BENGALURU, March 5 (Reuters) - The Indian industrial

conglomerate Larsen & Toubro said it is betting on

aerospace as a potential growth engine, including launch vehicle

and satellite manufacturing, as the country cuts reliance on

imports and boosts private participation.

L&T, considered a bellwether for India's infrastructure

spending because of how many industries its work touches, is the

country's largest private-sector defense manufacturer by

revenue; its Precision Engineering and Systems unit posted

revenue of 46.10 billion rupees ($548.3 million) in the 2024

fiscal year, up 41% from the previous year.

At its factory in Coimbatore, in the southern Indian state

of Tamil Nadu, L&T is assembling the country's first privately

built Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), a mainstay of

ISRO's launch programme, through a consortium with Hindustan

Aeronautics Limited. It is also building equipment for

ISRO's other deep space exploration programs.

The company hopes to scale up its space business amid

India's privatization push, which has eased foreign investment

limits and allocated a larger share of procurement budgets away

from state-run enterprises.

"We have decades of experience in high-tech manufacturing,

critical systems, and scaling up production. The same expertise

applies to aerospace," AT Ramchandani, senior vice president and

head of L&T's Precision Engineering and Systems, told Reuters in

an interview at the factory.

Walking through the facility, amid workers building heat

shields and other rocket components, he said the global launch

vehicle market was expected to hit about $160 billion over the

next decade. The Indian government has set a target of reaching

$44 billion for the country's commercial space sector in that

time. India's space sector is valued at $13 billion, according

to a February report by research firm DAM Capital.

L&T's plans intersect with India's strategy to position the

country as a leading space power, with Prime Minister Modi's

government pushing for the industry to become a force for

further economic growth.

The country hopes liberalized regulations allowing private

firms to design, build and operate launch services will attract

global players, mirroring the commercial space boom seen in the

United States and Europe.

The first launch of a privately built PSLV booster, delayed

from early 2025, is expected to occur by mid-year, though an

exact date had not yet been decided, Ramchandani said. Each

booster, several of which were in various stages of assembly in

the factory, costs about $30 million.

"Clearly when we are getting into a business like this, it

is with an eye to the global market," Ramchandani said. "There's

demand for timely and cost-effective launches, especially as

satellite constellations grow. If we can provide availability,

reliability, and cost advantages, India can be competitive."