Budget 2020 | Need to put spotlight on ‘space commerce’: Pixxel CEO

By Awais Ahmed

“India is still lagging in harnessing the power of the private sector in the space domain. This shows that there is a lot more ground to cover. As budding private space entrepreneurs, we would like to see some structural measures in the union budget to accelerate growth and to furnish the rising demand for space-based services in India.

Well-structured space policy: There is a need for a regulatory framework to support private space sector in India. Currently, space activities in India are mostly a G2G affair but to build a viable space ecosystem India should collaborate with private players. We are hopeful that the government will announce steps that will strengthen the private space industry ecosystem, taking us towards self-sufficiency and could make India the world’s launch pad.

Formalize access to capital for private players: The space sector is capital-intensive, therefore requires support from government to relax norms for private players. The need is to put the spotlight on ‘space commerce’ and to emphasize on public private-partnership. The new era of collaboration and cooperation can create more job opportunities and bring export revenues.

These steps would bring significant benefits to the economy and growth for private space entrepreneurs in India. We are expecting our government to set these reforms in motion and help us expanding India’s share in the global space economy."