Science and Tech

Recently, the Union Cabinet has approved the creation of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) to provide a level playing field for private companies to use Indian space infrastructure.

·         This is part of reforms aimed toward giving a boost to personal sector participation within the entire range of space activities.

·         IN-SPACe: It will act as a single-point interface between Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and everyone who wants to participate in space-related activities, or use India’s space resources.

·         It will hand-hold, promote and guide the personal industries in area activities through encouraging policies and a friendly regulative environment.

·         Indian National house Promotion Board: it might be set up to strengthen the Department of area and for the promotion of the non-public space entrepreneurs or non-government space entrepreneurs,

·         Role of ISRO: the general plan is to let ISRO concentrate on essential activities like analysis and development, planetary exploration, and strategic use of area, whereas releasing itself from ancillary or routine work that might simply be done by personal trade.

·         Demand Driven Model: By the support of latest space of new limited (NSIL), it might endeavour to reorient area activities from a ‘supply driven’ model to a ‘demand driven’ one, thereby ensuring optimum utilization of the nation’s area assets.

·         The main objective of NSIL is to rescale business participation in Indian area programmes in comparison to IN-SPACe which provides emphasis on the participation of the personal sector.

·         New Space India Limited: NSIL is a Central Public Sector Enterprise of the Government of India.

·         It was established in 2019 under the administrative control of the Department of Space.

·         Headquarters: Bengaluru NSIL is the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with the primary responsibility of enabling Indian industries to take up high technology space related activities and is additionally responsible for promotion and industrial exploitation of the product and services emanating from the area trade.

·         NSIL is incorporated to carry forward the industry production of space systems and the ISRO’s efforts in realising Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLV) from industry.

·         NSIL differs from ISRO’s existing commercial arm Antrix Corporation: Antrix will handle ISRO’s commercial deals for satellites and launch vehicles with foreign customers.

·         NSIL will deal with capacity building of local industry for space manufacturing.

·         Global Rules and demands related to Space: Almost every country agrees that space must not be used for wars and has spoken against weaponisation of space.

·         There are international treaties governing the use of area, that mandate that outer space, and celestial bodies just like the Moon, should only be exploited for peaceful functions.

·         Outer Space Treaty of 1967: India is a party to the Outer Space Treaty.

·         The treaty prohibits countries from placing into orbit around the Earth “any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction”.

·         It also prohibits the stationing of such weapons on celestial bodies, like the moon, or in outer space.

·         The moon and different celestial bodies shall be used by all state parties to the treaty completely for peaceful functions.

·         There are four more multilateral  treaties that deal with specific ideas agreed to within the area treaty: The Rescue Agreement of 1968 The house Liability Convention of 1972 The Registration Convention of 1976 The Moon Treaty of 1979 The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of outer space (COPUOS) oversees these treaties and different queries of space jurisdiction. None of those, however, prohibits the sort of test that India carried out recently.

·         The international community has been debating for the requirement to introduce transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities (TCBMS).

·         In this regard, European Union has conjointly ready a draft code of conduct (CoC). However, major powers are yet to agree on the concept of establishing a CoC conduct.

·         Another important concept that has been put on the table jointly by Russia and China is that the prevention of the placement of Weapons in space (PPWT) rather than only Weapon of Mass Destruction that is resisted by United States and also the EU.