New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched 22 satellites since 2020, supporting key national objectives such as communication, earth observation, disaster management, weather forecasting and scientific exploration, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Among the prominent missions were Chandrayaan-3 (July 2023), which demonstrated successful soft-landing and roving on the Moon, Aditya-L1 (September 2023), India's first dedicated solar observatory, and XPoSat (January 2024), India's first polarimetry mission for X-ray astronomy.

The launch of NVS-01 and NVS-02 marked the beginning of the second-generation satellites for the NavIC navigation system, while GSAT-N2 (2024) was launched to boost broadband and in-flight connectivity.

Post the announcement of space sector reforms in 2020, the number of registered Indian space start-ups has grown to over 300. IN-SPACe, the regulatory body for private space activities, has facilitated two successful sub-orbital flights by Indian start-ups and supported 14 satellite launches by non-governmental entities.

IN-SPACe has received 658 applications from more than 380 private players and issued 77 authorisations, 59 registrations, and signed 79 MoUs as of March 31, 2025.

ISRO's satellite data is being used extensively in agriculture, including yield estimation models under the PMFBY scheme, weather-based agro-advisories, and monitoring of Kharif rice fallows in six states. Satellite inputs have also been instrumental in disaster response, with flood maps generated annually for 16 states and early warning systems operational for Godavari and Tapi rivers.

Daily detection of forest fires and vulnerability mapping are supporting state agencies in disaster mitigation.

The Minister also said that the second crewed Gaganyaan mission (H2) will follow the first (H1), under the roadmap to the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS), as per the October 2024 programme revision.

This information was provided by Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.