Former ISRO chief S Somnath said that India’s ambitious goal of achieving 10 percent of the space economy (US dollars) in the next 10 years is not an easy task, as it is very complex to achieve expertise in the field and comes from years of experience.
‘Rocket and the complexities of engineering associated with it are the same’
During the graduation ceremony of the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad on Friday, he said that a recent study has shown that every rupee spent on ISRO during the last 60 years has received a return of Rs 2.54. From this we hope that it is possible to create a very vibrant space economy in India too. He further said that the complications of rockets and its engineering are the same as before and there is still a possibility of failure on companies seeking to invest and make space programs.
#Watch Hyderabad | On Attending Graduation Ceremony at Indian School of Business, Former isro Chairman S Somnath Says, “This is my first experience coming comeing to isb … it is one of the Leading Busines Speech, I Talked About Space Business… pic.twitter.com/iz9kh2vsvs
– ANI (@ani) April 4, 2025
He said that 250 startups are currently working in the space sector in India. According to him, 60–70 percent of the revenue comes from the Space Application area, the manufacture and operation of about 20 percent of satellites and about 15 percent of the rocket and the necessary launch infrastructure. Therefore, the most investment in this field is required.
India contributes only two percent to the global space economy
He said that the space sector has changed dramatically in recent times, mainly from activities taking place in the US and Chinese space programs and the number of launches in the last few years has increased dramatically. Somnath said that India currently contributes only two percent to the global space economy ($ 500 billion). He said, one of the goals we set for ourselves is that we have to reach 10 percent of the global space economy in the next 10 years, ie 45 to 50 billion dollars.