Space technology being used to boost development: Hardeep Singh Puri

New Delhi: The government has used space technology to boost development by tracking a host of projects, the BJP said on Friday, noting that ISRO has conducted twice as many satellite launches since 2014 than it did during the 10 years before that.

India's space economy is now worth USD 8 billion and it employs 45,000 people, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri said here.

Puri also expressed confidence that the sector will reach USD 100 billion in the next 15 years and its global share will zoom to 10 per cent from the current two per cent.

Speaking to reporters, Puri credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for using space technology to track a host of projects related to urban development, infra work and MNREGA and said it has boosted growth.

The opening up of the space sector has led to 195 start-ups in the field, with Indian satellite manufacturing now worth USD 3.2 billion in one year, he said.

India now ranks fifth among space-faring countries to have end-to-end technology, the minister said, expressing confidence it will succeed in sending a manned mission to the Moon by 2040.

He also noted that Russia's unsuccessful Moon mission cost over Rs 16,000 crore while India's successful Chandrayaan mission cost only Rs 600 crore.