IIST V-C calls for new agenda to unite India's expanding space ecosystem

India’s space ecosystem needs a “new agenda” that brings industry, academia and start-ups together to meet growing national and global requirements, Dipankar Banerjee, Vice-Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), said on Friday.

Dr. Banerjee was speaking at the inauguration of the 39th National Convention of Aerospace Engineering and “Space 2.0 – The Agenda,” a seminar organised by the Institution of Engineers (India) under the aegis of its Aerospace Engineering Division Board. The event focused on the changing shape of India’s space programme and the role of different stakeholders in it.

He said the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had done pioneering work in the country’s space journey. However, the ecosystem around space activities had changed dramatically. “Today, the entire ecosystem has dramatically changed and it is important to work together with the industry, academia and start-ups,” Dr. Banerjee said. “The demand has grown to such proportions that today, one or two institutions alone may not be able to meet the requirement.”

He added that a new agenda was needed so that these different players could work together. The remarks point to a broader shift in India’s space sector, where the government’s space agency is no longer the only significant actor. Private companies, research institutions and start-ups are increasingly involved in building technologies, providing services and developing applications linked to space.

N. Jayan, Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), said India was witnessing radical changes in the space sector. In his view, the country’s space programme was at the threshold of “Space 3.0,” after an initial learning phase and a second, operational stage in which the vision of Vikram Sarabhai, regarded as the father of the Indian space programme, was accomplished.

In the third phase, Dr. Jayan said, India is redefining its objectives. On one side, societal applications are being pursued with rigour. On the other, there are exploratory missions such as the upcoming Chandrayaan-4, the proposed Bharat Antariksh Station, and the Venus and Mars missions. “Basically, space technology is transforming into space industry — that is the essence of all this,” he said.

The seminar was held against the backdrop of a widening Indian space ecosystem. While ISRO continues to lead major missions and technology development, the sector now includes private launch vehicle and satellite companies, academic departments and start-ups working on specific applications. Coordinating these efforts has become a key question for policy-makers and institutions.

At the event, the “Eminent Engineer Awards” were presented to S. Geetha, vice-president, Skyroot Aerospace Systems; Gajbier Singh, Director, MomentuX Systems; and C. Senthil Kumar, Professor and Head, Department of Aerospace Engineering, MIT Campus, Anna University. The Young Engineer Award was presented to E. Karthik Vel, Assistant Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, RV Engineering College.

The convention brought together engineers and specialists from the aerospace field under the Institution of Engineers (India), which has been holding such national-level discussions on technical and professional issues. The deliberations come as India prepares for a more ambitious set of space missions and seeks to expand the role of non-government players in the sector.