India on track to take on China in the $447 billion space economy

India is pushing through the space economy, showing its ambition to take dominance over the sector. Taking advantage of the geopolitical isolation of China and Russia, India is trying to pitch in as a reliable alternative to SpaceX.

Demand for higher internet bandwidth which would be delivered from space has made launching satellites into orbit a prosperous business. As per Ernst & Young estimate, the space economy is projected to grow to $600 billion by 2025. The economy was at $447 billion in 2020.

As per Bloomberg, India's NewSpace India Ltd., has launched three dozen communications satellites last month from an island off the nation’s eastern coast for OneWeb Ltd. This move helped the the UK satellite company’s bid to create a global broadband internet network in the skies. One Web turned to India after Russia scuppered the original launch last year, taking 36 of its spacecraft hostage.

Until now, the global space demand for satellite launching is met through Elon Musk's SpaceX, China and Russia. But the war in Ukraine and China's tensions with U.S. has been detrimental to the countries' image as a satellite launch provider. Many satellite operators do not find Chinese rockets as an option, primarily because of growing concerns about Beijing accessing Western technology. Meanwhile, India now has powerful alliance with the U.S., Australia and Japan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's, 'Make in India' campaign that aims to make India the world’s fifth-largest economy as a top destination for technological innovation, has got the space sector development as a key factor. As per Bloomberg, his administration has tried to make India’s space agency more business-friendly by encouraging the growth of startups. In 2020, the government eased rules for private sector satellite and rocket companies. They were allowed to carry out independent space activities instead of being solely the suppliers to ISRO.

According to Bloomberg, France’s Arianespace has suffered problems getting its newest rocket ready for use. And Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc., the satellite-launch company tied to British billionaire Richard Branson, said last week that it was ceasing operations indefinitely following a launch failure in January. This has again paved the way for India to emerge as a space facilities provider.

Global buyers also see NewSpace as a competent alternative. This state-owned space industry, is ramping up production of India’s largest domestically developed rocket — the LVM3 and has had a successful satellite launch operations so far.

Though India has a long way to tackle China in the space sector, India has favourable factors that highlight its position among the global satellite providers.