Indian space sector contributed $60 bn to GDP, generated 4.7 million jobs: Report

NEW DELHI — The Indian space sector has, in the last 10 years, contributed $60 billion to the GDP, as well as generated 4.7 million jobs in the country, according to a report.

It showed that in the last years, the country invested nearly $13 billion in the space sector. Through direct, indirect, and induced benefits, the sector contributed $60 billion to the national GDP.

The report by global consulting firm Novaspace, commissioned by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), was released by Union Minister of State for Space Jitendra Singh on the occasion of National Space Day.

From $3.8 billion in 2014, the sector’s estimated revenues increased to $ 6.3 billion in 2023, said Steve Bochinger, affiliate executive adviser at Novaspace

He informed that every dollar that was generated via investments or revenues in the space sector led to an additional “$2.54 of indirect and induced benefit” to the nation’s economy.

Bochinger also noted that the Indian space sector generated 4.7 million jobs, and “directly employs 96,000 persons through the public and the private sector”.

The report further showed that India was the eighth-largest space nation in the world in terms of funding and has seen faster growth of startups in the sector.

It added that about eight lakh fishermen are benefitted daily by ISRO. About 1.4 billion Indians also get the benefit of satellite-based weather forecasts.

Meanwhile, the report also highlighted challenges such as regulatory, financing, infrastructure, market context, and workforce that currently impact the Indian space sector.

Bochinger noted that the significant regulatory reforms in the space sector “have not produced their full effect yet”.

Moreover, access to private capital is of major concern for startups in the country “especially due to an underdeveloped venture capital ecosystem,” he said.