Isro's Chandrayaan-3 effect: India Inc.'s big space ambitions

The success of India’s ambitious Chandrayaan-3 mission to the moon—where the Vikram lander touched down near the lunar South Pole, making India the first country in the world to achieve this feat—has made the nation proud. The Chandrayaan mission’s success has also rubbed off positively on around 400 private sector firms that have, over the years, formed part of the vendor ecosystem for the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), the agency that forms the core of India’s space programmes. So much so, that legacy firms and start-ups are now busy readying plans for forays in the space sector across a range of activities. Large conglomerates like the House of Tata, Larsen & Toubro, the Godrej group and Walchandnagar Industries are in various stages of their forays in the space sector. 

And that’s not all. As many as 150- odd spacetech start-ups are also vying for a piece of the space pie. All this can only be good news for India’s space ecosystem that, according to a study by consultancy Arthur D. Little, could potentially be worth $40 billion by 2040, forecast to grow at a CAGR of 9.2 per cent to attain a 4 per cent global share by that time. The study adds that India can do even better and touch $100 billion by that year, garnering a 10 per cent share of the global market. In our cover story, Manish Pant takes a deep dive into the massive ecosystem being created in the space sector, even as the next big mission, Gaganyaan, is being readied. Start-ups in the space sector are witnessing a rise in funding interest; 23 companies have expressed interest in developing Isro’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV); and India’s space agency has already transferred 19 active patents to the private sector. “Larger companies, which were primarily vendors to Isro, have now started warming up to the idea of investing in technology and making bigger bets. So many want to have access to making rockets,” Pawan Goenka, Chairman of IN-SPACe, the body set up to promote the Indian space ecosystem, tells BT. 

We also take a look at the Isro model, with the organisation emerging not only as one of the most cost-effective agencies but also as a massive incubator of private space firms. From space, it’s back to earth where Krishna Gopalan brings you the story of Wipro Consumer, the lesser-known firm from the Wipro stable, which has now become a Rs 10,000-crore fast-moving consumer goods company in its own right, beating even the likes of Marico on top line. Wipro Founder Azim Premji tells BT that the company has not just acquired brands; it has also successfully nurtured and grown them. Meanwhile, Anand Adhikari brings you the story of the winds of change blowing in one of the country’s best-known private lenders—Kotak Mahindra Bank— where Founder Uday Kotak has just stepped down as MD & CEO. But the foundation Kotak has built over several years is solid, and the bank is now set to transform itself into a tech-led financial powerhouse.