Diversification of the Indian space programme in the past decade: Perspectives on implications and challenges

From the humble beginnings of the sounding rocket programme at the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) in the early sixties the Indian space programme has come a long way to realise independent capabilities in space, launch and ground segment to provide various civilian applications and services to the country. In the past decade, the activities of the Indian Space Research Organisation have witnessed a substantial rise which reflects on the number of missions as well as the budget of the space agency. The present work explores the diversification of the Indian space programme in the past decade with a detailed study on the capabilities and technologies realised with the sustained support of the Government of India into the space programme. Perspectives on the implications (for diplomacy, security and private industry) of the success achieved in the space programme alongside the challenges that may be faced in policy with the rising expectation for various services by different stakeholders within the country have been discussed.