Relative to GDP, India's space spends higher than half of G20 peers

India spent more on its space program compared to its economic size, than many developed peers in the Group of 20 (G20) nations.  

India’s spending was the equivalent of 0.049 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP), according to data compiled by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2020. This is higher than the UK (0.03 per cent), Canada (0.018 per cent), and Australia (0.004 per cent). India’s spending was higher than at least ten of its peers in the G20 (chart 1). 

Chandrayaan-3’s successful soft landing on the lunar south pole on Wednesday has ensured India’s place in the elite group of nations to have achieved this feat.

India has also launched more spacecraft than the European Space Agency, and developed nations like France. It has launched 103 spacecraft. Japan is ahead with 205. The UK has 448, China is 517 while the US leads with over 4,000 launches (chart 2).
 

India’s space department had a budget allocation of Rs 12,543.91 crore in 2023-24.  The allocation had touched Rs 13,700 crore in the previous year, though revised estimates suggest that the expenditure for the year was Rs 10,530.04 crore. The 2019-20 budget figure was similar to the latest year, at Rs 12,473.26 crore.