India launched 328 satellites from 33 different countries till date: Jitendra Singh ANI | Updated: Feb 10, 2021 18:00 IST
New Delhi [India], February 10 (ANI): Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said that Rs 900 crore was allocated to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for the financial year 2020-21 for developing capacity for the launching of satellites.
In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, he said that the Department of Space has been involved in launching satellites of foreign countries since long. The total number of satellites launched till date is 328 from 33 different countries and the revenue earned till date is 25 million US dollars and 189 million Euros. Moreover, the Government of India has established New Space India Limited (NSIL), a public sector undertaking (PSU) under the Department of Space to commercially launch satellites and become financially self-reliant.
Strategic Sectors | PSUs should continue to play a pivotal role
The defence reforms set in motion recently will hopefully provide greater synergy between the private sector and the government in line with the ‘Make in India’ initiative February 08, 2021 / 01:22 PM IST
The disinvestment policy announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman brings into sharper focus the question of allowing public sector units (PSUs) to hold sway in crucial realms such as space and defence. These along with atomic energy; transport and telecommunications; power, petroleum, coal and other minerals; and banking, insurance and financial services are ‘strategic sectors’ where PSUs will continue to have a role.
₹700 crore “That means that the government is super serious about commercialising whatever IP (intellectual property) it has under its kitty and just monetising that. It’s a departure from the mindset of yesteryears where ISRO was only there to cater to the government’s requirements,” Chaitanya Giri, space policy expert and fellow with think tank Gateway House, told Business Insider.
Doubling down on space sector reforms
The push for private sector participation in the space sector is a strategic necessity, according to Giri. “For our commercial sector to get started on this front, it will need governmental space agency ISRO to get things done at its end first,” he points out.
View from India: Working towards a Digital Budget theiet.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theiet.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
1. Health and Wellbeing
There is substantial increase in investment in Health Infrastructure and the Budget outlay for Health and Wellbeing is Rs 2,23,846 crore in BE 2021-22 as against this year’s BE of Rs 94,452 crore, an increase of 137 percentage.
The Finance Minister announced that a new centrally sponsored scheme, PM AatmaNirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana, will be launched with an outlay of about Rs 64, 180 crore over 6 years. This will develop capacities of primary, secondary, and tertiary care Health Systems, strengthen existing national institutions, and create new institutions, to cater to detection and cure of new and emerging diseases. This will be in addition to the National Health Mission. The main interventions under the scheme are: