India's space programme has grown immensely since the country entered the space domain a few decades ago. It can boast of several achievements that have been accomplished by only a handful of countries. More impressive is the fact that these achievements have come in little monetary cost. The
Mars mission undertaken by India is just one example. With extensive launch capabilities, India today is considered an established space power. In fact, its space programme is one of the rare public sector achievements, as against other government agencies that have witnessed constant delays and mismanagement. Even as this is the case, it is time for Modi Government to review its agenda with regard to outer space.
India like many other countries began its space programme with an objective of uplifting its masses from the social and economic problems that it was faced with in the post-independence period. In addition, technology development, demonstration and national security considerations were equally important. But for a country that was still reeling with serious poverty, it could hardly justify its focus on the national security utilisation of space. It was also true that India enjoyed, in relative terms, a stable, non-threatening environment which meant that security imperatives were far less important considerations. However, this is no longer the case. India has to focus its attention increasingly on national security while not ignoring its developmental needs.
Even though India has achieved much in the outer space domain, there are several institutional and policy changes that the government has to institute in order to maximise its gains in this domain.
There are several challenges that should see India adopt a more proactive position with regard to outer space. These include framing certain global rules of the road to guide and regulate activities in outer space, the increasing trend toward weaponisation of space, the growing competition for the commercial space market - all of which are important factors for India to take note of and respond with appropriate measures. In order to maintain its position in space, the Modi Government must take urgent steps in India's space policy in the near and medium-term. The changes identified in here do not foresee any major legislative or institutional alterations. These are more in terms of executive actions that can be done within the current institutional and policy architecture.
Political leadership to shape India's space goals
India's space programme has grown manifold and so has its interests in the domain. outer space environment has become complex in recent years and this requires India to review its agenda. While the technocrats need to be credited for all the achievements, India's space program has lacked political direction, which is critical if India has to move to the next level. The political leadership has to take a long term approach on where India wants to go, what is the kind of space environment it needs to see and accordingly set the goals for its scientific community. The political leadership must prioritise and plan its future in outer space, in the absence of which India will be trailing behind even the new entrants in this domain. This requires first and foremost having a declared space policy. Such an articulation could bring about the much-needed clarity in India's thinking on how it plans to utilise space in the coming years. India has so far not appreciated the utility of having an open space policy, holding the view that ambiguity is the best policy. However, there are changes in the regional and international arena that suggest that India should have a declared space policy. A declared space policy will be an important tool of messaging, both to one's friends and foes of what India's goals are. Besides, a declared policy could be an important confidence building measure (CBM), particularly important in an Asian context that is otherwise characterised by competition, suspicion and rivalry.
The need for a declared space policy is loud and clear but equally important for India is to declare a military space policy. While India's space posture is one that opposes militarisation of outer space and proclaims that space must be used only for peaceful purposes, the growing trend towards weaponisation calls on India to make the necessary changes to its policy and institutional architecture. Even as India is developing certain initial profile of a military space programme, these need to be situated within a policy umbrella that should clearly articulate what India's plans are, or at least a few major elements of these plans. So far, India has just one dedicated military satellite for the Indian Navy but there are growing military needs for space assets and this must be attended to. At the institutional level, India needs to institute the much-talked about tri-service aerospace command. An aerospace command would bring about greater coordination among the military and the civilian departments such as the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Department of Space and Ministry of Defence. Bringing about these changes will likely also result in greater allocation of resources, both personnel and money.
Proactive engagement in global rule writing exercise
The idea of writing new rules of the road with regard to outer space activities has been an on-going process in the last few years. There have been nevertheless no common thinking on the type of instrument that must be put into place. The global community, particularly the established space powers, have been divided between establishing political agreements and legal instruments. While the West and the US in particular has articulated the need for Transparency and Confidence Building Measures (TCBMs) in the form of a Code of Conduct and such other political instruments, Russia and China have taken the lead in pushing for more binding legal measures. India supports TCBMs but as good supplementary measures. However, given the political climate that prevails today, it is unlikely that countries will reach consensus in instituting a legal agreement. TCBMs are easier to reach because they are essentially norms of responsible behaviour and not legally binding. It is true that TCBMs cannot guarantee responsible behaviour but these political commitments can build certain peer pressure on states to comply with their commitments once they agree to do so. But whatever be the type of instruments that countries agree upon, India should not miss this opportune moment to shape these new instruments so that its own interests are not adversely impacted.
Space commerce
Commercial interests in the outer space domain calls for new innovative thinking if India has to be able to retain its presence. India has traditionally enjoyed an advantage in this regard given that it has offered launching services at a reasonable cost but India is increasingly losing this space to China that does on an average 20 launches per year as against India's 5. India has to strengthen its competitiveness in this regard by augmenting first and foremost its launching infrastructure. This will improve India's attractiveness in the commercial space market, which is a direct benefit but indirectly, India could reap certain strategic benefits as well.
In conclusion, India has had a successful space programme so far, but the Indian political leadership needs to take ownership of this domain and dictate new plans and priorities for the future. The lack of political direction has so far left the space programme and policy at the hands of the technocrats who have tended to approach space from a narrow technological perspective. Outer space is undergoing big changes and this domain needs to be situated in the larger international context and New Delhi should determine what needs to be done in order to maximise India's options in a favourable manner. India's space policy has to be one that is considered from a commercial and national security perspective.
Courtesy: Policy Wonks
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