The Space Activities Bill is a proposed legislation proposal by the Government of India to create a dedicated legal framework for the country's space sector. The initial draft, the Space Activities Bill, 2017, was first made public for comments by the Department of Space in November 2017. It was created to address the lack of a comprehensive law for the rapidly growing private space industry and to ensure India's compliance with international obligations, such as the Outer Space Treaty, 1967, which holds the government accountable for all space activities under its jurisdiction.
The Bill is currently being redrafted and a new version is being finalized in 2025, incorporating industry feedback after the 2017 draft was shelved. The core mechanism of the Bill is to mandate authorization and licensing by the Central Government for all space activities, including those by non-governmental entities. Key provisions of the new draft include granting statutory powers to the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), which was created in 2020 to promote and supervise the private sector. The Bill also aims to include provisions for accessible and affordable insurance for space assets, a critical requirement for startups. Furthermore, it defines offenses, such as carrying out commercial space activity without authorization, which can be punished with imprisonment up to 3 years or a fine of more than ₹1 crore.
The Bill connects directly to the Indian Space Policy, 2023, which envisions the private sector taking over manufacturing and operations while ISRO focuses on advanced R&D. The new draft has changed significantly from the 2017 version by revising provisions, such as those concerning a restrictive Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) regime, to be more industry-friendly. The overall objective remains the same: to regulate the sector and help India achieve its goal of growing its space economy from $8.4 billion in 2022 to $44 billion by 2033.