Despondent about India’s inability to spawn a Google or Apple? Watch out for ISRO...(Jhunjhunwala…watching?)

While we are busy getting impressed with overhyped unicorns, crazy valuations and doltish delivery models masquerading as valuable business models, we’ve perhaps skipped giving a more than adequate attention to a real revolution happening in our backyard. Hassan, Aluva, Thiruvananthapuram & Sriharikota rarely find mention in business pages and economic dailies but are locations that constitute the stellar nursery where a star has taken birth and is already shining bright in the USD 250 B global satellite industry. Let us all say hello to ISRO the Indian Space Research Organization

As humanity keeps pushing the limits of the final frontier, the importance and the potential of this industry can least be underestimated. If the Sputnik launch in 1957 be taken as an index, then the satellite industry has been around for a mere sixty years. Perhaps a nano fraction in terms of timeline considering the endless exploration potential it offers

ISRO’s achievements have been nothing short of spectacular. The recent reusable launch vehicle, the Mars orbiter, the very successful PSLV and GSLV launch systems, an error rate that is the smallest in the world, a world record in delivering the most number of payloads in a single launch… the list is endless …and these are projects that have been executed. The drawing board plans are even more spectacular.... talk about POC & scalability!

But ISRO’s crowning glory has been the way it has shifted the cost paradigm and set new benchmarks in the way the game in this industry will be played in future. Just imagine. A reusable launch vehicle program under USD 15 Million and a Mars Orbiter Mission for under USD 70 Million! (Compare that with a mission cost of USD 500 Million for every space shuttle launch)

Of course in this ISRO has an unknowing comrade in arm in Elon Musk’s Spacex in pushing a similar paradigm shift. And the Falcon-9 and dragon capsule admittedly have a head start over ISRO considering the latter has already docked to the ISS (which sadly had become like desolate bus stop in the outback receiving fewer and fewer buses ever since the Shuttle program was abandoned and the cramped Soyuz was the only bus plying!)  

Although ISRO never started as a commercial program but the domain has suddenly turned commercial and an attractive industry to boot. Civil & commercial satellite demand both from Government and Non Government agencies have dwarfed the military satellite demand. Approximately 1500 payloads are planned over the next 5 years.  Add to that the dreams of mankind for interstellar travel & exploration, space colonization, tapping energy resources in space etc. makes even guessing the size of the industry unimaginable. Just imagine. If the global healthcare industry is USD 9 Trillion what could be the size of the space and satellite industry in the next 50 years…… ZILLIONS !!

But what is perhaps most significant from an India and ISRO point of view is that never before has there been an Indian enterprise on the start up grid of such a high potential sector and that too a grid comprising of a mere handful. Even today ISRO operates only in a small 20% satellite manufacturing and space transportation sector segment of the overall sector. The bigger profitable play is in the space services sector.

And thankfully ISRO through the Department of Space reports directly to the PMO. Which in the present times could mean no scarcity of vision, direction, funds, independence and risk taking ability

ENDNOTE: If ISRO lists at a face value of Rs.100 today even with a whopping premium of Rs 900 I'll invest in as much stock as I can afford and I am certain even Rakesh Jhunjhunwala will…. his investment of course will fund a few missions I am sure  :-)

My Top-5 trend picks at CES 2016

I was at the CES in Vegas last month, the annual congregation that is the holy grail of the consumer electronics industry. If there is one place that allows a peek at how devices will control and change our lives in future, it is here

Beyond the audio, video and washing machines, CES is the place for trend spotting

My top-5 trend picks for this year

1:IoT: Smart offices, smart homes, smart cars and smart devices. Clearly M2M, device connectivity and “smart” are domains where money is being bet. And it’s not just about the devices but also platforms. They’ve got their own little war going on. Zigbee, Z-wave, Bluetooth, WiFi and more. Jury is still out on who will win & its only a matter of time when Cupertino and Mountain View jump in and add another dimension to their own wars games




2:Drones: From war accessories to outdoor adventure toys to application drivers in industry, drones are at their next level of evolution. With chip makers like Intel driving core process innovation in tandem with drone manufacturers it’s only a matter of time when civil aviation and lawmaking authorities around the world will have invest in procedural operating standards




3: 3-D printing. Though far from a gallop or even from a slow canter this horse is getting at least into a slow trot. In terms of an equivalent comparison, the evolution is still at the dot Matrix stage but the speed of evolution here is going to be fast, very fast. That that 3-D printing is going to impact manufacturing, especially tooling and precision engineering, is a no brainer but I feel it has the power to change geo-eco -political dynamics if you know what I mean …and that's why watch out for this trend

4: Virtual reality. Or immersive multimedia if you like. Entertainment and sensory experience is changing and how. Ears and eyes are converging and its only time before the other three get involved. I perceive two primary challenges 1: unwieldy hardware. That semi helmet like device makes me claustrophobic and 2: Entertainment for many is social and not individual (though most kids glued to their phones will disagree) so how does virtual reality crack that? Samsung did showcase a full theater. But then again it was limiting and unwieldy

5: App linked devices. Or device linked apps if you are software biased. Huge action in wearable (devices and apparel) in the wellness and healthcare domains. From pregnancy tests to BMI index to HRM all can be captured and measured conveniently. Hope it promotes a healthy race and reduces healthcare coats for all



I wish there was some Indian presence

I came across innovative companies from around the world. There were Chinese, Koreans, Malaysians, Singaporeans, Brazilians, Croatians, Czechs Taiwanese but not one single Indian company! Not even big names like Reliance, Tata’s, Mahindra’s, Birla’s.  Not even our famous IT SWITCH

To be counted at a global level innovation and leading the trend curve is the only benchmark Helicon Consulting