When Vikram-1 lifted off from Sriharikota on July 18, it marked more than a technological triumph. Developed by an Indian startup, Skyroot Aerospace, it became India’s first privately built orbital launch vehicle to successfully reach space. It is not just a story of a rocket. It is a story of public-private partnership and of what that rocket in space can do for people on the ground.

India has long been recognised as a space power. The next chapter is about becoming a technology-enabled development power. Space technology, when combined with artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies, holds the potential to transform some of the fundamental development- centric sectors such as agriculture, health care, climate resilience and disaster management. Vikram-1 represents an important step towards that future. As an orbital launch vehicle that will carry small satellites (upto 350 kgs) into orbit — much........

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