Bringing Private Sector to the Fore

In an exclusive interview with Geospatial World, IN-SPACe chairman Dr. Pawan Goenka talks about the role of private sector in space, how IN-SPACe is facilitating it, and the roadmap for future.

r. Pawan Goenka earned his B. Tech. from IIT Kanpur and Ph.D. from Cornell University, USA. He is a graduate of Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School. His professional experience includes working at General Motors R&D Centre, Detroit, USA for 14 years and at Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) Ltd. for 28 years. At Mahindra, he led the development of the Scorpio SUV and built a strong R&D infrastructure and a robust product portfolio.

He retired from M&M as MD & CEO on April 1, 2021. Dr. Goenka is currently also the chairman of the Board of Governors of IIT Madras. He is also the chairperson of the Steering Committee for Advancing Local value-add and Employment (SCALE), an initiative under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

IN-SPACe was created with the predominant objective of encouraging the private sector’s participation in space. Apart from the launch of a private satellite around six months back, what other milestones have been achieved by INSPACe?

IN-SPACe is one of the rungs of the ladder in the Space ecosystem. ISRO, government and private companies being the other rungs of the ladder. IN-SPACe is working as a facilitator for the Start-ups to enter the space sector. We are facilitating that process by providing help wherever it is needed. Nothing of such kind existed before.

The most important thing which has happened in the last two years is the belief in private industries that the government is serious about establishing private sector’s presence in the space sector. This is now established. There is always non-believer when you start something new, which is not the case now.

The opening of ISRO to support private sector is another big development. Whether this opening is for providing facility, infrastructure, manpower, resources, or expertise. All these are now readily available to private sector.

Investors’ confidence comes from seeing all these developments. It shows government’s intention of walking along with the private players in space sector. That is the reason that private players are coming forward to invest in Space sector.

What are some of the major changes that have happened over the years with sustained private sector participation in space?

IN-SPACe is doing the work of a regulator, whereby the body is authorizing the private sectors for the launch of satellites.

Private sectors are not aware of the nuances of the success in Space sector. Imparting such knowledge to them is an important part of this whole initiative. ISRO has its own internal guidelines for the launch, which we follow for private launches. We take the expertise of current and retired ISRO members for these launches.

We have finalized the price support mechanism so that all the things that we talk about becomes affordable to the private sector.

One of the important things happening right now is the preparation for the new FDI policy in Space sector which is till now is very restrictive. Just like Defence sector, we want to open-up Space. It has gone through multiple reviews and many layers of approval already. The new space policy is likely to come out anytime.

Due to a relatively small domestic space market, most Indian private sector companies look overseas. What needs to be done to expand indigenous base, luring private companies here?

A particular sector can grow only when there is a demand, which can either be domestic or overseas. You must look at demand and the domestic demand at present is not small, but almost non-existent.

It is non-existent because we have not been able to leverage the Space sector. Once we start creating downstream applications. Demand will come for downstream applications, which will drive the demand for upstream applications.

So, the whole data acquisition, dissemination and sharing will start happening in a much bigger way than what it is today once we have apps. Right now, these apps are used only by government departments. Once it goes to the public, the pool will become bigger and the demand will come.

Is it the case that return is not lucrative for upstream manufacturers ?

We need to encourage private sector in upstream side for producing various apps. Those apps must be taken to the masses, who in turn must be willing to pay for it. There should be a drive to create market for such apps, and then those apps should be monetized. Nothing in this world comes free.

We need to create awareness in end-users about the benefit of those applications. We all know about the Marine App which tells us which part of the sea has the maximum catch, but how many fishermen are using that technology? Users will have to be educated and then asked to pay. We must convert pull to push.

Same is the case with agricultural sector or laying out of highway in construction industry. Take the example of gatishakti. If you apply space data to plan construction of highways, you can save the construction cost and fuel consumption of 200 km between Delhi and Mumbai.

Space application can make such things happen, but we need to bring awareness about it. This is a journey on which we are embarking upon now. We need to open up ISRO, whose doors are fully open now. We want the private sectors to come in and the investors to invest.

All these applications will not have a multiplier effect on the Satellite Launches? That is not necessarily true anymore. It was true when we were talking of GSO. Once you launch, you are done for 20-25 years. Now, we are talking of fiveyear life. Thousands of satellites will be launched in next few years for Broadband Satellite Service.

All these satellites will need replacement every five years. This will create a cycle. In the case of earth observation satellite, we are scratching the surface. Whether it is India or any other country. There is so much more which can be done in earth observation.

Technologies are ever evolving. So, the satellite that you put up today may have life after 5 years, but the technology will become redundant. The optical and microwave technologies keep changing so rapidly. Therefore, the replacement will drive demand.

India does not have today any satellite building capability other than ISRO, which is not going to be in the business of building satellites. Therefore, we need to bring private sector to build satellites. India has the advantage of availability of skilled people and labour cost together, which can make India a satellite manufacturing hub, if we do lot of things right.

Space is one area which every country wants to keep protected. A company from a country A will not be easily allowed to go to a country B. We need to create the right value equation for this. All these role IN-SPACe will play.

We keep hearing about increasing India’s Space sector contribution to GDP from present 2% to 10%. How do we do that?

That’s a very pertinent question.. We are currently in the middle of the study, which will define what India should focus on. If we want to do everything, nothing will happen. We have to identify the areas where India can be competitive globally and so, where do we focus on.

That is one part. Second part is – what is the enablement that the government has to provide through ISRO and IN-SPACe. All of this are work in progress. I don’t want to pre-empt the outcome of that study.

With the right effort and 100% alignment, India should be able to achieve $40 billion plus contribution.

Dr . Goenka — from car & SUVs to Space — how has this journey been?

I have retired from Mahindra & Mahindra, and this is a post-retirement role. The government wanted somebody from the private sector to come in. The person to be in this position need not be a space scientist.

The government wanted somebody who understands the commercial aspects of business and technology and has been able to grow a business from the ground up. They must have done some research and found that I fit the bill. So, I was invited, and I accepted.

It was an eye opener for me. When I started interacting with various centers of ISRO, the depth of knowledge and complexities of space system as to what goes into it. The technology that goes into space is of very high level. This one area of technology where India is counted as a leader. There are not too many technologies, including automobile, where India is counted as a leader.

It is gratifying to see the vision which the founders like Vikram Sarabhai had and the government of India which supported that. To have such a vision for a country like India is itself a reason to be proud of. Personally, I feel happy that currently I am able to associate with the Space sector and do something to create a thriving space industry in India.

Interviewed by: Sanjay Singh