India’s Role in the Legal Regulation of Private Actors in Space

ABSTRACT

Today, India enjoys the status of a spacefaring state. It is the national space agency—the Indian Space Research Organization—which created the culture of self-reliant space technology through its space program achievements. Even though there are emergent private actors in addition to the national space agency, it is very difficult to realize their potential in space in India. Because the national space program is societal-centric and application-centric, space commercialization is constrained. Nevertheless, there is interest in overcoming these constraints and in enabling a role for private space actors in India. In such a scenario, legal regulations are required. Within this context, is the existing legal regulatory framework sufficient, and has India already considered a vital role to regulate private actors in space? Also, are there global influences? This article analyzes these queries.

Acknowledgments

This research article is based on my unpublished doctoral thesis, titled International Legal Regulation of Private Actors in Outer Space: A Study of India’s Role. I acknowledge the academic support from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India, along with all of my professors.

Notes

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