Latest news with #INSPACe
Indian Express
24-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
To fuel $44-billion space push, Centre finalises Space Bill to boost private sector, give IN-SPACe statutory powers
A new draft of the Space Activities Bill, which seeks to facilitate greater participation of private industry in space sector, and grant statutory powers to IN-SPACe, which acts as a sort of a regulator for private space companies, has been finalised, and ready for circulation to the stakeholder ministries, an official told The Indian Express. This bill had earlier been prepared in 2017 and shared in public domain for comments and suggestions. But it could never be finalised and introduced in Parliament. In subsequent years, the government created INSPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre) in 2020 and formulated the Indian Space Policy 2023 with the same intent and purpose. But the need for a legislative framework has remained, particularly with the proliferation of private space companies indulging in a variety of space activities in the last few years. The need to regulate space activities becomes necessary also because of the fact that the Indian government has to adhere to the provisions of the various international treaties it has acceded to on the use of outer space. Under these treaties, the Indian government is responsible for the consequences of all space activities being carried out from its jurisdiction. 'The bill is now almost ready and will soon be circulated to the stakeholder ministries for consultations,' Pawan Goenka, chairperson of INSPACe, told The Indian Express. 'It will provide legal backing to the authorisation and regulation processes in the space industry. As of now, authorisations to private players are provided on a case-to-case basis, as per the policies brought out by the agency. But INSPACe itself lacks statutory authority. The bill will grant it that,' Goenka said. The new draft incorporates the suggestions made earlier, and accounts for the substantively changed situation in terms of participation of private industry in space sector. The 2017 draft had provisions of a three-year imprisonment and a fine of over Rs one crore for offences such as carrying out a space activity without a license, furnishing false information, or polluting the outer space. It also had a provision saying any intellectual property right created in the outer space would belong to the government. Those provisions have been amended in line with the suggestions and recommendations received from the industry. Private industry has been asking for a legal framework that will enable the sector to grow at a rapid pace. One of their specific demands has been to include a provision that allows them to access easy insurance for their high value systems. Currently, the cost of insuring space assets and space activities is very high, making them unaffordable for upcoming start-ups. 'The provision for insurance will indeed be a part of the draft bill,' Goenka said. The bill is seen as an important step towards achieving the goal of a 44 billion dollar space market in India by the year 2033, at least one fourth of which, 11 billion dollars is supposed to be generated from exports. In 2022, India's space market was estimated to be worth 8.4 billion dollars. 'After the internal consultation with the stakeholder ministries, the draft bill will be sent for a wider consultation to different ministries and then shared with the general public. Once we get all the inputs — depending on what the inputs are, not everything has to be included but these are things that have to be accounted for — we will create the final draft. The final draft will go to the minister in-charge, which is the PM in this case. Once it is approved, it will go to the cabinet and then the parliament,' Goenka said. He said at least three state governments had come up with their own space policies. This is the first step towards setting up manufacturing hubs in these states. 'States will do the manufacturing, it will not be the central government. What we are doing is incentivising the states to set up manufacturing parks specific to space. So far three have come up,' Goenka said. The states that have come up with a policy include Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Karnataka. IN-SPACe is also in talks with Maharashtra and possibly another state to set up such manufacturing hubs. 'We will not do more than four to five hubs right now because there isn't enough room for more. Let the activities grow and then we will do more,' he said. He added that the space manufacturing hub in Tamil Nadu will focus on launch vehicles, Gujarat on satellites and other payloads, while the hub in Karnataka is likely to be more general as most of the space activities take place in Bengaluru. Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government's management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country's space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University's Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor's Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More
Time of India
19-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Govt considering amendments to Atomic Energy Act, nuclear liability law
Government is considering amendments to the laws governing the nuclear power domain, including the sectoral regulator, to allow participation of private sector as India eyes to produce 100 GW atomic energy by 2047. Government sources said amendments were being considered to the Atomic Energy Act to allow private sector participation and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act to limit the liability on suppliers of equipment to build atomic energy plants. The government is also considering regulatory reforms and is evaluating the model of Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (INSPACe) which acts as the promoter and regulator for the space sector that was opened up for private participation in 2020. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced opening up of the nuclear power sector which has been restricted to public sector companies. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited operates atomic power plants across the country that contribute 8.7 GWe to the country's energy mix. Sitharaman also announced the Nuclear Energy Mission for research and development of Small Modular Reactors (SMR) with an outlay of Rs 20,000 crore and to operationalise five indigenously developed SMRs by 2033. The Department of Atomic Energy officials has recently said that the Nuclear Energy Mission aims to leverage private sector participation, streamline regulatory frameworks, and scale up nuclear power production to meet India's increasing energy demands. Foreign nuclear power firms had evinced interest in setting up atomic power plants in India after it secured a waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group to engage in global nuclear trade. The NSG waiver came after the landmark India-US civil nuclear deal of 2008. However, the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act of 2010 proved to be an impediment for private sector participation. The private sector termed certain provisions of the law were unacceptable and contradicted the international Convention for Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC). The government expects the private sector to pitch in with investments to achieve the target of producing 100 GWe nuclear power by 2047. The officials said that around 50 per cent of the 100 GW target is expected to come from Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). A parliamentary panel has also recommended establishing a robust financial model that includes government incentives, Viability Gap Funding (VGF), and sovereign guarantees to attract both domestic and foreign investments. The Committee had suggested that expediting legislative amendments to the Atomic Energy Act and Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act to encourage private investment in nuclear power generation. India plans to set up private sector SMRs of 220 MW Bharat Small Reactors (BSR) for captive use. NPCIL had recently invited Request for Proposals from Indian industries for setting up 220 MW BSRs for captive use.
New Indian Express
19-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Govt considering amendments to Atomic Energy Act, nuclear liability law
NEW DELHI: Government is considering amendments to the laws governing the nuclear power domain, including the sectoral regulator, to allow participation of private sector as India eyes to produce 100 GW atomic energy by 2047. Government sources said amendments were being considered to the Atomic Energy Act to allow private sector participation and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act to limit the liability on suppliers of equipment to build atomic energy plants. The government is also considering regulatory reforms and is evaluating the model of Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Center (INSPACe) which acts as the promoter and regulator for the space sector that was opened up for private participation in 2020. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced opening up of the nuclear power sector which has been restricted to public sector companies. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited operates atomic power plants across the country that contribute 8.7 GWe to the country's energy mix. Sitharaman also announced the Nuclear Energy Mission for research and development of Small Modular Reactors (SMR) with an outlay of Rs 20,000 crore and to operationalise five indigenously developed SMRs by 2033.
