Chandrayaan-3 mission: Make in India gets shot in arm as ISRO breaks new ground

The success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission on Wednesday is likely to boost the Centre’s ambitious Make in India programme by spurring investments in private space launches and related satellite-based businesses, according to experts.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro)’s remarkable feat has opened new vistas for the country’s space programme in the lucrative market of space exploration and commerce and is expected to assist private space companies increase their share of the global launch market.

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Following the successful completion of the lunar project, shares of 13 Indian space-sector companies, including PTC Industries Ltd, Zen Technologies Ltd. and Centum Electronics Ltd., rallied and added more than $2.5 billion in market value this week, according to data complied by Bloomberg.

The Make in India programme dates back to 2014, the first year of the Narendra Modi government’s first term in office, and is aimed at attracting investments in the manufacturing sector. Since then, the government has focussed heavily on indigenising a space programme that so far leaned heavily on foreign manufacturers.

According to officials, for the lunar mission, Isro took help from private partners to ensure that parts of the spacecraft, the hardware and other components are manufactured in India. This also ensured that the mission was cost effective in the longer run.

Tata Consulting Engineers Limited (TCE), the largest Indian private-sector engineering and project management consultancy, engineered unique and indigenously built critical systems and sub-systems for the project. These facilities played an important role in the launch of the mission. Similarly, Godrej Aerospace, a business unit of Godrej and Boyce, made significant contributions by supplying liquid propulsion engines such as Vikas Engine and satellite thrusters.

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“The mission’s overarching goal is to advance and showcase novel technologies essential for future interplanetary endeavors. While this is Isro’s mission, not many of us are aware of the hard work and contributions of many other private companies like Larsen & Toubro, Walchandnagar Industries, Centum Electronics, Godrej & Boyce, Ananth Technologies who have contributed,” Lt. Gen. AK Bhatt (Retd.), director general, Indian Space Association, said.