Private sector to be allowed to use ISRO facilities

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday the government will provide a level playing field for private companies in satellites, launches, and space-based services.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday the government will provide a level playing field for private companies in satellites, launches, and space-based services. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has brought a lot of laurels to the country.

"However, the private sector is also doing a lot of work in the arena now. We want the Indian private sector to be a co-traveler in India's space sector journey," she said during a press conference here along with Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur. Sitharaman said there will be liberal a geo-spatial data policy for providing remote-sensing data to tech-entrepreneurs.

"We will provide a predictable policy and regulatory environment to private players. They will be allowed to use ISRO facilities and other relevant assets to improve their capacities." In the field of atomic energy, she said a research reactor will be established in the public-private partnership (PPP) model for the production of medical isotopes.

This will enable the use of irradiation technology for food preservation to complement agricultural reforms and assist farmers.