The newly created Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) collaboration with the private sector, will boost Indian space exploration and provide a platform to the private companies working in the segment, said union minister Dr. Jitendra Singh.

Giving full credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for approving the participation of the private sector in the entire range of space activities, Singh, the minister of state (MoS) for the Department of Space, said more than 25 industries have already approached the Department of Space for undertaking space activities according to the guidelines. "The move to open up the Space sector for private participation was a path-breaking step taken by Prime Minister Modi and has been widely welcomed by leading private players across the country," he said adding, it will boost the goal of India's Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

IN-SPACe has been created under the Department of Space as a separate vertical for taking independent decisions with respect to permitting and regulating space activities of the private sector. The proposed range of space activities under the IN-SPACe program includes Small Satellite Launch Vehicle, Geospatial services, Satellite Constellation, Application products, etc.

The endeavour is not only to ensure that India becomes a competitive space market but also to ensure that the benefits of the space program reach out to the poorest. This is in keeping with the Centre's principle of planning every reform with the aim to benefit the poorest of the poor and to make India self-reliant through consistent endeavour in the direction of Atmanirbhar Bharat, the MoS said.

Singh said, the applications of space technology had, in the last six years, been extended to different areas of infrastructure development as well as to bring ease of living for the common citizen. Space and satellite technology is today being extensively used in railways, road and bridge construction, agriculture sector, housing, tele-medicine, etc, besides disaster management and accurate weather forecast.