Final Draft Of Space Bill Ready, Under Approval: IN-SPACe Chief

Pawan Goenka, chairman of Indian Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), has confirmed that the final draft of the space bill is ready and is going through the approval process. 

However, he refrained from providing a timeline for its passage.

Goenka was addressing the “Bharat Space Conclave 2025” in New Delhi today (March 12). 

He was talking about the “Space Activities Bill,” which was first discussed in 2017 to establish a legal framework to regulate and promote space activities in India– specifically focussed towards private players in the sector.

However, since then, there has not been much announcement from the government’s end. 

“I have stopped giving a target date when something is not in my full control, but the final draft is ready,” Goenka said.

However, he also emphasised that the absence of a space bill has not hindered the ongoing space activities. 

The IN-SPACe chairman also highlighted developments in space education, underlining that several engineering colleges are introducing space-related courses, with a goal of producing 2,000 space graduates over the next five years.

Regarding foreign direct investment (FDI), Goenka acknowledged that while the policy is in place, guidelines for government-approved investments are still being finalised.

Notably, the government last year approved 100% FDI for certain subsectors of the spacetech industry. However, it is pertinent to note that, under the current rules, FDI for establishment and operation of satellites is only permitted via the government approval route.

On infrastructure, he said that ISRO’s facilities are accessible to the private sector, and IN-SPACe is expanding its technical center with a INR 300 Cr investment. Additionally, a second launch center in Kulasekarapattinam is under development.

Goenka stressed that the Indian space sector has moved at “rocket speed” in the last three to four years, achieving remarkable milestones both on the technical front, led by ISRO, and on the commercial side, driven by private enterprises. 

However, according to him, a major challenge remains in securing sufficient funding for these deeptech startups, which require significant investments and long development timelines. 

The chairman also acknowledged that while last year saw $130 Mn in investments in the space sector, there is still untapped potential. He expressed optimism about the expected increase in funding, citing the upcoming INR 1,000 Cr VC fund that is nearing implementation. 

Notably, IN-SPACe has played an important role in influencing the Centre to set up an INR 1,000 Cr VC fund for the spacetech sector.

He said that investor confidence is key and that demonstrating tangible outcomes will encourage further capital inflow.

Notably, IN-SPACe recently shortlisted six out of nine bidders to build and manage a space-based earth observation (EO) system.

The selected entities include consortiums of SatSure, Pixxel, Dhruva Space and PierSight; Ananth Technologies, Solar Group and XDLINX; and Bharat Electronics Ltd and Sisir Radar.