Union budget 2022-23: Is India‘s Rs 13,700 cr space budget enough?

News: Budget allocation to the space sector in the Union Budget 2022-23, attracts reactions from the experts.

What is the expert’s view on the allocation of resources for the space?

Center has kept aside Rs 13,700 crore as ISRO space itself for the Gaganyaan mission. ISRO Will receive the maximum share from the space budget. But still, experts say, it is difficult to estimate the sufficiency of funds as officials do not disclose the progress of ongoing projects.

According to experts, budgetary constraints led to shorted lifespans of ISRO missions in comparison to NASA. Also, it is difficult to have the best scientific observations on limited instruments. For example, MOM carried five instruments while the eight is carried by MAVEN. Another reason that India can carry a low-cost mission is because of lower salaries of the workforce and cost of living.

Also, according to experts, as the space sector is doing well, there is a need to allocate more monetary allocations.

What is India’s position in global space?

According to Economic Survey 2021-22, the global space economy was close to $447 billion in 2020. Of this, India’s share was only about 2%, much behind the US and China, reports. Also, India launches roughly 5-7 satellites per year. In contrast, the United States, China, and Russia had 19, 25, and 34 satellite launches.

What are the upcoming missions of ISRO?

There are several missions in the pipeline like Chandrayaan,  Small Satellite Launch Vehicle; Aditya Ll, XpoSat an X-ray observatory satellite, and Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System.

How the collaboration with the private sector can help ISRO?

The government introduced Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre in 2020. This was aimed at channelling non- government-private enterprises to watch space activities. According to the 2021-2022 Economic Survey, IN-SPACe received close to 40 proposals from large industries, micro, small and medium enterprises, start-ups, and academia for manufacturing launch vehicles and satellites.

Also, the number of space start-ups increased to 100 in 2021, from one in 2012.

Source: This post is based on the article “Union budget 2022-23: Is India‘s Rs 13,700 cr space budget enough?” published in the Down to Earth on 8th February 2022.