India's space mission biggest recognition of Aatmanirbhar Bharat: PM Modi

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], June 10 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday hailed India's space mission and called it the biggest recognition of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
Addressing the inauguration of IN-SPACe at Bopal, Ahmedabad, PM Modi said, "When this campaign will get the power of India's private sector, imagine how much its power will increase. Whether one is a scientist or a farmer-labourer, understands the techniques of science or does not understand, transcending all that, our space mission becomes the mission of all the people of the country. We saw this emotional solidarity of India during Mission Chandrayaan."
He expressed happiness that more than 60 private companies are leading in the country's space sectors with advanced preparation.
He singled out the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for bringing out this momentous change in the space sector of the country.
He reiterated the importance of the step of opening up the space sector and credited the expertise and determination of ISRO for this initiative.
"India's space programme has been the biggest identity of Aatmnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. Space-tech is about to become the basis of a major revolution in the 21st century. Space-tech is now going to become a technology not only of distant space but of our personal space", the Prime Minister pointed out.
He said that IN-SPACe needs to work continuously for making the gains of space technology accessible to the people of the country.
"The data collected by the private space companies are going to give them huge power in future. He said that the global space industry is valued at 400 billion US dollars and has the potential to become a 1 trillion dollar industry by 2040," PM Modi said.
He emphasized that India needs to increase its share in the global space industry and the private sector will play a big role in that.
The Prime Minister also saw a strong role for India in the fields of space tourism and space diplomacy. He stressed that there are infinite possibilities in our country but infinite possibilities can never be realized with limited efforts.
"I assure you that this process of reforms in the space sector will continue uninterruptedly. The private sector must be heard and understood and business possibilities should be analyzed properly. A strong mechanism has been put in place. IN-SPACe will act as a single-window, independent nodal agency to take care of all the needs of the private sector," he said.
PM Modi said that India is working on a New Indian Space Policy for coordinating between government companies, space industries, startups and institutions.
"We are soon going to bring a policy to improve ease of doing business in the space sector," the Prime Minister informed.
The Prime Minister termed the launch of IN-SPACe as a 'watch this space' moment for the Indian space industry as it is a precursor to many development and opportunities.
"IN-SPACe will give an opportunity to the youth of India to showcase their talent to the best minds of India. Whether they are working in the government or in the private sector, IN-SPACe will create great opportunities for all," he added.