Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched the Indian Space Association (ISpA) and said that India will ensure that the space sector unites the world. “India will have to ensure that space plays an important role in uniting, connecting the world in the 21st century,” he said.He said that reforms in the space sector are based on four pillars: freedom of innovation to the private sector, the government’s role as an enabler, preparing the youth for the future and seeing the space sector as a tool for the development of the common man.PM Modi added that earlier the space sector was only limited to the government. However, “we changed that mindset and introduced innovations in the field. We brought the government and startups together because it is not the time for linear innovation but exponential innovation.”Talking about India’s end-to-end capability in the sector, PM Modi said that India is one of the few countries which has developed expertise in launch vehicles, satellites and interplanetary exploration. “We need to strengthen the brand value of efficiency and affordability and we need to become part of the end-to-end space system supply chain. As partners, the government will support the industry, young innovators, startups.”Invoking the government’s role in boosting the private sector in space technology, the prime minister said, “From the Defence to Space sector, the government is sharing its expertise, providing a launch pad for the private sector and Isro’s facilities are being opened. We will ensure that technology that has matured in the sector is transferred to private companies and the government will act as an aggregator for space assets.”
