlighting the reforms in the sector, Dr. Sivan said that the government is open to inviting private players in the space sector and ISRO is tieing up with start-ups and industries. “India is focussing on international collaborations, including bilateral and multilateral partnerships,” he added.

Dr. Sivan also appreciated the Indo-UAE engagement in space and collaborations with ISRO in space applications.

He said that the Indian industry would play a big role in space sector as involvement of start-ups and MSMEs increases in future. “ISRO has joined hands with NITI and DPIIT for encouraging start-ups”, he added.

He also emphasised on the need to make outer space safe and that it’s a collective responsibility of the government and non-govt agencies to ensure that. “ISRO will be supportive of all international collaborations which benefit humanity,” he said.

Delivering the keynote address virtually, Dr Pawan Goenka, Chairman, Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe) said that India aspires to launch a dozen missions every year going ahead as against 4-5 currently. He also added that the country is working on Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) and advanced applications. “India will also offer private services to other countries and cooperate with international agencies to develop innovative missions with cost-effective and agile launch vehicles. It’s a new India that is emerging in the space sector.”

Dr. Goenka said, “Global Space sector is expected to touch a trillion dollar by the end of this decade and the sector is going through a major transformation.”

He further said, “India is working on space laws and space policy to bring in industry focussed approach in place of just government focussed one currently.” He highlighted that the government is committed to providing an enabling environment for collaboration with national and international organisations.

He said that the formation of IN-SPACe and New Space India Ltd. (NSIL) is a step in this direction, and it would change the ecosystem in India. “The evolution of start-ups in the space sector in India will lead to revolution,” he added.

Speaking at the panel discussion on the sidelines of the event, Mr. Umamaheshwaran R, Scientific Secretary, ISRO said that by supporting the investments from private sector, India would be able to contribute significantly to the USD 360 billion invested in the Space Sector globally. India is expected to contribute about USD 40-50 Billion by 2025.

Dr. Sam Dayala Dev, Director, ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), highlighted the importance of space robotics and artificial intelligence in the space domain.

He also informed that Gaganyaan mission envisages humanoid flying uniquely unlike other robots where they get assembled in space.

Dr Unnikrishnan Nair, Director, Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC), ISRO said that the fascination with human space flight will ignite the minds of the young in taking up roles in exploring space technology.

Vitaly Safonov, Deputy Director General, JSC Glavkosmos, Russia, highlighted the long term engagement with ISRO right from Aryabhatta to cryo stages.

Mr Thomos Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA, highlighted the close partnerships with ISRO especially on NISAR project. Mr. Antony Murfett, Deputy Head, Australian Space Agency informed that Australian space desires to closely work to enhance in supply chain with international collaboration Laxmesh BH, Co-Chair-Taskforce on Compliance and Regulatory Affairs, FICCI Space Sector & Head – Missiles & Aerospace Business & Operations, L&T Defence earlier said, “Many nations are today looking at focus on space sector as a growth strategy. It is time that countries collaborate together to bring in the required changes in the space treaties.”

The Space Week being organised by the Department of Space and FICCI will see a series of events on themes like Space for start-ups: Infinite opportunities in space, Space 2030: Space for Sustainable Businesses and Space-Building Capacity and Research Opportunities.

Kerala IT Parks: Kerala IT Parks, which promotes Information Technology, will be showcasing the competitive advantages it offers in the IT Infrastructure space both as a facilitator and as an enabler at GITEX Global 2021, to be held from Oct. 17 to 21, at the Dubai International Convention Centre.

Under the theme ‘Future Perfect,’ Kerala IT Parks CEO John M Thomas will lead the 50 member delegation to highlight their strengths and how they can add value to enterprises in the region cost-effectively. Shri. Snehil Kumar Singh IAS, Director, Kerala IT Mission will join Kerala IT delegation at GITEX 2021.

The Kerala IT Parks offers IT built up space/land parcels in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and in Domestic Tariff Areas (DTA) within its campuses.

The latest Kerala IT Policy invite private IT co-developers/IT companies to invest in IT infrastructure within Kerala IT Parks, and support the growing demand of Kerala IT ecosystem. Meeting the contemporary demands, our campuses are graduating into IT integrated townships under ‘live-work-play’ lifestyle model. Along with Kerala IT Parks, the IT ecosystem is well supported with Kerala Start Up Mission (KSUM- for mentoring budding IT entrepreneurs), Digital University Kerala (DUK) and ICT Academy Kerala (ICTAK) as capability building institutions, KSITIL for IT infrastructure development, Kerala IT Mission on e-governance initiatives and ICFOSS to popularise the use of free & open source technologies.   

Technopark, Trivandrum is the first and one of the largest IT Park in the country, Infopark, Kochi is the fastest growing IT destination and Cyberpark Calicut is the youngest IT hub by Govt. of Kerala.

John M Thomas said: “Kerala’s evolution as one of the leading IT hubs in the country is the result of a nurturing and enabling ecosystem developed by the Government.

Our dynamic IT policy is fine-tuned to respond to the challenging pace of digital technology through the development of world-class IT Parks, and encouraging startups and entrepreneurship. This has resulted in an IT industry with resilience, productivity and innovation skills that places us ahead of the technology curve.

Through our participation at GITEX, we aim to engage with the global tech world and highlight our ability to meet the demands of the new digital economy.”

At GITEX 2021, Kerala IT Parks unveil to potential investors and growth partners a range of innovative products and services related to emerging technologies. Given the strong foundations of its growth, Kerala IT today has the enterprise and expertise to power the development of cutting-edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, Robotics, Deep Machine Learning, Blockchain & FinTech, Big Data, Cloud and Quantum computing, AR/VR, Space science…..etc