India’s international space cooperation now features prominently in most of its bilateral relationship documents. Recent agreements with Norway, Italy and Sweden in May, France and Seychelles in June, and Australia and Indonesia in July, reflect India’s rising confidence in its space achievements - and its ambition to emerge as a major global space industry player. However, its overseas space success will rest on greater participation from the private sector, a crucial link between its space services exports and international cooperation.
As India approaches its fourth National Space Day on August 23, it can take justified pride in Skyroot Aerospace’s successful July 18 launch of Vikram-1, the country’s first privately developed orbital rocket. This consequential milestone makes India only the third country with private space entities capable of orbital launches. Backed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), its commercial arm NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), and Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), the private sector has the potential to emerge as a partner in India’s global space leadership aspirations.
The country’s space industry stands at about $8 billion-$9 billion, less than 3% of the global pie. It is targeted at $44 billion in 2033, and aims to capture 8% share as per the ‘Decadal Vision and Strategic for the Development of the Indian Space Economy’ brought out by IN-SPACe in 2023. India opened up the space sector to private industry in 2020 and followed that up by the Indian Space Policy 2023 and liberalisation of FDI in the sector. ISRO nurtures the private sector through a discounted pricing policy in accessing its facilities, and provides technical expertise and mentorship.
Today, there are more than 400 space startups in the country. In 2026, to date, $113 million investments have flowed into the sector, and cumulative private investments have now reached $871 million, increasingly moving from seed capital to growth-stage rounds. This falls woefully short of the funding in other countries, estimated at over $12 billion in 2025 alone.
IN-SPACe and SIDBI Venture Capital aim to fill the gap with a ₹10 billion fund. The fund aims to offer startups capital for commercial activities including launch technologies, payload systems, in-space services and downstream applications. Again, the proposed amount appears insufficient to make a significant impact on private sector participation in space.
IN-SPACe stands as an approving body and grants authorisations to non-government entities for establishment and operation of satellites and payloads and space transport systems, among others. Just over a hundred have been granted so far, and a more facilitative and faster system needs to be instituted.
India’s space sector exports between 2015 and 2024 reached $433 million including the commercial launch of about 400 satellites for 34 countries, led by government entities. Indian startups in space technology and manufacturing have also begun to reach out to other countries. For example, Pixxel has been awarded a contract by the US National Reconnaissance Office to deploy its Firefly constellation for advanced hyperspectral imagery. Ananth Technologies is partnering with the Australian Space Agency, ISRO and a consortium of Australian companies for an orbital servicing vehicle, named Optimus, under the India-Australia Space MAITRI programme.
As more space startups enter operational activities, India’s diplomatic outreach will be vital to open demand for new opportunities. Recognising this, the country is strengthening cooperation with space leaders for technology and global supply chain integration. At the same time, it is reaching out to emerging markets to boost exports and offer satellite and geospatial services.
India has inked more than 300 space cooperation agreements with 61 countries and 5 multilateral organisations, and has launched more than 400 foreign satellites. It has long engaged with Russia’s ROSCOSMOS, US’s NASA, France’s CNES, the European Space Agency, and Japan’s JAXA, among others, for space research, training and capacity building, deep space exploration, resource assessment, earth observation and several other critical areas. India is a signatory to five UN space treaties and has also signed the Artemis Accord for governance of civil exploration and use of outer space.
However, incomplete alignment between diplomatic efforts and domestic capabilities means the country may have ceded the growing space export market to other countries. To narrow the gap, the country needs to focus on sustained investment, active launch cadence and manufacturing capacity at scale.
India’s advantages in space services exports include low-cost space infrastructure, highly skilled engineers and technicians, upcoming manufacturing clusters near launch facilities, and a rapidly emerging ecosystem of space component manufacturers. With the global space economy projected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2035, up from $630 billion in 2023, India must move fast in space services exports, including downstream activities.
R&D commercialisation and greater corporate participation in technology development will come from better tax options, faster government approvals, and demand creation through procurement. ISRO’s Space Technology Cells in leading educational institutions could help both in research and skill development. Facilitative transfer of proven technology, as envisaged in the 2023 space policy, can scale commercialisation.
Companies should also explore working intensively in space applications such as earth observation, in-orbit servicing, and space situational awareness. Space diplomacy in the development sector, including resource mapping, agriculture, and disaster management, can bring mutual gains to India and the Global South.
The next stage of space services exports would also require adequate space-related infrastructure in India, including more launch-pad slots, testing facilities and credit access. These should be routed through defined protocols, rather than as informal access to government-owned facilities. The new space port in Kulasekarapattinam, Tamil Nadu, will support small satellite launch vehicles starting 2026-27, with a third launch pad coming up in Sriharikota.
The delays in the proposed Space Activities Bill, under consideration since 2017, means that the private sector lacks necessary statutory backing in liability, insurance, intellectual property and dispute resolution. Trade finance, export credit guarantees, and export promotion policies are other areas to be addressed to boost exports.
A notable beginning has been made since the space sector was opened up to private industry six years ago. The government is working to converge diplomatic and scientific efforts through ISRO and other organisations for global space cooperation. With the right infrastructure, regulatory clarity and sustained policy support, India’s private sector is well positioned to convert its current momentum into lasting leadership in this high-technology domain.
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