India's Space Economy at USD 9 Billion with 440 Start-ups

A background paper released on 15 November 2026 traces how India's space sector moved from a wholly state-run programme to one in which private firms work across the whole chain of activity. The institutional story begins with INCOSPAR, set up in 1962 under the Department of Atomic Energy. ISRO replaced it in August 1969, the Space Commission and the Department of Space were constituted in June 1972, and ISRO was placed under the department in September 1972.

The reform of June 2020

The turn came on 24 June 2020, when the Union Cabinet cleared reforms letting Non-Government Entities take part in every segment of space activity instead of only supplying parts and services. IN-SPACe was created as an autonomous agency under the Department of Space and works as the single window for clearances, authorisation and access to ISRO facilities. NSIL, set up in March 2019, is the commercial arm that markets technologies built with public money. The Indian Space Association followed in October 2021 as the industry platform, and the Indian Space Policy 2023 wrote down who does what, leaving ISRO with advanced research and national missions while mature systems pass to industry.

The numbers the note reports

Money, rules and results

Foreign investment was opened through the automatic route by a Cabinet decision of 21 February 2024 that took effect on 16 April 2024: up to 74 percent in satellite making and operation, data products and the ground and user segments, 49 percent in launch vehicles and spaceports, and 100 percent in components and subsystems. IN-SPACe issued its Norms, Guidelines and Procedures on 3 May 2024 and runs a seed fund of up to Rs 1 crore, a pre-incubation programme, a Technology Adoption Fund of Rs 500 crore from February 2025 and a venture capital fund of Rs 1000 crore. NSIL's income rose from Rs 321.77 crore in 2021-22 to more than Rs 3000 crore in 2024-25, and it signed 118 technology transfer agreements on 83 ISRO technologies. IN-SPACe had granted 113 authorisations to 52 entities by mid-2026. Skyroot Aerospace flew Vikram-S in November 2022 as the first privately built Indian rocket, Agnikul Cosmos launched from the private pad Dhanush at Sriharikota in May 2024, and Vikram-I reached orbit on its first flight on 18 July 2026 under Mission Aagaman. The government expects the sector to reach about USD 44 billion by 2033 and USD 100 billion by 2040.