ISRO clarifies: No plan to privatise space agency, role to remain central
ISRO said mature launch vehicles and routine satellites can shift to industry while the agency focuses on advanced research and national missions.
- Nine employee associations representing roughly 27% of ISRO's 18,100 staff wrote to Chairperson V. Narayanan on September 4, seeking official clarification on the proposed transfer of manufacturing and operational functions to private entities.
- Concerns stem from August 21 comments by IN-SPACe Chairperson Pawan Goenka, who reportedly said ISRO would eventually 'not make any launch vehicles,' reflecting broader 2020 reforms and the 2023 Space Policy.
- Representing around 5,000 employees, the associations argued that launch vehicle design and testing are core strategic capabilities, not merely 'manufacturing contracts,' and noted 120 technologies have already been transferred to private sector.
- On Sunday, ISRO rejected privatization reports as 'completely baseless and incorrect,' stating the agency will remain India's principal institution for advanced research while private participation expands the overall space ecosystem.
- ISRO plans to focus on frontier missions including the Bharat Antariksh Station by 2035 and an Indian crewed Moon mission by 2040, while India aims to increase its global space market share to $44 billion by 2033.
73 Articles
73 Articles
ISRO seeks to calm nerves over India’s space privatisation push
BENGALURU, Sept 7 (Reuters) - India's space agency ISRO said it would remain the country's leading space institution after its staff association raised concerns about plans to transfer certain activities to private and state-run companies. India is on...
ISRO not being privatised, set for bigger role in India’s space future
New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has now clarified the speculation surrounding its possible privatisation. ISRO has made it clear that it will neither be privatised nor will its role in the space sector be reduced. On the contrary, as the space economy evolves, ISRO’s responsibilities are set to become more important and broader than ever before. In fact, the growing participation of private companies, start-ups and indus…
ISRO seeks to calm nerves over India's space privatisation push
BENGALURU: India's space agency ISRO said it would remain the country's leading space institution after its staff association raised concerns about plans to transfer certain activities to private and state-run companies.India is one of the world's leading spacefaring nations.The Indian Space Research O
'Completely Baseless and Incorrect': ISRO Rejects Reports of Privatisation, Says Its Importance Will Never Diminish
Highlighting the role of technology transfers, ISRO said it has already transferred multiple technologies to industry and clarified that handing over mature technologies does not mean withdrawing from those areas.
ISRO quells concerns over growing private sector role in space tech
ISRO has firmly rejected speculation about its privatisation, stressing it will remain India’s principal space research agency even as private companies and PSUs take on mature technologies. Learn how space-sector reforms, the Indian Space Policy 2023 and an ‘ISRO-led national space ecosystem’ aim to expand India’s space economy while keeping strategic space capabilities under government control.
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