This is great news for the SatCom Industry as the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the proposal of the Department of Telecommunications [DoT] to conduct spectrum auction barring the key satellite band, the 28 GHz band. A total of 72 GHz of spectrum with a validity period of 20 years will be put to auction in the approved frequency bands viz., 600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz bands.

SIA-India appreciates DoT's proposal based on the international best practices to exclude the ka-Band [27.5 –28.5 GHz] spectrum for 5G/IMT auctions. In March 2022, looking at the criticality of the spectrum debate, SIA-India had come out with a Position Paper 'A-Balanced-Approach-for-Spectrum-Allocation' released by Dr. V K Saraswat, Member, Niti Aayog, with pertinent suggestions based on relevant international studies to help the Industry and Policymakers to make suitable policy and business decisions.

The association in its position paper had urged the government to deploy 5G in the 26 GHz band as with the majority of the countries, to benefit from economies of scale and reserving the 28 GHz band for the space and satellite sector. The Association is glad that the government has based its decision in synergy with the SatCom Industry demand.

Indian National Space Promotion & Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) approved by the Union cabinet in June 2020 is one of the path-breaking reforms in the Space Sector. The Hon'ble Prime Minister formally inaugurated the headquarters IN-SPACe at Bopal, Ahmedabad on 10 June '22 in the presence of numerous respected dignitaries and space-tech luminaries including Hon'ble Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah; Hon'ble Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel; ISRO Chairman Dr. Somanath S, IN-SPACe Chairman Dr. Pawan Goenka; Dr. P. K. Jain, Director - Program Management and Authorisation; Dr. Vinod Kumar, Director - Promotions, Mr. Rajeev Jyoti, Director-Technical and more.

The Prime Minister said "IN-SPACe will provide excellent opportunities for all especially for the youth of India with the best scientific minds to showcase their talent. The nodal body shall remove all the hurdles that stop Indian youth from progressing in their path. The sky is not the limit for the private space sector which will not just be the vendors but big winners. IN-SPACe has the potential to revolutionize the space sector in India with space exploration, tourism, and space diplomacy playing key roles, he emphasized."

SIA-India looks forward to working with IN-SPACe, NSIL and ISRO to contribute to the advancement of the private space sector.

"The PM sets forth the importance of IN-SPACe primed to play an anchoring role in transforming the space sector in India expected to capture a larger share of the global space economy and ensure greater private participation in the sector."- Dr. Subba Rao Pavuluri, President, SIA-India

IN-SPACe will act as an interface between ISRO and private parties where NGPEs will not be required to seek separate permission from ISRO. The body as a facilitator and a regulator will allow space activities and usage of DOS-owned facilities by non-government private entities [NGPEs] in order to carry out the capital-intensive space activities seamlessly and feasibly. It will also facilitate sharing of technology and expertise with NGPEs.

67 applications have already been received from areas such as Launch vehicles; applications and products; satellites, and R&D.

At SIA-India, we hope to see this number multiply significantly by the end of this year.

Dhruva Space Private Limited signed an MOU with IN-SPACe June 10, 2022 at the official inauguration of IN-SPACe in Ahmedabad, Gujarat for the enablement of space activities, namely the testing and launch of Satellites and Satellite components. The MoU also dives into two more aspects of this integral partnership: the testing of Satellite Deployers on the PSLV C53 Mission in June, and the launch of two Satellites – Thybolt-1 and Thybolt-2 – as a part of the PSLV C54 mission.

Speaking on the landmark occasion, Sanjay Nekkanti, CEO, Dhruva Space said "Having signed the commercial launch services agreement with NewSpace India Limited and now securing an MoU with IN-SPACe, we look forward to a fruitful partnership with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to help fuel the growth of India's private space sector. We are excited to prove Dhruva Space's capabilities through robust demonstrations of technologies in the Space Environment with the support of ISRO in reviewing, testing and delivering satellite systems for the global market. Going forward, Dhruva Space intends to be part of every ISRO PSLV commercial mission and lead the Prime Minister's drive of private industry-led space revolution in the country."

Dhruva displaying P30 LEO optimized compact Nano Satellite scalable for Earth Observation and Thybolt satellites.

Dhruva is one of the notable Indian space tech start-ups engaged in the development of small satellites in the commercial, governmental and academic markets coupled with Earth stations and Launch services as an integrated technology solution to power Space-based applications on Earth & beyond.

SIA-India proudly congratulates Ananth Technologies Limited for the launch of their new spacecraft manufacturing facility in Bengaluru on 1st June 2022.

