Artificial intelligence is a major advantage for India’s space missions, Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said, arguing that the country’s nuclear and space programmes can be charged up by using AI optimally under human leadership. The remarks on AI space missions were made in an interview with Bloomberg Technology’s Shery Ahn on October 19.
Singh said that human-led intelligence will need to use artificial intelligence optimally to drive both the nuclear and space programmes. His comments come at a time when India is positioning itself as a global science power, with the space economy targeted to grow from around USD 9 billion today to USD 40-45 billion over the next eight to nine years, according to the minister’s earlier statements.
AI space missions ride on private-sector reforms
A key theme of Singh’s science policy has been the opening of the space sector to private participation. The minister has repeatedly said that space-sector reforms have created new opportunities for private companies and startups, noting that India now has around 800 space-tech startups. He told Bloomberg that the AI space missions of the future would be driven by a combination of institutional capability and entrepreneurial energy.
The minister cited Chandrayaan-3, India’s successful lunar landing, as evidence that the country can undertake sophisticated missions with remarkable cost efficiency. He has argued that India has moved beyond an earlier phase of largely following developments elsewhere and is now progressing alongside the world, ahead in several frontier areas.
Research spending powers the push
Singh has also linked the push for AI space missions to a sharp rise in research spending. He noted that Gross Expenditure on Research and Development has risen from around Rs 46,000-47,000 crore in 2013-14 to around Rs 2-2.5 lakh crore, reflecting the priority the government places on science and technology.
The minister pointed to flagship initiatives including the IndiaAI Mission, the National Quantum Mission, the Deep Ocean Mission and the Anusandhan National Research Foundation as the architecture of India’s emerging-technology capability. AI space missions, he suggested, will draw on all of these streams.
Nuclear power and AI space missions converge
Interestingly, Singh tied AI space missions to India’s nuclear ambitions. He has referred to the opening of the nuclear sector to private participation and the target of 100 GW of nuclear energy capacity by 2047, adding that nuclear power is emerging as an important clean-energy source for future requirements, including the growing energy needs of artificial intelligence and data centres.
The message is that India’s AI infrastructure and its space and nuclear programmes are being built as one ecosystem, with AI both consuming energy and multiplying the capability of scientific missions.
AI space missions face a talent challenge
The minister has said the opening of the space sector to private players has helped reduce brain drain and created new opportunities for young talent. Speaking to students earlier this month, he encouraged them to embrace AI while retaining independent thinking: “You have to be intelligent enough to use Artificial Intelligence,” he said, stressing that technology should strengthen human capability rather than replace the curiosity that drives scientific discovery.
That philosophy echoes his Bloomberg remarks. For Singh, AI space missions are not about machines replacing scientists; they are about giving India’s scientists and engineers sharper tools to do what he called human-led exploration, at a pace and cost the world is watching closely.
Diplomacy and startups back the AI push
Singh’s remarks fit into a broader diplomatic and industrial push. On October 12, he held talks in New Delhi with UK minister Jonathan Reynolds covering satellite development, space research, small nuclear reactors, healthcare, AI and cybersecurity, and proposed stronger links between Indian and British startups. The minister has noted that India has around 800 space-tech startups, and he wants Indian and British firms working more closely together.
The bet is that an ecosystem of private companies, public research agencies and international partnerships can carry the next generation of missions. With the space economy projected to reach USD 40-45 billion within eight to nine years, the minister’s message to Bloomberg was that India intends to compete at the frontier, not follow it.