NEW DELHI - India will allow the involvement of private companies in its space exploration and satellite launch programmes, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told a press conference on Saturday.

Both industries are currently predominantly operated by the government's Indian Space Research Organisation.

(Reporting by Alasdair Pal; Editing by Pravin Char) ((Alasdair.Pal@thomsonreuters.com; +91 114 954 8060; Reuters Messaging: alasdair.pal.reuters.com@reuters.net))