India’s first and only Space Public Sector Unit (SPSU), NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), headquartered in Bengaluru has confirmed that it will launch a four-tonne communication satellite dedicated for Tata Sky, making it the first “demand-driven” launch.
TOI was the first to report (on Feb 18) that NSIL would launch a dedicated satellite for Tata Sky.

On Friday, NSIL CMD Radhakrishnan D, while confirming the development, said the four-tonne class Ku-band satellite — named GSAT-24 — would be launched using Ariane-5 launcher operated by French firm Arianespace.
As part of space reforms announced by the Centre, NSIL got mandated to undertake operational satellite missions on a ‘demand driven’ model, wherein NSIL has the responsibility to build, launch, own & operate the satellite and provide services to its committed customer.
“All these years, firms would seek satellite capacity after satellites were launched. This is the first time that a customer has made a demand and we are launching a dedicated satellite to meet that demand. This is one of the mandates as part of the space reforms. Agreements have been signed with Tata Sky and Arianespace and we are looking at a February 2022 launch,” Radhakrishnan told TOI.
GSAT-24 — fully funded by NSIL — will be owned and operated by NSIL on a commercial basis. The satellite, which will carry 24 Ku-band transponders, will be built by Isro.
“Earlier, firms would get annual leases to utilise satellite capacity. In this case, Tata Sky would have the transponders for a much longer time,” Radhakrishnan added.
Earlier this year, K Sivan, secretary, Department of Space (DoS), under which NSIL operates, had said that the satellite’s cost would be around Rs 400 crore. Aside from this, the PSU is also negotiating to acquire another satellite from the GSAT family for another private firm, multiple sources in NSIL and DoS said. They, however, refused to identify the private firm for which the satellite would be launched.
With its expanded mandate, NSIL has plans of investing around Rs 10,000 crore over the next five years and says it would have a manpower requirement of 300.