India's nascent private space industry is making a strong pitch for enhanced government support ahead of the Union Budget, seeking recognition of space assets as critical infrastructure and increased procurement from domestic companies.

Industry Calls for Critical Infrastructure Status

The Indian Space Association (ISpA) and consultancy firm Deloitte have recommended that the government recognise space assets as critical infrastructure to enable low-cost, long-term financing for the sector. According to ISpA, which represents the space sector industry, "Recognising space infrastructure as a distinct infrastructure sub-sector is essential to unlock scale, private investment, and global competitiveness."

The industry body highlighted that Indian private players now possess proven capabilities across satellites, launch systems, Earth observation data, and ground infrastructure. However, a lack of assured government demand constrains scaling opportunities for these companies.

Government Procurement Models and International Benchmarks

ISpA has pointed to successful international procurement models as examples for India to follow:

"A formal procurement mandate will anchor industry growth while allowing ISRO to focus on strategic and exploratory missions," the space industry body stated.

Industry Leaders' Perspectives on Budget Expectations

Awais Ahmed, founder and CEO at Pixxel Space, emphasised the importance of government support, stating, "Being a big anchor customer, I think government support has to be around." He acknowledged that the government has taken positive steps by introducing research, development and innovation funds, along with deep-tech funds, but wants money to start flowing into capital-heavy businesses with potential to make India a powerhouse in space and AI sectors.

Srinath Ravichandran, founder and CEO at Agnikul Cosmos, highlighted specific areas for improvement: "Recognising space infrastructure as critical infrastructure can unlock low-cost financing, while rationalising taxes and duties on specialised launch components, along with reducing Customs GST and indirect taxes for deep tech, can significantly alleviate cost pressures."

Sector-Specific Recommendations

Several industry leaders have outlined targeted measures they expect from the Budget:

Suyash Singh, co-founder and CEO at GalaxEye, emphasised the need for:

• Targeted fiscal incentives for indigenous satellite manufacturing and payload development
• Expanded government-backed funding pools for deep-tech and space missions
• Clarity on long-term procurement policies for defence and strategic geospatial applications

Krishanu Acharya, Co-Founder and CEO at Suhora Technologies, expects:

• Targeted measures to accelerate the downstream space economy
• Specialised fund for skilling talent pipelines and academia on priority use cases
• Significant increase in defence sector allocations for satellite data analytics

Strategic Infrastructure and Economic Impact

ISpA and Deloitte have emphasised that space infrastructure underpins multiple critical sectors including telecommunications, defence, navigation, finance, weather forecasting, disaster management and governance. They argue that formal recognition will enable infrastructure-grade financing and reduce the cost of capital by 2-3%, while strengthening national resilience.

The industry association has also suggested that all ministries, state governments and urban local bodies should procure satellite imagery and geospatial data only from empanelled Indian companies. Additionally, they propose establishing a geo-tagging framework for all space entities and authorised users, restricting access to sensitive satellite data to geo-tagged, authorised entities to ensure data security and regulatory compliance.