But are these statements based on data? Is India now a major source of potentially dangerous space debris?

How much garbage outside Space?

There are more than 23,000 pieces larger than 10 cm and the US Space Surveillance Network has found most of them, NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office (ODPO) said.

Most of the trash floats at a distance of 1,250 miles, or 2,011 km, from the Earth's surface, along with more than 2,000 artificial satellites, next to the International Space Station.

Collisions are likely to occur, and many of the pieces present come from impacts in space.

When China tested a rocket on one of its weather satellites in 2007, around 3,000 pieces of debris were created.

And an accidental collision between a U.S. and Russian communications satellite in 2009 also contributed to large amounts of debris in orbit, ODPO said.

India still produces less space debris than the top three polluters: Russia, the US and China, ODPO said.

But India's space debris has increased – 163 pieces in 2019, up from 117 in 2018.

In March this year, India became the fourth country to conduct an anti-satellite missile test.

This test was reportedly conducted at an altitude that could prevent debris from remaining in Earth orbit.

But the U.S. continued to condemn the test and NASA said it tracked down about 50 pieces of debris from the test more than three months later.

“Whether China's actions over a decade ago were technically worse, or whether India produced debris more recently and should have known that what they were doing affected everyone, that is not the question,” said Christopher D. Johnson, legal counsel for Space at Secure World Foundation, USA BBC News.

“We should learn from previous events and recognize that there is no acceptable reason for space debris to threaten the ability of all people to use space.”

Earth's orbit is increasingly congested, with thousands of satellites in operation and many more launches to come, raising the possibility of collisions.

But there are no rules against anti-satellite testing.

Several countries and a number of private companies are testing new ways to deal with space debris, from using harpoons to giant magnets to nets.

In 2025, the European Space Agency will launch the first space mission to collect debris from Earth's orbit.

But NASA says cleaning up the space environment remains a “technical and economic challenge.”