The Indian Space Policy, 2023 is an executive policy issued by the Department of Space (DoS), approved by the Union Cabinet on April 6, 2023, and released on April 20, 2023. It formalizes the space sector reforms first announced in June 2020. The policy was created to augment India's share of the global space economy by enabling end-to-end private participation across the value chain, pivoting from a state-monopoly program. It effectively supersedes earlier sectoral guidance, such as the SATCOM Policy (1997) and the Remote Sensing Data Policy (2011).
The policy works by restructuring the sector around four institutional actors with delineated mandates. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is directed to transition away from routine operational activities and focus on Research & Development (R&D) of advanced technologies, human spaceflight, and planetary exploration. Non-Government Entities (NGEs) are permitted to undertake end-to-end activities, including building, launching, and operating satellites and launch vehicles. The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) is designated as the single-window, autonomous nodal agency responsible for authorizing, promoting, and supervising all space activities by NGEs and government entities. NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the commercial public-sector undertaking, is tasked with commercializing ISRO-developed technologies. The policy connects to the FDI policy revision of 2024 and anticipates the long-pending Space Activities Bill, which is expected to provide the binding legislative architecture the policy currently lacks.