What are the new guidelines set by IN-SPACe for Indian and foreign hosted-payloads? | Explained

IN-SPACe has mandated that any hosted-payload owned by an Indian entity and which is being hosted on an Indian or non-Indian satellite will require authorisation from it. Photo courtesy: www.inspace.gov.in/inspace The story so far: The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) on September 17, 2026, released a document titled Norms, Guidelines and Procedures for implementation of the Indian Space Policy 2023 in respect of authorisation for establishment and operation of hosted-payloads.IN-SPACe, which is the single-window agency for all space sector activities of private entities in the country, has released this document due to the increasing number of private participants, which it refers to as Non-Government Indian Entities (NGEs). These NGEs over the last few years have been developing and deploying payloads for Earth observation, space science, communications, technology demonstration and other space-based applications. IN-SPACe says the guidelines will help the Indian companies to access space-based infrastructure through hosted-payload opportunities, while ensuring compliance with applicable technical, safety, security, spectrum, orbital and other regulatory requirements. Published - September 30, 2026 06:58 pm IST