India would earn about 132 Million Euros (Rs 1,142 Crores) through the launching of Foreign Satellites on a commercial basis, said the Minister of State for Space Jitendra Singh here on Thursday.
He said Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has signed six agreements with four countries for launching foreign satellites during the year 2021-23.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today, Dr. Jitendra Singh informed that about 132 Million Euros would be earned through launching these foreign satellites on a commercial basis.
ISRO has launched a commercial company NSIL (New Space India Ltd) under the Department of Space (DOS), to launch satellites belonging to other countries on-board Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). As of date, six Launch Service Agreements have been signed with customers from four countries for launching foreign satellites into space onboard PSLV during 2021-2023.
“A total number of 124 indigenous satellites have been put into Earth’s orbit including 12 student satellites,” the Minister said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
In another written reply to a similar question, he said starting from 1999 till date, a total of 342 foreign satellites belonging to 34 countries have been successfully launched onboard Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) on a commercial basis.
The Minister said that through the launching of foreign satellites on-board Indian launch vehicles, India has earned a Foreign Exchange revenue of about 35 Million USD and 10 Million Euros during the last 3 years. “The type of foreign satellites that were launched through Indian Launch Vehicle includes satellites primarily for Earth Observation, Scientific and Technology demonstration purposes,” the Minister informed the house.