Sky is Not the Limit for Gen Z, Says PM Modi

Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday unveiled Skyroot Aerospace’s first orbital rocket, Vikram-I, designed to launch satellites up to 350 kg into low Earth orbit or 260 kg into sun-synchronous orbit. He also announced the government’s plans to strengthen the country's space sector.

Inaugurating the company’s Infinite Campus in Hyderabad via video conferencing, Modi said, “India's private space talent is making its own identity in the world. Today, India's space sector is becoming an attractive destination for global investors. Today, the demand for small satellites is increasing rapidly in the world.”

The two-lakh square feet facility in Hyderabad serves as a hub for designing, developing, integrating, and testing multiple launch vehicles, boasting the capacity to manufacture one orbital rocket every month.

Featuring all-carbon composite structures, reliable solid fuel boosters, and 3D-printed liquid engines, Vikram-I marks a leap in India’s private space capabilities, building on Skyroot’s 2022 milestone with sub-orbital Vikram-S – the nation’s first private rocket launch.

Over the past six to seven years, Modi said reforms in the space sector have reshaped the ecosystem into an open, collaborative innovation powerhouse, spawning over 300 space startups, often kickstarted by tiny teams in rented rooms.

He announced his government’s intent to develop five new space unicorns in five years, set up semiconductor fabs, open up modular nuclear reaction space for the private sector, create a Rs 1-lakh crore R&D fund, and form the National Research Foundation.

The Prime Minister spotlighted India’s elite assets: skilled engineers, premium manufacturing, world-class launch pads, and cost-effective, reliable tech that few nations match, drawing global firms for satellite production, launches, and partnerships amid surging small satellite demand.

He attributed this to Gen Z’s broader start-up surge across fintech, agritech, healthtech, climatetech, and defencetech, propelling India to the world’s third-largest start-up ecosystem with 1.5 lakh registered ventures – many unicorns emerging from villages, advancing deep-tech, hardware, and semiconductors.

Union G. Kishan Reddy stated that India has emerged as a global space power, boasting more than 400 private startups, over 2,000 MSMEs, and 50 research centres, which provide momentum to India's space sector. “Today, the Indian space economy is valued at Rs 70,000 crore and is estimated to reach Rs 4 lakh crore by 2033. Global investors are increasingly investing heavily in aerospace manufacturing,” Kishan Reddy said.