India at the UN First Committee: Outer Space Must Stay a Realm of Cooperation, Not Conflict
On 20 October 2026, India delivered its statement on outer space at the First Committee of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), the committee that handles disarmament and international security. The statement was delivered by a Member of Parliament who was part of a visiting group of Indian parliamentarians.
India said outer space belongs to everyone and "should remain a realm for cooperation, not conflict".
India repeated its preference for a legally binding (enforceable by law) treaty on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS). It said such a treaty should be universally acceptable, verifiable and negotiated at the Conference on Disarmament.
India said it is also open to non-binding norms and transparency and confidence-building measures (TCBMs), but these can only add to, not replace, a legally binding treaty.
India noted that new actors and dual-use space technologies (technologies with both civilian and military uses) are now a reality. It said any outcome must not block the sharing of space science and technology for peaceful purposes.
India highlighted its 2023 Moon landing, the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme and the planned Bharatiya Antariksh Station.
Outer Space Treaty (OST), 1967
The Outer Space Treaty (OST), 1967 is the basic law of outer space, often called the "Magna Carta of space". It is an international treaty that says space is free for all countries to explore and use, no country can own any part of it, and nuclear weapons must not be placed in orbit or in space. The Moon and other celestial bodies (planets, asteroids) must be used only for peaceful purposes. Almost every later rule about space is built on this treaty.
India's statement at the UN First Committee builds on the OST. India says space must stay open to all and peaceful, as the treaty intends. But because the OST bans only weapons of mass destruction, India called for a new legally binding treaty to prevent an arms race in space.
Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS)
Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) is a long-running effort at the United Nations to stop countries from competing to put weapons in space or to build weapons that attack satellites. The idea is to stop a space arms race before it fully begins, rather than trying to control it later. PAROS is discussed every year at the UN General Assembly and at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. Its central question is: should countries sign a new, legally binding treaty, or agree on voluntary rules of good behaviour?
India's statement at the First Committee restated its PAROS position: a legally binding treaty negotiated at the Conference on Disarmament, with voluntary norms and TCBMs only as a supplement. India also stressed that new rules must not shut developing countries out of peaceful space technology.
Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS)
The Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) is India's planned space station: a laboratory and home that will stay permanently in orbit, where Indian astronauts can live and work for weeks or months. It will be built in pieces, called modules, launched one by one and joined together in space. It will be built after the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme shows that India can send astronauts to orbit and bring them back safely.
India listed BAS, Gaganyaan and its 2023 Moon landing at the UN to show that it is a major space-faring nation. A country with a growing space programme has a big stake in keeping space peaceful, safe and free of weapons.
- India's statement on outer space at the UNGA First Committee: 20 October 2026, New York
- India's demand: a legally binding PAROS instrument that is universally acceptable, verifiable and negotiated at the Conference on Disarmament
- Non-binding norms and TCBMs: to complement, not substitute, a binding treaty
- Outer Space Treaty: in force 10 October 1967; India ratified 18 January 1982; about 118 parties
- Conference on Disarmament: Geneva, 65 members, decisions by consensus
- UNGA Resolution 77/41 on DA-ASAT tests (2022): India abstained
- Mission Shakti ASAT test: 27 March 2019
- Chandrayaan-3 Moon landing: 23 August 2023
- BAS-1 target: 2028; full BAS (5 modules): 2035