India made its first rocket launch on November 21 , 1963 . Indian space group holds more than 60 rockets it considers ` ` historic '' India launches its first unmanned mission to the Moon in 2008 . These satellites , according to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center , capture images of the Earth that are used in a range of applications -- agriculture , water resources , urban development , mineral prospecting , environment , forestry , drought and flood forecasting , ocean resources and disaster management . The South Asian nation is seen as being in an Asian arms race with China .
India made its first rocket launch on November 21 , 1963 . Indian space group holds more than 60 rockets it considers ` ` historic '' India launches its first unmanned mission to the Moon in 2008 . The South Asian nation is seen as being in an Asian arms race with China .