Modi Urges Space Startups To Expand Into Agriculture, Environment

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday interacted with the CEOs and founders of 20 space start-ups at Seva Teerth, the Prime Minister’s Office, as India seeks to strengthen its private space industry and expand its presence in the global space sector.
Modi urged space companies to explore new applications of their technologies and focus on how these can make people’s lives easier. He assured them of the government’s full support and urged them to explore how space technology can be used in agriculture, livestock management, dairy, the environment and other areas that affect people’s everyday lives.
The interaction was attended by CEOs of leading companies in the space sector working in diverse fields, including rocket building, reusable semi-cryogenic launch vehicles, avionics, satellites, advanced propulsion systems, space and defence intelligence, space-debris removal, and AI-powered hyperlocal weather and climate intelligence.
The Prime Minister congratulated the leaders of the space sector for showing courage and taking the lead in a new area. He said the confidence shown by the sector had strengthened the vision behind opening the space sector to private participation.
Modi noted that many countries either cannot invest in the space sector or do not wish to invest in it and this gives India a major opportunity to rapidly strengthen its position in the global space sector.
The Prime Minister encouraged the space companies to explore new applications of their technologies and focus on how these can make people’s lives easier.
He suggested greater collaboration between space-sector companies and companies working in other sectors. Companies working on space debris, he said, could work with environmental organisations to scale up their technologies. Similarly, space technology companies working with the agriculture sector could collaborate with agricultural universities and departments to help farmers make better-informed decisions and maximise their output.
The Prime Minister called for creating an ecosystem and an environment where, when the world thinks of space, it looks towards India. He said that India’s space sector can act as a magnet to attract global talent, companies and investment to the country.
Calling for closer collaboration with “Atal Tinkering Labs”, he said that this can create curiosity and interest in the space sector among young children from an early age.
The interaction saw participation from CEOs and Founders of 20 startups working in space sector, including Skyroot Aerospace, Agnikul Cosmos, Pixxel, Dhruva Space, GalaxEye, PierSight, Bellatrix Aerospace, Digantara, SatSure, Suhora Technologies, Manastu Space, Astrobase, TakeMe2Space, VyomIC, Cosmoserve Space, OrbitAID Aerospace, SkyServe (Hyspace), Serendipity Space, Vassar Labs and mistEO.
The CEOs highlighted the rapid progress being made by India's private space industry and shared their vision for its future.
They said that their companies had invested significant time and effort in building capabilities and developing the required technologies indigenously in the country, while expressing gratitude for the support received from the Prime Minister.
They also highlighted the strong support from the government and collaboration within the industry, saying their teams were highly motivated and working with determination to achieve ambitious goals in the space sector.
The CEOs recalled that opening the space sector to private participation had generated significant enthusiasm and created new opportunities for industry. They also said several companies had shown interest in adopting and leveraging technologies developed by India's emerging private space industry.