India’s space applications leapfrogged in last five decades: ISRO Chairman

India’s space programmes have “leapfrogged” over the last five decades in delivering services at the grassroots level, ISRO Chairman Dr V Narayanan said on Friday.

“In the last 50 years, space programmes have expanded from television broadcasting to telemedicine, weather forecasting, food and water security, and national security. There was a time when Odisha lost 10,000 people in a natural disaster — today we have come a long way,” Narayanan said at the National Space Meet 2.0.

Citing the ISRO-NASA collaboration on the NISAR satellite, he said it was the costliest satellite ever built. “It was made by ISRO and launched by our own rocket. We are now checking the data. We also successfully conducted docking experiments with two satellites,” he added. He also recalled that ISRO scientists had detected a leak in the Falcon 9 rocket, averting danger to astronauts on the Axiom-4 mission.

Unveils model of Bharatiya Antariksh Station

New Delhi: The ISRO on Friday unveiled a model of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) module during the two-day National Space Day celebrations that began here. India plans to launch the first module of the BAS, its own home-built space station, by 2028, marking its entry into the group of a handful of nations that operate orbital laboratories.

ISRO scientific secretary Ganesh Pillai stressed that a developed India would require not just economic growth but smarter governance and resilient infrastructure, with space technology at the core. He said the India Space Policy 2023 had opened doors for private participation, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Dr Pawan Goenka, Chairman of IN-SPACe, urged the government to engage more with private players. “A decade ago, there was no private sector in space. Today, it is thriving. The government is currently the primary user of space applications, but as demand grows, private users will step in. ISRO wants to partner with the private sector to scale use cases,” he said.

The meet, themed “Leveraging Space Technology and Applications for Viksit Bharat 2047”, brought together ministries, policymakers, researchers and industry leaders to discuss applications of space technology in agriculture, environment, infrastructure, health, education, communication, disaster management and regional development.

NITI Aayog member Dr VK Saraswat said India is rapidly advancing in the space arena. “As of March 2025, 105 countries operate in space with 11,700 active satellites. Space plays a dual role in national security and this was reflected during Operation Sindoor,” he added.