‘Announcement of Opportunity (AO)’ for Private Sector for Communication Satellites | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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‘Announcement of Opportunity (AO)’ for Private Sector for Communication Satellites

Posted 01 Aug 2024

2 min read

Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN SPACe) released the AO for making available Indian Orbital Resources to Non-Government Entities (NGEs) to own, establish, and operate a Geosynchronous Orbit satellite.

  • Objective of this AO is to identify and enable the eligible NGEs to make use of unutilised ITU Filing.
  • Unutilised ITU filing’ refers to filing made by ISRO to International Telecommunication Union (ITU), for registering a satellite to coordinate use of orbital slots and frequencies to avoid interference between satellites.

Significance of Private Sector participation in Space

  • Innovation and cost reduction: Through improved competition, better economies of scale, move towards demand-driven approach for development of space assets, etc.
  • Commercialization of space: Development of new business models around space including satellite services, space tourism, etc.
  • Complementing government efforts: Private firms can take on certain tasks allowing ISRO to focus on advanced research and exploration missions.

Challenges with Private sector participation in Space

  • Legal and regulatory: Absence of clear national space legislation leading to lack of clarity on conducting space-related activities.
  • Funding: Limited availability of venture capital for space startups in India, inadequate expenditure on R&D, etc.
  • Others: Increase in Space debris, navigating compliance and liabilities under international conventions, etc.

Steps taken to encourage Private-sector participation

  • Foreign Direct Investment: 100% allowed in space sectors like satellite manufacturing and operation, etc.
  • IN-SPACe: Established in 2020, A single-window, independent, nodal agency responsible to promote, enable authorize and supervise various space activities of NGEs in space sector.
  • Indian Space Policy 2023: Enshrined a holistic approach to encourage and promote greater private sector participation in the entire value chain of the Space Economy.
  • Tags :
  • Indian Space Policy 2023
  • IN-SPACe
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