India's latest rocket Small Satellite Launch Vehicle being launched from SHAR spaceport

The space department official said India has the capability to launch in a reasonable manner, but further scaling up and building up demand is essential as space investment is capital-intensive. Organisers said the event is inspired by the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Space, and the encouragement of stakeholders in the defence and space industry.

The govt had allocated Rs 12,544 Crores to the Department of Space in the latest annual Budget.

A top official in the government's department of space on Friday emphasised the need to bring down the cost of access to space and augment the demand for application creation. He made the remarks during India - DefSat 2023, an international defence and space conference and expo at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi.

"Full potential of space for strategic purposes was not recognised earlier, as it was primarily utilised for public good and civilian use," S Somanath, Secretary, Department of Space, and ISRO's Chairman was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the organisers.

He acknowledged that the realisation of the importance of space capabilities for national security has become "more evident" and stressed the need to enhance power and scale up capabilities through collaboration.

Somanath emphasised "the need to bring down the cost of access to space and augment the demand for application creation".

He urged decision-makers to come forth and provide the necessary impetus for the growth of the industry.

The space department official said India has the capability to launch in a reasonable manner, but further scaling up and building up demand is essential as space investment is capital-intensive.

Organisers said the event is inspired by the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Space, and the encouragement of stakeholders in the defence and space industry.

The conference focused on the intersection of strategy and industrialisation for space applications in national security, the statement said.

The conference kick-started with India's first industrial space wargame, the 'IndSpace Exercise', which is a simulated, scenario-based, interactive table top exercise that tests the capability of the space industry to respond to contingency situations, it said.

This is the first in a series of many such exercises to be unfolded periodically. The DefSAT initiative aims to establish a common roadmap for the space and defence sectors. This effort will be achieved through cyclic debates that will be held every six months, to ensure continuous progress towards the goal, organisers said.

G Satheesh Reddy, Adviser, Scientific Adviser to the Minister of Defence emphasised that there has been a "significant increase" in the development of space technology for defence purposes globally, including image intelligence, electronic intelligence, signal intelligence, and communication intelligence.

In particular, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and hyperspectral technology are critical for the Indian defence, especially in border areas, he said.

There is also a need to develop space-based electronic warfare capabilities both in and from space. High-power laser and High-Power Microwave (HPM) technology also require further development, with a focus on miniaturisation and increased power, he was quoted as saying in the statement.

Air Marshal Surat Singh, Director General Air (Operations), noted that the recently released space policy would give a boost to the industry.

"The recently released space policy is a significant boost for the Indian space industry. The Indian Air Force needs to transform into an Indian airspace force, leveraging space for ISR, navigation, targeting, SSA, and meteorological operations," he said.

"We need to develop offensive and defensive technologies with space capabilities to augment our readiness. To keep up with China and address the vulnerabilities of the battlespace, we must be well-prepared and pre-emptive, he was quoted as saying in the statement.