The India Space Congress (ISC) 2024 concluded with a series of significant events, including the signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) between SIA-India and the Economic Council of India, and between SIA-India and Indus Tech. These agreements mark a milestone in fostering strategic partnerships and advancing India’s space ecosystem.
Defence Space Industry Roundtable
The event featured a power-packed Defence Space – Industry Roundtable, offering a unique platform for industry interaction with the Ministry of Defence. The session was chaired by Lt. Gen. V.G. Khandare PVSM AVSM SM (Retd), Principal Adviser, MoD, and moderated by Lt. Gen. PJS Pannu (Retd), former Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff. Key speakers included Col Manik Anand, PO – Aerospace System, Directorate of Planning & Coordination, MoD. Participants engaged in insightful discussions on the future of defence space capabilities and strategic industry collaborations.
Exclusive Country Session: Italy
An exclusive session explored Italy’s joint space ventures and advancements through the collaboration between the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and ISRO. This session highlighted upcoming mission launches and the forefront of Italian space research. Prof. Teodoro Valente, President of ASI, stated, “Italy and India share a common vision to comply with international space treaties for the responsible use of outer space. Together, ASI and ISRO can achieve great heights by pooling resources, knowledge, and expertise.” He also provided insights into Italy’s growing space ecosystem, which employs over 8,000 people.
Special address:
Srinivas Mahankali Rao (MSR), Chief Executive Officer, T-Hub Foundation, Hyderabad, India: “To drive the growth of the space ecosystem, collaboration between government, academia, and industry is essential. Indian startups have a tremendous opportunity to collaborate with their international peers.”
Dr. Saurav Agrawal, Director General, Economic Council of India: “Peace economy is an integration of peace and economy. Optimization of resources, fair utilization of goods and services, benefiting the masses, and a human-centric approach are essential to achieve it.”
Lt. Gen. V.G. Khandare PVSM AVSM SM (Retd), Principal Adviser, MoD: “The government is committed to growth, and we all have to put in our best. We should look at current products and have technologies for the next 15-20 years. Educating the youth and upskilling are essential. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Skill Development should be involved in future SIA events.”
Awards and Reports
The ISC also felicitated the winners of the call for papers. The winning paper, “Crewed Missions to Venus: A Frontier for QUAD Cooperation,” was presented by Guillermo Sohnlein, Founder & Chairman of the Human2Venus Foundation, Atlanta, GA.
Two important reports were released:
DefSAT Conference Deliberation Report:Strategic recommendations from the Defence Space Conference held in January.
IndSpace Wargame Report: Summary and recommendations from the 2nd IndSpace Wargame exercise conducted by SIA-India at Manekshaw, following the inaugural exercise during DefSAT 2024.
The India Space Congress continues to be a pivotal platform for advancing space technology and fostering international collaborations, driving the future of global space innovation.
