• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Indian Space Association (ISpA), an industry body aspiring to be the voice of the Indian space sector. 

• The ISpA will undertake policy advocacy and engage with all stakeholders in the Indian space domain, including the government and its agencies. 

• It will help in making India self-reliant, technologically advanced and a leading player in the space arena.

• It is represented by leading home grown and global corporations with advanced capabilities in space and satellite technologies. 

• Its founding members include Larson & Toubro, Nelco (Tata Group), OneWeb, Bharti Airtel, Mapmyindia, Walchandnagar Industries and Ananth Technology Limited. Other core members include Godrej, Hughes India, Azista-BST Aerospace Private Limited, BEL, Centum Electronics and Maxar India.

Bharti’s OneWeb to launch satellite in India

• Bharti Group backed OneWeb has entered an arrangement with the NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), commercial arm of ISRO, to launch its satellite in India from 2022. 

• The arrangement has been made through a letter of intent (LOI) with NSIL, to use Indian-built PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) and the heavier GSLV-MkIII (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) as potential platforms to launch OneWeb's satellites in India from 2022.

• OneWeb is amongst the founding members of ISpA.    

• The company is building its initial constellation of 648 LEO satellites and has already put 322 satellites into orbit. It plans to start services this year to the Arctic region including Alaska, Canada, and the UK and in the second half of 2022 in India. 

New Space India Limited

• The New Space India Limited (NSIL), a central public sector enterprise (CPSE), under the administrative control of the department of space (DOS) was established on March 6, 2019. 

• NSIL is the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with the primary responsibility of enabling Indian industries to take up high technology space related activities.

• The NSIL was set up to meet the ever-increasing demands of Indian space programme and to commercially exploit the emerging global space market. 

Functions of the NSIL:

• Small satellite technology transfer to industry, wherein NSIL will obtain license from DOS/ISRO and sub-license it to industries.

• Manufacture of Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) in collaboration with the private sector. 

• Production of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) through Indian industry. 

• Production and marketing of space based products and services, including launch and application. 

• Transfer of technology developed by ISRO centres and constituent units of DOS. 

• Marketing spin-off technologies and products/services, both in India and abroad.

Additional read:

Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe)

The newly-created Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) will provide a level playing field for private companies to use Indian space infrastructure.

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