New Delhi, Aug. 21 -- India's fledgling private space industry has a steep hill to climb before it can become a competitive global launch market. Among six markets capable of launching rockets carrying satellites, India is the most expensive, according to a peer-reviewed article.

The article, written by economists Alessio Terzi of University of Cambridge, England, and Francesco Nicoli of Politecnico Institute of Turin, Italy, in the September edition of the acclaimed peer-reviewed academic journal Economics Letters, said that at the end of calendar year 2025, the cost of launching a satellite from India was $13,302 ( Rs.12.7 lakh) per kilogram (kg) aboard rockets available in the country. This is more than four times the US figure of $3,...