India is accelerating its space ambitions, aiming to establish a sustained presence on the Moon within the next decade as part of its wider vision to become a developed nation by 2047.
In an interview with Bloomberg News in Panchkula on Saturday, Space Minister Jitendra Singh outlined the country’s long-term roadmap. “By 2035, we will have a space station called the Bharatiya Antariksh Station, and by 2040, hopefully an Indian human being will land on the lunar surface,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has intensified efforts to narrow the gap with major spacefaring nations, including China, which already operates its own space station and plans to send astronauts to the Moon by 2030. As part of this push, India is increasingly leveraging private investment to strengthen its position in the global space industry.
“India had a stagnant space economy until we opened it to the private sector. It has now expanded to around $8 billion,” Singh noted. “At the current pace, we could reach $40–45 billion in the next eight to ten years.”
Much of this projected growth is expected to come from India’s rapidly expanding space-tech startup ecosystem, which now includes roughly 400 companies working across satellite manufacturing, launch services, and space-based analytics.
India aims to secure 8%–10% of the global commercial space market within the next decade, up from less than 2% currently, according to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman V. Narayanan.
India marked a historic milestone in 2023 when it became the first country to land a robotic spacecraft near the Moon’s south pole. ISRO is also preparing for its first crewed space mission, scheduled for early 2027, Singh confirmed.
Singh, who oversees key portfolios in the Prime Minister’s Office—including Science, Space, and Atomic Energy—is at the forefront of Modi’s broader strategy to scale up investment in deep-technology sectors.
Last month, the government unveiled a 1 trillion-rupee ($11.1 billion) Research, Development and Innovation Scheme aimed at supporting private-sector breakthroughs in advanced technologies through concessional financing. The initiative will fund projects with a Technology Readiness Level of 4 or higher, indicating they are closer to commercialization. (Source: Bloomberg)
