Space activities bill to get cabinet nod soon: Isro

BENGALURU: The space activities bill — a long-pending dedicated space legislation for India — which is in the final stages now will soon be put up before the union Cabinet for its approval, which is likely to be accorded.
Arguing that the bill, which will become mandatory going forward given that India is a signatory of the outer space treaty, Uma Maheshwaran, scientific secretary to Isro, said: “It (the bill) is in the final stages and the inter ministerial consultations have begun.”
He said that it would soon be sent to the cabinet for an impending approval following which it would be introduced in the Parliament for it to be voted into an Act.
“For now, the industry can go ahead and start working with IN-SPACe (Indian Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre) to start their activity, but ultimately when the time comes for them to launch launch vehicles or when they are ready with satellites, the risks and liabilities and regulation must be ready. And by that time, we will have the Act in place,” Maheshwaran said.
He said that the private sector has been eager in developing launch vehicles, building satellites and more importantly providing space-based applications, and added the space agency has already revisited its Satellite Communications and Remote Sensing policies , which are being reviewed by expert panels.
“Aside from this, we are also looking at introducing a new navigation policy,” he said without elaborating further. He also said that in the future, India would need a space exploration and launch vehicle policy to provide better clarity to the private sector.