Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the Indian Space Association (ISpA), a grouping of space and satellite companies, at a virtual event on October 11, the industry body, informed.
ISpA represents homegrown and global corporations with advanced capabilities in space and satellite technologies.
Its founding members include corporations with advanced capabilities in space & satellite technologies like Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro, OneWeb, Nelco among others.
The newly formed space and satellite companies’ industry body has appointed Jayant Patil, Senior Executive Vice President-Defence, L&T-NxT as its first chairman, and Rahul Vatts, Chief Regulatory Officer, Bharti Airtel as vice-chairman. Lt Gen. A.K. Bhatt (Retd.) has been named as the body's director-general.
ISpA said it aims for policy advocacy and engaging with stakeholders in the Indian space sector, including government and agencies, to make India self-reliant in the space domain.
“We are truly honoured to have the Hon’ble Prime Minister grace the launch ceremony and outline his vision for the growth of India’s space industry and making our nation a global leader in the space arena,” AK Bhatt in the statement.
The virtual launch ceremony will be streamed live across ISpA’s digital channels, he said.
Other core members of ISpA include Godrej, Hughes India, Azista-BST Aerospace Private Limited, BEL, Centum Electronics, Maxar India.