India-Bhutan Bilateral Cooperation in Space Science

On 6th September 2024, India and Bhutan held the first Bhutan-India Joint Working Group meeting, reviewing ongoing space cooperation and planning the future roadmap under the Joint Plan of Action (JPoA) on Space Cooperation.

Key Points

JPoA Signed: The JPoA, signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bhutan in March 2024, provides a structured framework for bilateral collaboration in the space sector.
Bandwidth Allocation to Bhutan: As part of the collaboration, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) allocated 16 MHz bandwidth to Bhutan on the South Asia Satellite, boosting Bhutan’s space communication capabilities.
Joint Satellite and Capacity Building: India and Bhutan have jointly developed the ‘INDIA-BHUTAN SAT,’ launched in November 2022 by ISRO.
India also supports capacity-building programs for Bhutanese engineers in space science and technology.
Future Goals: Both nations aim to deepen their space collaboration, using space technology to improve societal welfare in both countries, building on their dynamic partnership established in the Memorandum of Understanding on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, signed in 2020.