New Delhi, June 13 -- The defence ministry is in the process of finalizing a multi-year contract to set up a "constellation of satellites" that will monitor other satellites that may be surveilling India, said three people aware of the development.

The final project will be monitored by a team of technical experts, likely to be outsourced to a private space startup specializing in this field. The contract, worth Rs.150 crore per year, will also involve India's very own network of spy satellites that are expected to be built and sent up by end-2026, they said.

The 'satellite mapping' project will hinge on a network of satellites that will communicate with each other to relay data to stations on the ground. The network will be assembled e...