Reforms are bringing in private participation in space research, says ISRO chairman

V. Narayanan discusses India's space advancements and overall progress in various sectors at Central University of Karnataka convocation.

Secretary to Department of Space and Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) V. Narayanan on Tuesday said that In-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre) and NSIL (NewSpace India Limited) constituted by the Union government to bring in reforms in the space sector are encouraging private sector participation in space activities.

Delivering the eighth convocation address of the Central University of Karnataka in Kalaburagi on Tuesday, Dr. Narayanan said that the space ecosystem in India is becoming vibrant and ISRO will be concentrating more on development activities, human space mission, interplanetary missions and numerous other avenues of space exploration.

Elaborating India’s progress in space research, the rocket scientist said that Chandrayaan-3’s success has catalysed opportunities across various sectors and Chandrayaan-4 will be a sample return mission.

“India is gearing up to make history in space exploration with its first-ever space station, the Bhartiya Antriksh Station, which is expected to become fully operational by 2035. And, the initial modules in space shall commence tentatively by 2027. An Indian has to land on the moon and return safely by a fully indigenous moon mission by 2040. Besides approving the Venus Orbiter Mission and moon landing mission (where a spacecraft will be sent to study planet Venus), the Union government has also approved of a heavy lift Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) with a capability of 1,000 times of SLV3 and four times that of LVM3,” he said.

Dr. Narayanan said that India has made significant progress in various sectors through movements like Green Revolution, White Revolution and Blue Revolution over the years. India has built world class institutions and achieved success in sectors, including Science and Technology, Education, Missile Development, Nuclear and Renewable Energy, Agriculture and Infrastructure, he said and added that in the last six or seven decades, India has witnessed a great transformation in literacy level, food production, power sector, economy and transportation.

“In 1947, India’s literacy rate was a mere 12% but by 2025, it has significantly increased to around 79.7%. Similarly, the number of primary schools was 2,825 during Independence and now, it has gone up to 8.40 lakh. The total food production of India stood at 54.92 million tonnes in 1950 and it has risen to 305.44 million tonnes now. Only 3,061 villages in India had access to electricity in 1950 bjut, currently all the 5,97,464 villages of the country have been electrified and the total power generating capacity has increased from a meagre 1,362 MW in 1947 to 403 GW in 2025,” Dr. Narayanan said.

Vice-Chancellor Battu Satyanarayana, Registrar R.R. Biradar and Controller of Examination Kota Sai Krishna were present.