India’s Space Programme: A People’s Space Journey

In the past, space was viewed as a distant luxury, but today, it has transformed into a democratic utility for every citizen.

Historical Context

• Strategic Tool: In the 1960s, Dr Vikram Sarabhai defended space investment in a poor nation by arguing it was a tool for poverty alleviation, weather forecasting, and education.

Key Milestones

• Tricolour aboard the ISS (June 2025): Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla displayed the Tricolour aboard the ISS and interacted with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister termed it a “defining chapter” of Amrit Kaal, reinforcing national pride.
• Evolution of Lunar Exploration:
  • Chandrayaan-1 (2008): Confirmed presence of water molecules.
  • Chandrayaan-2 (2019): High-precision lunar mapping.
  • Chandrayaan-3 (2023):  Chandrayaan-3 made India the first nation to soft-land near the Moon’s south pole,deploying the Pragyan rover for experiments.
• Global Launch Capability:  India is a global leader, having launched over 400 foreign satellites using the cost-effective, reliable PSLV rocket.
• Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM): Mangalyaan (2014) made India the first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit on its maiden attempt.
• Recent Scientific Missions: Aditya L1 (2023) monitors solar flares from Lagrange Point 1. 
  • Aditya L1 stays at a stable point between the Sun and Earth to monitor solar flares and space weather without obstruction
  • XPoSat (2024) uses X-rays to study black holes.
  • The SPADEX mission (2024) successfully tested in-orbit docking, which is essential for building a future space station.
• Space Partner: India is a global leader, having launched over 400 foreign satellites using the cost-effective, reliable PSLV rocket.

A New Space Vision:

• Long-Term Strategic Road Map: Gaganyaan, Chandrayaan-4 & 5, Venus mission, Bharatiya Antariksh Station by 2035, and human Moon landing by 2040.
• Human Spaceflight Goals: Creation of a pool of 40–50 trained astronauts.
• Gaganyaan Programme: Gaganyaan is India’s first indigenous human space mission, with an approved outlay of over ₹20,000 crore. 

• Four Indian Air Force test pilots are undergoing astronaut training.
• A sequence of uncrewed and crewed missions will lead to India’s first indigenous human spaceflight, targeted for 2027.
• On National Space Day 2025, youth were urged to participate in India’s human space programme.

Space in Governance and Daily Life:

• Public Service Applications: Disaster management, fishermen advisories, crop assessment, insurance claims and railway safety.
• Infrastructure and Planning: Space systems form the geospatial backbone of PM Gati Shakti. 

• Example: PM Gati Shakti is a GIS-based National Master Plan that leverages space-based geospatial data from satellite imagery and remote sensing to enable integrated planning and real-time monitoring of multimodal infrastructure.

• Space as a Public Utility: Space technology serves as a democratic, accessible service.

Transformation of the Space Sector:

• Opening to Private Players: The space sector now includes more than 350 startups.
• Budgetary Expansion: The space budget rose from ₹5,615 crore in 2013–14 to ₹13,416 crore in 2025–26.
• Economic Potential: India’s space economy is valued at $8 billion and projected to grow to $44 billion.
• Startup and Launch Ambitions: The goal is to create five space unicorns in five years and scale launches to 50 annually.

• Emerging Technologies: Progress is being made in semi-cryogenic engines, electric propulsion, quantum communication and in-orbit servicing.
• Student-Focused Initiatives: The International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (August 2025) was hosted in India with 300 participants from 60+ countries. 

• ISRO Robotics Challenge and Bharatiya Antariksh Hackathon engage students directly with space systems.

Policy Alignment and Long-Term Planning:

• National Meet 2.0: Over 5,000 pages of documentation were generated through more than 300 user interactions.
• Vision Alignment: A 15-year road map aligns space missions with Viksit Bharat 2047.

Global Collaboration and Leadership: 

• Space as a Global Commons: India promotes space cooperation guided by Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.
• Regional and Multilateral Initiatives: The South Asia Satellite supports neighbouring countries. A G20 Satellite for climate and environmental monitoring was announced in 2023.
• International Collaborative Missions: NISAR (NASA), TRISHNA (CNES), LUPEX (JAXA), and Proba-3 (ESA) highlight India’s global partnerships.
  

Conclusion

In this Amrit Kaal, India is not simply participating in the space age. It is shaping it. With ambition, confidence, and purpose, Bharat looks to the stars knowing that the horizon belongs to it too.

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