Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked National Space Day with a sweeping vision for India’s space sector, urging private players to target fifty rocket launches annually and create five unicorns within five years. In a video message themed ‘Aryabhatta to Gaganyaan: Ancient Wisdom to Infinite Possibilities’, he celebrated India’s rapid ascent in space technology and called on youth to join the newly formed Astronaut Pool to fuel future missions.
He highlighted India’s historic achievement as the first nation to reach the Moon’s South Pole and its emergence as the fourth country with docking and undocking capabilities in space. Recalling his recent meeting with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who unfurled the Tricolour at the International Space Station, Modi described the moment as a symbol of boundless courage and infinite dreams.
India is advancing in breakthrough technologies including semi-cryogenic engines and electric propulsion, with the Gaganyaan mission and a future indigenous space station on the horizon. Modi emphasized that space policy must remain dynamic, guided by the principle of ‘Reform, Perform and Transform’.
He noted that over 350 start-ups have emerged in the space-tech sector following reforms that opened the domain to private participation. The first PSLV rocket built by the private sector is set to launch soon, alongside Bharat’s first private communication satellite and an Earth Observation Satellite Constellation under public-private partnership.
Modi urged space start-ups to innovate for citizen services, citing satellite applications in crop insurance, fisheries safety, disaster management, and geospatial planning under PM Gati Shakti. He praised initiatives like the Indian Space Hackathon and Robotics Challenge for igniting youth interest and lauded India’s performance at the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics.
He concluded by reaffirming that space technology is not just a frontier of scientific exploration but a tool for ease of living, governance, and inclusive national growth.
