Hope reforms in space sector encourages more women participation, says PM

PM Modi said that the government has formed IN-SPACe to facilitate the private sector's participation

On the occasion of International Day of Girl Child on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed hope that the reforms in the space sector will encourage more women participation.

Addressing the launch of the Indian Space Association (ISpA), the Prime Minister referred to the photo of the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) women engineers who celebrated the success of India's Mars mission and said we can never forget that photo.

"Today is 'International Day of the Girl Child', how can we forget celebrations of India's Mars mission by the women scientists. I hope reforms in the space sector encourages more women participation," he stated.

PM Modi further said that the government has formed IN-SPACe to facilitate the private sector's participation. "It will work as a single-window independent agency for all space-related programmes. This will further speed up projects of the private sector," he said.

He added that this is the time of exponential innovation, which can only be achieved when the government does not play the role of handler but enabler.

The Prime Minister further said the space sector for India will mean better forecast for farmers, for fishermen, a better watch of our ecology, and better forecasting of natural disasters.

ISpA is the premier industry association of space and satellite companies, which aspires to be the collective voice of the Indian space industry.

It will undertake policy advocacy and engage with all stakeholders in the Indian space domain, including the government and its agencies.

"Echoing the Prime Minister's vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, ISpA will help in making India self-reliant, technologically advanced and a leading player in the space arena," read a release.

ISpA is represented by leading homegrown and global corporations with advanced capabilities in space and satellite technologies.

Its founding members include Larson & Toubro, Nelco (Tata Group), OneWeb, Bharti Airtel, Mapmyindia, Walchandnagar Industries and Ananth Technology Limited. Other core members include Godrej, Hughes India, Azista-BST Aerospace Private Limited, BEL, Centum Electronics and Maxar India.