Key Points

Speaking at the inaugural session of the SatCom Summit at the India Mobile Congress on Wednesday, Scindia called SATCOM a strategic national priority and a foundational pillar of India's digital future.

He emphasised that satellite communication is no longer a luxury but a necessity, describing it as "digital justice" for millions living in remote, underserved, or disaster-prone regions of the country.

"India will not merely participate in the SATCOM revolution, we will lead it," he said, framing the sector as the next great leap for humanity, born in space but designed to impact life on the ground.

Scindia highlighted the government's track record in executing large-scale digital infrastructure projects, citing India's 5G rollout, the fastest in the world, as a proof point of the country's ability to deliver at scale and speed. In less than 20 months, 99.9% of India's population has been covered by 5G through the deployment of 4.8 lakh telecom towers.

Building on that momentum, he said SATCOM will now extend the promise of connectivity to areas unreachable by conventional networks such as villages in dense forests, high-altitude regions, remote islands, and flood-hit zones.

To enable this vision, the government has already connected over 29,000 villages under the Rs 40,000 crore Digital Bharat Nidhi (formerly USOF), aiming to eliminate digital darkness across 38,000+ remote habitations. Scindia noted that SATCOM would complete this connectivity mission by filling the last-mile gaps where terrestrial infrastructure falls short.

From enabling precision farming and weather alerts for farmers in Ladakh, to supporting telemedicine in Assam and remote learning in tribal hamlets of Chhattisgarh, the use cases for SATCOM span every critical sector.

Scindia positioned it as essential to disaster response, education, healthcare, and national security. He also stressed that the government's policy reforms are designed to support this ambition, including the administrative allocation of satellite spectrum--a move that aligns with international norms and provides regulatory clarity for operators.

Licenses have already been granted to major players like Bharti OneWeb and Jio Satellite, while Starlink has received a letter of intent. As more domestic and global companies prepare to enter the Indian SATCOM ecosystem, Scindia underscored the opportunity: a SATCOM market valued at USD 4.3 billion in 2024 is projected to grow to USD14.8 billion by 2033. He described this growth as "destiny unfolding through numbers," not merely economic expansion but a national transformation powered by technology.

To support the sector's rapid development, the government is investing over Rs 900 crore in a National SATCOM Monitoring Facility, which will safeguard orbital and spectrum assets and ensure India's coverage remains secure and resilient. This, Scindia said, is part of a broader ambition to position India not only as a beneficiary of satellite services but as a global hub, exporter, and trusted innovation partner.

He pointed to recent milestones achieved by ISRO and India's global collaborations as indicators of growing capability. These include the Chandrayaan-3 lunar landing, the Aditya-L1 solar mission, the NASA-ISRO NISAR Earth observation project, and Spadex, which demonstrates satellite servicing and in-orbit refuelling capabilities. India's trajectory in the space domain, he said, is now defined by leadership and originality rather than dependency.

Calling for a coordinated, milestone-driven SATCOM programme involving government, industry, startups, academia, and international partners, Scindia closed with a strong message: India will not remain a silent listener in the global race for space-based communication.

"India will be the conductor," he said, "leading the orchestra of global innovation and inclusion." As thousands of new satellites promise to connect the unconnected across the world, he expressed confidence that India will not only answer the call of the future, but define it.

- ANI