ISRO Chief Says Going to the Moon is Costly, Emphasizes Need for Private Sector Involvement

Going to the Moon is a costly affair, according to ISRO chairman S Somanath, while stressing the need for private sector involvement in space exploration. He was speaking at an interactive session with students of the Karnataka Residential Educational Institutions Society. Somanath said the budget allocated to ISRO—"Rs 12,000 crore—is grossly inadequate".

Noting that ISRO cannot rely only on government support, he emphasized the need for business opportunities to sustain the space missions. "Going to the Moon is a costly affair. And we cannot depend only on the government for funding. We must create business opportunities. If you have to sustain it, you have to create a use for it.". Else, after we do something, the government will tell you to close down," he said.

"Collaboration with private players in the space sector is absolutely essential," he added. Further, he noted that ISRO aims to serve the country rather than to compete for supremacy among the spacefaring nations. Citing a recent report commissioned by ISRO in collaboration with European space consultancy Novaspace, Somanath said "For every rupee that the organisation spent, the return is Rs 2.5".

The report, released by space minister Jitendra Singh on National Space Day, said the space sector has contributed $60 billion to India's GDP between 2014 and 2024. For every dollar generated by the space sector, the Indian economy has seen a multiplier effect of $2.54. Further, it showed that the Indian space sector's revenues have grown to $6.3 billion as of 2023. India now stands as the eighth-largest space economy in the world.

It added that the Indian space economy, valued around Rs 6,700 crore ($8.4 billion) at present, is projected to contribute 2 per cent-3 per cent of the global space economy. Estimated to grow up to $13 billion by 2025 with a CAGR of 6 per cent, this economy is set to experience significant growth during the year.

It has created 4.7 million jobs, including 96,000 jobs in the public and private sectors, it said. India will look to command a share of 10 percent of global output within the next 10 years.