Proposed satellite launch raises ‘Swadeshi’ lobby’s eyebrows

A “foreign” company— which is the parent of an Indian startup—will launch a satellite along with 20 other satellites, when the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launches its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C51 (PSLV-C51) on 28 February. This has led to questions among the people following the matter as to whether the concessions and other related benefits being provided by Government of India to help Indian startups, were also being availed of by foreign entities.

On 28 February, ISRO is scheduled to launch a satellite named “Anand”, which has been built by a Bengaluru-based space startup, Pixxel Space Technologies. This will be among 20 other satellites that will go to space on the PSLV-C51 platform.

Pixxel Space Technologies Inc (whose legal name is Syzygy Space Technologies, as told to The Sunday Guardian by one of their founders, Awais Ahmed), as per the documents filed with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), is defined as a “subsidiary of a foreign company”.

While replying to queries shared by The Sunday Guardian (reproduced in the latter part of the story) seeking the name of the “foreign company” of which Syzygy space is a subsidiary of, Ahmed stated that “the parent company of Syzygy is Pixxel Space Technologies, Inc”, but did not elaborate on the name of the foreign company of which Pixxel is a subsidiary.

Ahmed, while responding to another query from The Sunday Guardian, regarding whether or not Pixxel (or Syzygy) has availed any kind of concession that is provided by the ISRO, Government of India, to startups especially for the launch of “Anand”, stated that: “Our commercial agreements with other com

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