India should lead global space alliance of emerging nations: Niti Aayog’s V K Saraswat

India should be a major player in forging an international space alliance to unite spacefaring and emerging nations to focus on areas of shared importance such as surveillance of space assets and satellite networks for economic growth, said V K Saraswat, Member, Niti Ayog, here on Friday.

India celebrates National Space Day on August 23 to mark the Chandrayaan-3 landing near the South Pole of the moon in 2023.

Delivering remarks at the National Space Day, Saraswat said a global space alliance was a major requirement in the present interdependent world where India was working with different countries on space systems, development of applications and their utilisation.


"Globally, the new space era is defined by revolutionary trends. We are talking of constellations for small satellites, in space manufacturing and applications that integrate space data into IoT (internet of things), automation and governance," the top missile scientist said.

Saraswat was addressing the National Meet-2, an interaction of ISRO with various government departments, which was attended by ISRO Chairman V Narayanan and Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (INSPACe) Chairman Pawan Goenka.

He said a global alliance was necessary for surveillance of space assets, satellite networks for economic growth, border security, tourism, debris mitigation, space mining, space-based energy and legal framework for the future.

Saraswat said with its scientific talent, strong industrial base and entrepreneurial spirit, India was well positioned to assume a larger role in the global arena.

He stressed the importance of synergy across government, industry, academia and start ups.

"Each brings unique strengths, policy direction, technical expertise, innovative agility and domain insights. Together they form an ecosystem that is self-reliant and globally competitive," he said.

Saraswat urged the stakeholders to think boldly, collaborate deeply and deliver inclusively to ensure that the benefits of technology reach every citizen, no matter how remote the person is.