Advertisment

ISRO Delivers Rs 2.5 Return for Every Rupee Invested, Reveals Study

The study, known as the Socio-Economic Impact Analysis of the Indian Space Programme, was presented on National Space Day by Space Minister Jitendra Singh.

author-image
Pratidin Time
New Update
Representative Image

In a recent revelation, ISRO Chairman S. Somanath shared that for every rupee spent on India's space program, the return is Rs 2.5, highlighting the significant socio-economic benefits of the sector. 

Advertisment

This finding comes from a study commissioned by ISRO in collaboration with European consultancy Novaspace, which assessed the impact of India's space endeavors.

Speaking at an interactive session with students of Karnataka Residential Educational Institutions Society, Somanath said that ISRO's primary goal is to serve the nation, rather than competing for space supremacy.

He also stressed the need for creating business opportunities within the space sector to ensure its sustainability, saying, “Going to the Moon is a costly affair, and we cannot depend only on the government for funding. We must create a use for it, or the government will eventually tell us to shut down.”

The study, known as the Socio-Economic Impact Analysis of the Indian Space Programme, was presented on National Space Day by Space Minister Jitendra Singh. It highlighted that the Indian space sector has contributed approximately $60 billion to India’s GDP between 2014 and 2024. For every dollar generated by the space sector, the Indian economy has experienced a multiplier effect of $2.54.

As of 2023, the Indian space sector has grown to $6.3 billion, positioning India as the eighth-largest space economy globally. The sector has also generated 4.7 million jobs, including 96,000 in the public and private sectors. In 2024, India's space economy is valued at approximately Rs 6,700 crore ($8.4 billion), contributing 2%-3% to the global space economy, which is projected to reach $13 billion by 2025.

Somanath also pointed out that ISRO’s total investment over the past 55 years is less than NASA's annual budget, with ISRO's current budget standing at $1.6 billion, compared to NASA's $25 billion. Despite the lower budget, India has made significant strides, launching 127 satellites, including those from private operators and academic institutions, by the end of 2023. The country has launched 97 rockets and deployed 432 foreign satellites. 

ISRO’s satellite-based services benefit millions across India, with over 800,000 fishermen relying on satellite data for daily operations, and more than 140 crore Indians receiving the advantage of satellite-based weather forecasts. India’s spy satellites, with a 25cm resolution, are considered among the best globally.

On the interplanetary exploration front, India has made history by becoming the first country to capture the orbits of both the Moon and Mars on its first attempts. The Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully soft-landed the Vikram lander near the Moon’s unexplored south pole. Additionally, ISRO is studying the Sun continuously through the Aditya L-1 satellite.

With the increasing number of private space companies—over 400 as of now, up from just 54 in 2020—India is poised to make further advances in the global space economy, with a target to capture 10% of the global market share by the next decade.

Space Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)