In February 2024, the Indian Government agency IN-SPACE (which helps space startups in India) shared a big new plan. For the first time, it released an “Integrated Launch Manifesto 2024–25”. In the document, IN-SPACE stated that ISRO, its commercial arm NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), and private startups were expected to carry out up to 30 rocket launches during the 15-month period from January 2024 to March 2025.

These launches were supposed to be done by:

  • ISRO (India’s space agency)

  • NSIL (ISRO’s commercial arm that works with paying customers)

  • Private space companies

IN-SPACE said this goal showed how much India’s space industry was growing. “As is evident, there is a notable increase in launches and in private sector involvement in the Indian space sector. This marks a substantial increase in launch activity compared to previous years and is a positive indicator of the expanding space ecosystem in the country,” the agency had said.

But new government data shows that only 7 rocket missions actually happened during the 15-month period. That means just 23% of the target was reached.

Here’s who did the launches:

  • ISRO carried out 5 missions
  • NSIL did 1 mission for a foreign client
  • 1 test launch was done by a private company

Even though only a small part of the target was met, experts say this still shows more activity in the space sector than in earlier years. 

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