India, Oct. 31 -- On July 18, 2026, Skyroot Aerospace achieved a historic milestone when its Vikram-1 rocket successfully placed satellites into orbit, becoming the first privately developed Indian rocket to accomplish an orbital launch.

For a country whose space programme was historically dominated by ISRO, it was a powerful demonstration of what Indian entrepreneurs could achieve in advanced technology.

Three months later, Ashlee Vance - the American journalist best known for his bestselling biography of Elon Musk and reporting on the global space industry - turned his attention to India's technological ambitions.

His question was less about the capabilities of Indian engineers than the willingness of Indian investors to back them. H...