New Delhi, Jan 29: Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday said that the space sector is going to be a very important contributor to the future growth of India’s economy.
Replying to supplementaries during the question hour in the Rajya Sabha, he said the revenue generated by the launch of the foreign satellites has increased.
For example, out of the 434 foreign satellites launched since the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) undertook this initiative, as many as 399 were launched after 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over.
“As a result of this, India has so far earned as much as 323 million Euros and USD 233 million. So, in a nutshell, I can also reasonably claim that in the times to come, in the future growth of India’s economy, space is going to be a very important contributor. (It is) one of the sectors which has remained under-explored or unexplored till now,” said Singh, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office.
He said, opening up the space sector to private players was one of the most path-breaking decisions of the government, and the credit goes to Prime Minister Modi for having broken many taboos of the past.
“Today, we (Indian space economy) are USD 8.4 billion. In 10 years, we hope to go up by four-five times, maybe to 40- 45 billion. We were just a single-digit startup. Today, as on date, we are 399,” the minister said.
Singh said that India is fast emerging as a hub of “space manufacturing, space entrepreneurship and also a hub of the space economy”. (Agencies)
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