US-India space forum meets in Bengaluru to draw momentum from 2025 TRUST initiative, recent trade agreement

“The timing of the forum is excellent, drawing on the momentum of the TRUST initiative and the recently announced 2026 trade deal. This new trade climate signals a shift to reciprocal market access and provides a capability for high-tech sectors in trade,” Janice Starzyk, deputy director, Office of Space Commerce in the US Department of Commerce, said Tuesday.

“Launched exactly one year ago, TRUST has become the cornerstone of our high-tech collaboration treating space as a critical node in a larger ecosystem of AI, semiconductors, and secure supply chains,” Starzyk said.

Among the areas that US and Indian firms are reportedly looking to address in the sharing of high-tech commercial space technology is the regulatory restrictions from arms control regimes, which prohibit trade in dual-use technologies.

Swarnashree Rajashekhar, joint secretary at the Department of Space and Indian co-chair of the sub-working group for space commerce, said at the inaugural meeting of the forum that “India’s liberalisation of its space industry through the new space policy of 2023” and regulatory frameworks have set the ground for public-private partnerships with US firms.

Both the governments of India and the US “recognize the need to actively support and accelerate commercial space co-operation,” she said.

4 focus areas on civil space technologies

Two meetings held by a subgroup under the Indo-US Civil Space Joint Working Group in 2023 and 2024 had identified four focus areas for Indo-US collaboration on civil space technologies.

The four areas were “developing better mutual understanding of the government procurement processes in both countries; addressing control regime challenges; facilitating market access for goods and services; aligning approaches to investment regulations and FDI policies,” Rajashekhar said.

“The Indian space industry is keen to partner with US space sector companies and has suggested some measures during internal Department of Space consultations – most importantly the streamlining of export control processes relating to International Trafficking in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to reduce licensing delays and to make it easier for Indian companies to access US components and technology, improving utilization of strategic trade authorisation by preparing export controlled classification numbers for items commonly exported to India etc.” the joint secretary said.

Talks on FDI in space policy, space startup ecosystems

The two-day India-US business forum will feature “a series of expert panel discussions on everything from FDI in space policy to space startup ecosystems to building a space economy,” said Carey Arun, acting consul general and principal commercial officer at the US consulate general in Chennai.

“We are very fortunate to have with us representatives from 14 American space companies. This delegation is visiting on a first-of-its-kind space team trade mission to India,” she said.

“It was one year ago today that President Trump and PM Modi committed to commercial space collaboration when they met at the White House in February, 2025. In that time, we have seen the Axiom 4 mission take an Indian astronaut on a SpaceX rocket to the International Space Station,” and the NASA-ISRO satellite NISAR launch by ISRO, she said.

Ready to take support, give support: Isro chairman

Dr V Narayanan, Isro chairman and secretary of the Department of Space, who delivered a keynote address at the forum, said the Indian space industry was open to private collaborations subject to clearances of the Government of India and regulatory frameworks.

“I strongly believe space is common for the entire global community. There may be some strategic applications, but for everything we have to work together. The benefits should flow to the common man of all the global communities. This is what our PM Modi believes,” Dr Narayanan said.

“We are open minded and ready to take support and give support. Today, India also has a vibrant industrial ecosystem, and we strongly believe that we can build a lot of things in this country, and we will be happy if someone comes and invests – under our PM’s vision, there is a very good ecosystem in the country. Any industry will be supported for manufacturing products or to carry out basic design in the country,” he said.

“We are ready to hand-hold, and everything should be under the GoI framework, and the GoI is highly flexible towards building an industrial and space ecosystem,” the ISRO chairman said.

While the Indo-US nuclear deal of 2008 and the Technology Safeguards Agreement of 2009 have led to increasing partnerships between India and US in the space sector – including the launch of private US satellites by Isro, commercial space cooperation between US and Indian firms has been constrained by protectionist policies on both sides.

Changes to MTCR export policy likely to benefit India

In early 2025, changes in the US Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) were announced during a visit to New Delhi by Jack Sullivan, the US National Security Adviser (NSA) in the Joe Biden administration, in what was seen as a response to the Indian Space Policy 2023, where “nothing is off limits for the private sector”.

The changes would result in a lift off for the commercial and civil space partnership between the US and India, the US NSA said in January 2025.

“Reducing barriers to collaboration around commercial space technology following the US government’s recent conclusion of updates to Missile Technology Control Regime export policy, which will open the door to additional technology licensing and co-development opportunities in support of the US-India space partnership,” said a statement last year.

The changes to the MTCR export policy by the US are expected to benefit more participation by US companies in the Indian space sector, which has been opened up for private participation under the new 2023 space policy — from the building of satellites to launch vehicles.