| | SEPTEMBER 202319the space sector, the interests and capabilities of India's private sector, and the interests and motivations of foreign entities to invest in India's space sector. Repetition of all these flaws and a failure to learn from past mistakes are claimed to be its problems. By adding multiple new, major violations of both Indian and international legal frameworks, it worsens prior errors in judgment.Many a Duties Await for the NGEsFrom now on, these NGEs may do a variety of assignments, including designing and operating satellites, creating launch systems, and installing and using tracking and control systems on the ground. It can be assumed that FDI in the sector is not ruled out since the Policy does not identify the form of these NGEs or the place and function of foreign investment in them, especially given that an earlier Draft Space Activities Bill of 2017 had that stated objective.According to the PIB announcement, the Policy is based on the premise that the private sector should be unrestricted to commercialize the design-development and production skills in the Indian space sector. The objective is to increase India's modest two percent market share of the $360 billion global space industry. According to industry experts, India might increase its market share by up to five times, or $ 9­10 billion, by 2030.The Indian space start-up industry is clearly thriving and brimming with potential, but in terms of scale and funding, the companies lag well behind international behemoths. Prior to recently, private enterprises in India primarily served as subcontractors for ISRO's rocket launchers, satellites, and ground-tracking systems, producing minor or large components, subassemblies, or assemblies. A demand-driven ecosystem will replace one that is supply-driven, according to the new Policy.The Actual Nature of the PolicyThe Policy relies on a well-known Indian government structure of entities that are allegedly autonomous but actually work under the constant supervision of the Department of Space (DoS), which answers directly to the PMO. The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-Space), which performs the functions of authorization or permitting space activities, supervision (regularly issuing guidelines and procedures to be followed), promotion and hand-holding of private players for ease of doing business, and regulator, all rolled into one, is one of the four pillars of the policy structure.This model has two features that are significant.First, it offers a free-for-all environment for private players in the same way that it does in practically all industrial and commercial sectors where "regulatory agencies," which are also tasked with promoting ease of doing business, in fact work to deregulate the industry.The second closest analog to this model that cuts across all governments is the DGCA (Director General of Civil Aviation), which certifies the airworthiness of aircraft, supervises and evaluates air traffic controllers, and finally looks into its own performance in the event of an accident.The launch of India's new space policy marks an important turning point in the development of a commercial space ecosystem, but significant issues remain that must be resolved in order to fully reap the advantages of private sector involvement. To ensure that the strategy results in a successful and long-lasting commercial space economy in India, it would be crucial to provide clear instructions on how the government and other institutions will actively engage with private startups. THE POLICY DISCUSSES THE CREATION OF IN-SPACE, A SELF-GOVERNING AGENCY THAT WILL SUPPORT, DIRECT, AND APPROVE SPACE ACTIVITIES IN THE NATION
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