PM Modi inaugurates Skyroot facility, highlights India’s rise as a space launch hub

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Skyroot’s Infinity Campus in Hyderabad, Telangana, via video conferencing on November 27. Union Minister G Kishan Reddy and other dignitaries also attended the event.

PM Modi said the nation is witnessing an “unprecedented opportunity” in the space sector, driven by a major leap in private participation.

Calling the Infinity Campus a symbol of India’s new thinking and youth-led innovation, he praised Skyroot founders Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, noting that their risk-taking spirit embodies the aspirations of young space entrepreneurs across India.

While India's space journey began with limited resources, PM Modi emphasised that the country's ambitions were never limited, from carrying rocket parts on a bicycle to developing the world's most reliable launch vehicles: "India has proven that the height of dreams is determined not by resources but by resolve."

He further added, "ISRO has for decades given new wings to India’s space journey,” and that credibility and capacity have shaped India’s global standing.

PM Modi highlighted the rapid expansion of space applications across communication, agriculture, marine monitoring, urban planning, weather forecasting and national security. Opening the sector to private innovation, launching a new Space Policy, and creating IN-SPACe have helped India build “an open, cooperative, and innovation-driven ecosystem” within just six to seven years.

He said India’s youth, especially Gen-Z, talent is at the heart of this momentum, with over 300 space startups emerging with small teams with the determination to reach new heights.

“This spirit has given birth to the Private Space Revolution in India,” he noted, adding that young engineers, designers, coders, and scientists are now creating breakthrough technologies that were once unimaginable.

India’s private space talent is establishing a distinct identity across the world, and he reassures that today, for global investors, India’s space sector is becoming an attractive destination. Underscoring that the demand for small satellites is continuously increasing across the world, he noted that launch frequencies are also rising; new companies are entering the field to provide satellite services, and space has now established itself as a strategic asset.

PM Modi underlined that in the coming years, the global space economy is set to grow manifold, and stressed that this represents a very significant opportunity for India’s youth.

“India possesses space sector capabilities that only a few countries in the world have, noting the presence of expert engineers, a high-quality manufacturing ecosystem, world-class launch sites, and a mindset that encourages innovation”, exclaimed the PM, emphasising that India’s space capability is both cost-effective and reliable, which is why the world has high expectations from the country.

He linked the sector’s transformation to India’s wider startup boom across fintech, agritech, healthtech, climatetech, edtech and defensetech sectors. With more than 1.5 lakh registered startups and deeptech innovation accelerating, India is rapidly strengthening its position across manufacturing, semiconductors, and electronics, which is key to achieving self-reliance and building a resilient global supply chain.

PM Modi also noted that India is now extending similar reforms to the nuclear sector, opening new opportunities in small modular reactors, advanced reactors and nuclear innovation. He also highlighted initiatives such as the National Research Foundation, 'One Nation, One Subscription,' and the Rs 1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation Fund that will provide support to the youth of the country.

He said that the expansion of Atal Tinkering Labs is a step to empower young innovators. He added that more than 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs have already been set up to instil a spirit of research and innovation among students, and added that work is underway to establish 50,000 new labs in the coming days. He stated that He stressed that these efforts are laying the foundation for new innovations in India and declared that the coming era belongs to India, its youth, and its innovations.

Recalling his Space Day address from earlier this year, he reiterated that India will elevate launch capacity in the next five years and create five new space-sector unicorns, an ambition that is strengthened by Skyroot’s progress.

Reaffirming the government’s support for startups, scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs, PM Modi concluded by calling upon everyone to make the 21st century the century of India, whether on Earth or in space.