The state-of-the-art facility was inaugurated by Dr. S.Somanath, Chairman and Secretary, Department of Space at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Speaking at the inaugural function Dr. S.Somanath said, "At ISRO, our objective is not just to pursue space science research and planetary exploration, it is also to harness space technology for the nation's development."

Speaking at the launch, Dr. Subba Rao Pavuluri, Chairman and Managing Director, ANANTH, said, "Since its inception, ANANTH has been an active partner in India's space journey. We have always strived to indigenize cutting-edge aerospace technologies to support the country's security and development."

The Cabinet's approval of the transfer of 10 in-orbit communication satellites to NSIL is a welcome decision to liberalize the space sector by creating a level playing field for the entire satellite industry.

The approval will provide the much-needed push for end-to-end commercial space activities and increase India's share in the global space economy. The Cabinet also approved increasing the authorized share capital of NSIL by 7 times from ₹1,000 crore to ₹7,500 crores which will help register capital-intensive projects.

So far, NSIL has launched 46 international customer satellites under commercial arrangements and has also signed four dedicated launch service arrangements for international satellite customers for launch in 2022.

Ms. Revathi Mannepalli, Senior Deputy Wireless Advisor · Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communication and Mr. Ajay Singhal, Indian Radio Regulatory Service (IRRS) officer discussing the spectrum licensing and monitoring issues with delegates of Tanzania Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.

SIA-India is happy to welcome Saankhya Labs as Associate member. This was announced at AsiaTechxSG Singapore. Saankhya Labs is a premier wireless communication and semiconductor solutions company. They have developed a full spectrum of next-gen Satcom & terrestrial connectivity solutions which include products and solutions for broadband, satellite and broadcast applications including 5G NR, 5G broadcast, rural broadband connectivity, satellite communication modems for IoT applications and multi-standard DTV modulators and demodulators.

To know more about the company: https://saankhyalabs.com/

SIA-India welcomes Planet Aerospace as a member. Planet Aerospace is an association of experts in the field of Space Science and Technology to prepare the next generation of Space Scientists and Engineers.

To know more about them: https://planetaerospace.in/

SIA-India welcomes CPI Satcom as a member. CPI Satcom Products Group is a world-leading designer and manufacturer of high-power amplifiers (HPAs) for satellite uplink communications. The company has played a pivotal role in the satcom industry since its inception.

To Know more about them: https://www.cpii.com/division.cfm/4

SIA-India signed an MOU with Electronic Industries Association of India [ELCINA] on 30th May, 2022. ELCINA was established in 1967 as the first industry association supporting electronics hardware, when India's Electronics industry was still in its infancy. ELCINA has established itself as an interactive forum for electronics and IT manufacturers. This collaboration would serve as a starting point for generating synergies in areas of space and defence electronics.
To know more about ELCINA please click: https://elcina.com/

Display of 5G O-Ran and SATCOM technologies to enable secure & reliable satellite-based connectivity in remote locations.

Mr Deshraj Bhadana, Dy Director, SIA-India with Dr. G Satheesh Reddy, Chairman DRDO India giving a brief about India Space Congres'22 at the GEO-INT 2022

Geo-intelligence 2022 was held on 14 and 15 June 2022 on the theme: Digital Transformation: Advancing Defence and Intelligence. The conference brought together military, security officials, government, industry leaders together to discuss the cutting-edge geospatial technologies for defence and security of the nation.

Mr. Rajeev Gambhir, Sr Director, Technology & Policy, will join the global leaders of space business to discuss how the space business will change our society, daily lives, and even the future of humanity and the world. This three-day event will be attended by approximately 80 speakers and 700 participants in hybrid format. This is the second time SIA-India will be participating as a speaker at the SPACETIDE event.

The theme of the 7th annual conference, SPACETIDE 2022, is "New Value Creation".

For the details, please visit our official website:
Conference Content
https://spacetide2022.webflow.io/
To participate:
https://client.eventhub.jp/ticket/41DEuTYmY

is being held in Bengaluru on 24 June 2022. Organised by Astronautical Society of India [ASI] in association with ISRO, IN-SPACe, and DRDO the conference will bring together space industry experts from Government viz. ISRO/IN-SPACe/DRDO etc., Non-Government Private Entities (NGPE), space start-up entrepreneurs, researchers, and students on a common platform to deliberate ways and means to develop NGPE space vertical in the country.

The seminar aims to synergize efforts in shaping the architecture of the next-generation generation space sector revolution in India and will provide a networking opportunity.

Dr. Subba Rao Pavuluri, President SIA-India, and Anil Prakash DG SIA-India are part of the prestigious conference's Advisory Committee.

SIA-India is also a Channel Partner in the event.

Please visit the ASI website https://www.asindia.org for registration.