PM Modi inaugurates Skyroot’s new Hyderabad campus, unveils Vikram-I rocket

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday virtually inaugurated Indian space startup Skyroot’s Infinity Campus in Hyderabad and unveiled the company’s first orbital rocket, Vikram-I, which has the capability to launch satellites into orbit.

In his address, Modi highlighted the government’s “historic” space reforms and said opening up the sector to private players had enabled Skyroot and others to develop new innovations. He said India’s private space ecosystem was emerging “with flying colours”, with more than 300 space startups giving new momentum to the sector.

“The Infinity Campus is a reflection of India’s new thought, innovation and the bigger youth power. Youth’s innovation, risk-taking ability and entrepreneurship are touching new heights,” he said.

Modi said the country’s space sector was becoming attractive for global investors and that India’s private space talent was creating a distinct global identity. “Today, the demand for small satellites is increasing rapidly in the world,” he added.

Tracing the country’s space journey from its early days—when rocket parts were transported on a bicycle—to building the “most trusted launch vehicle”, Modi said the growth showed how determination shaped outcomes.

He said the space sector was expanding rapidly across communication, weather prediction, urban planning and national security. “So that is why we have made historic reforms in space sector, opened it up to the private sector, made new space policy. Startups and industry were linked with innovation, set up In-Space,” he said. He added that plans were under way to open the nuclear sector to private players as well.

Skyroot’s new facility will offer about two lakh sq. ft of workspace for designing, developing, integrating and testing multiple launch vehicles, with the capacity to build one orbital rocket every month.

Founded by Pawan Chandana and Bharath Dhaka—both IIT alumni and former ISRO scientists—Skyroot is one of India’s leading private space companies. In November 2022, it launched its sub-orbital rocket Vikram-S, becoming the first Indian private firm to do so.

The rise of private space enterprises reflected the success of the reforms carried out by the NDA government, an earlier official release said, adding this had strengthened India’s position as a global space power.

Modi said India’s space journey began with limited resources but its ambitions “were never limited”. He said ISRO had provided new momentum for decades, and that credibility, capacity and value had shaped India’s identity in the space sector.

He said ISRO’s facilities and technologies had been opened up to startups, transforming India’s space sector into an open and innovation-driven ecosystem over the last six to seven years.

He added that India’s youth placed national interest above everything else and used opportunities effectively. When the government opened the space sector, he said, young people—especially Gen-Z—stepped forward to take advantage.

“Today, over 300 Indian space startups are giving new hopes to India’s space future. Most of these space startups began with small teams — sometimes two people, sometimes five, sometimes in a small rented room — with limited resources but with determination to reach new heights. I had the opportunity to meet them,” he said, calling this the spirit behind India’s private space “revolution”.

Modi said Gen-Z engineers, designers, coders and scientists were creating new technologies across propulsion systems, composite materials, rocket stages and satellite platforms.

India possessed space capabilities held by only a few countries, he said, emphasising that these were both cost-effective and reliable. He added that global firms wanted to manufacture satellites in India, use launch services and seek technology partnerships, and said the country should make the most of this opportunity.

He pointed to the rise of startups in FinTech, AgriTech, HealthTech, ClimateTech, EduTech and DefenceTech over the past decade, with Gen-Z driving innovation.

Modi said more than 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs had been set up to promote research and innovation among students, and work was in progress to establish 50,000 more labs.

(With inputs from agencies)