AHMEDABAD, GJ, India – 12 August 2025 – The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) has awarded the country’s first fully commercial, indigenous Earth-Observation (EO) satellite constellation contract to a consortium led by Bengaluru-based Pixxel, with Dhruva Space, SatSure, and PierSight as strategic partners.
The Earth-Observation Public-Private-Partnership (EO-PPP) programme, launched in mid-2024, aims to accelerate the creation of a private-sector-operated, sovereign EO network. The 12-satellite constellation, to be deployed in low Earth orbit over the next five years, represents an investment of more than ₹1,200 crores and will integrate Panchromatic, Multispectral, Hyperspectral, and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payloads — a first for India.
Dr. Rajeev Jyoti, Director – Technical Directorate at IN-SPACe, said the award reflects the growing maturity of India’s private space capabilities. “This project is about building India’s own independent and future-ready Geospatial infrastructure,” he noted.
A consortium of complementary strengths
Pixxel CEO Awais Ahmed highlighted the alliance’s balanced expertise: Dhruva Space in satellite platforms and mission operations, Pixxel in Hyperspectral imaging and spacecraft manufacturing, SatSure in Geospatial analytics, and PierSight in advanced SAR and maritime monitoring. “Together, we’re building a fully indigenous EO system with unmatched versatility for national and global applications,” he said.
Dhruva Space CEO Sanjay Nekkanti called the EO-PPP a “tremendous opportunity” to meet rising Geospatial Intelligence demands. “With one of India’s largest upcoming spacecraft manufacturing facilities, the timing is right to scale for both national and global markets,” he added.
SatSure CEO Prateep Basu emphasised the milestone as a catalyst for private-sector collaboration, while PierSight CEO Gaurav Seth noted SAR’s role in enabling 24/7 operations in all weather, delivering low-latency, analysis-ready intelligence.
Boosting data sovereignty and commercial capacity
The EO-PPP is expected to strengthen India’s Geospatial data sovereignty and establish a scalable commercial EO service model. The satellites will support critical applications in agriculture, disaster response, climate monitoring, infrastructure planning, urban development, and maritime surveillance.
By merging advanced sensing capabilities with high-speed analytics, the constellation will deliver actionable intelligence to government, industry, and research users, positioning India’s private space sector as a global leader in EO services.
SOURCE AND IMAGE: IN-SPACe.
CAPTION: (From left to right) Dr. Vinod Kumar, Director, Promotion Directorate, IN-SPACe; AVM Dhananjay Vasant Khot (Ret’d), Director – Strategy & Planning, IN-SPACe; Shri Keyur Gandhi, Director – Space Regulatory & Policy, Dhruva Space; Dr. Rajeev Jyoti, Director – Technical Directorate, IN-SPACe; Awais Ahmed, CEO & Founder, Pixxel; Dr Pawan Goenka, Chairman, IN-SPACe; representatives from PierSight [to be updated]; Shri Lochan Sehra, IAS, Joint Secretary, IN-SPACe; Smt Shipra Joshi, OSD, Chairman Office, IN-SPACe
