ISRO's total investment to date is less than a single year's budget of NASA

The total investment in Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to date in the last 55 years since its inception is less than a single year's budget of US space agency NASA, according to Socio-Economic Impact Analysis of Indian Space Programme. This is a report commissioned by ISRO in collaboration with European space consultancy Novaspace that assessed the benefits of India's space program. ISRO, which has achieved success with Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan missions, has budget which is about 15 times less than what NASA spends on space.

While ISRO's current annual budget is about $1.6 billion, NASA's current annual budget is $25 billion. This is about 15.5 times larger than India's spending on space, according to a TOI report. India has seen a significant jump in private space companies. At present, our country has over 400 private space companies which was only 54 in 2020.

ISRO recently made history by capturing the orbit of the Moon and Mars in its first attempts. India also soft-landed its Chandrayaan-3 lander Vikram near the Moon's unexplored south pole.


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India space economy valuation

According to the report, as of 2014, the Indian space economy is valued around Rs 6,700 crore ($8.4 billion), contributing 2%-3% of the global space economy. It is expected to reach $13 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 6%. By the next decade, India aims to capture a 10 percent share of the global economy, the report says.

ISRO Chairman S Somanath said a recent study by the Indian space agency on whether the money invested in the sector benefitted society found that for every rupee that the organisation spent, the return is Rs 2.5. He was speaking at an interactive session with students of Karnataka Residential Educational Institutions Society.

“Going to the Moon is a costly affair. And we cannot depend only on the govt for funding. We must create business opportunities. If you have to sustain it, you have to create a use for it. Otherwise, after we do something, the govt will tell you to close down,” he was quoted as saying by TOI.

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Space sector contribution to India's GDP in 10 years

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, according to the report. S Somanath was referring to the Socio-Economic Impact Analysis of Indian Space Programme. The report was released by Union Space Minister Jitendra Singh on National Space Day.

The Indian space sector’s revenues have grown to $6.3 billion as of 2023, making it the eighth-largest space economy in the world. It has created 4.7 million jobs, including 96,000 jobs in the public and private sector, it said.

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According to the latest estimates, a total of 127 Indian satellites, including those from private operators and academic institutions, have been launched till December 31, 2023. India has launched 97 rockets and sent 432 foreign satellites to space.

It has three different rockets available for commercial launches. The report said Isro helps eight lakh fishermen daily and 140 crore Indians get the benefit of satellite-based weather forecasts. India’s spy satellites with 25cm resolution are among the best in the world.