Context: A collaboration between two premier research and educational institutions in Thiruvananthapuram has shed light on India’s “space economy”.
In a first-of-its kind attempt at measuring the size of India’s space economy, researchers from the Centre for Development Studies (CDS) and the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) arrived at a figure of Rs. 36,794 crore (approximately $5 billion) for the financial year 2020-21.
What is Space Economy?
The Space Economy is composed of all the industries (rocket and satellite manufactures, telecommunications, climate change researchers, data and finance experts, Defence, etc.) that come together to create the trillion dollar ecosystem in space that makes modern day, digital life possible.
By the end of the next decade, the Space Economy will conservatively be valued at more than $4 Trillion Dollars.
By some estimates The Space Economy may exceed $10T by the 2040s.
The Space Economy goes beyond tourism and into the areas of production, trade, and commerce for goods and services both familiar and brand new taking place between the Karman line (approximately 100 kilometers overhead) and Cislunar space (the volume between geostationary Earth orbit and the Moon’s orbit) creating another world of possibilities for humanity.
