Awaiting lift-off: What keeps India's share of global space biz grounded

India’s frugal pitch in the global space sector can be gauged by the fact that how the missions cost less than the budget to make Hollywood films. The classic example was of the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), which cost $74 million, less than Hollywood movie Gravity’s $100 million bill. Launching a satellite from India typically costs a third of what it would in Western markets.

Still, India’s share in the estimated $360 billion global space industry is less than two per cent. Currently, the market is dominated by the US followed by Europe.

The reasons include not much emphasis on