The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday rejected claims of a possible move to privatise the agency or reduce its role, days after reports said nine associations representing thousands of ISRO employees had sought clarification over a proposal to hand the space agency’s manufacturing and operational work to private entities.
“These assertions are completely baseless and incorrect. We wish to categorically state that ISRO will neither be privatised nor will its importance be diminished,” the space agency said in a statement.
ISRO denies privatisation
The statement added, “ISRO will continue to remain India’s principal institution for advanced space research and technology development, national and strategic missions, space science and exploration, and critical and frontier space capabilities.”
It said that the private-sector participation in space would not reduce ISRO's role, but would allow the agency to focus more closely on the next phase of India's space programme while private industry expands proven technologies and capabilities. “What is changing is not the importance of ISRO, but the scale and structure of India’s space ecosystem.”
ISRO said industry, start-ups and academic institutions are being encouraged to take part across the space sector, while adding to and expanding its existing capabilities. “The reforms should therefore be seen as ecosystem expansion and capability multiplication, not privatisation.”
{{/usCountry}}ISRO said industry, start-ups and academic institutions are being encouraged to take part across the space sector, while adding to and expanding its existing capabilities. “The reforms should therefore be seen as ecosystem expansion and capability multiplication, not privatisation.”
{{/usCountry}}ISRO said the shift was key for its Space Vision 2047, which aims to establish the Bharatiya Antariksh Station by 2035, send Indian astronauts to the Moon by 2040, build next-generation and reusable launch systems, continue long-term exploration of the Moon and other planets, and position India as a leading space power globally.
“These are technologically demanding missions that require ISRO to remain focused on advanced research and capabilities that cannot simply be substituted by commercial activity,” the statement read.
The objective is therefore to enable industry to scale mature capabilities while ISRO pushes India towards the next technological frontier, it said.
“Private participation in operations and services will be enabled where appropriate and will remain subject to national-security, safety and other regulatory requirements. Strategic and nationally critical capabilities will continue to be governed by security, safety, quality and national-interest considerations,” ISRO said.
ISRO employees had sought clarity on privatisation
In a letter dated September 4 and addressed to ISRO chairman and Department of Space (DoS) secretary V Narayanan, the associations asked for clarity on the government's privatisation policy, the agency's future role, and how the proposed changes could affect existing staff and future recruitment, HT reported earlier.
The letter was signed by employee bodies representing several ISRO centres and was reviewed by HT earlier. The signatories include the ISRO Staff Association, SHAR Employees Association, ISAC Employees Association, ISRO Staff Association-LPSC, ISRO Staff Association-BBU, NRSA Employees Union, Space Employees Association-BBU, ISRO Staff Association-IPRC and SAC Employees Welfare Association.
The associations said that the reports had caused concern among the employees and their families.
INSPACe chairperson on ISRO's future
Pawan Goenka, chairperson of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), said on Sunday that ISRO's role was not being reduced and that the agency would continue to be the foundation of India's space sector.
IN-SPACe is an autonomous body under the Department of Space that promotes, enables, authorises and oversees space-related activities by non-government entities.
In a post on X, Goenka said, "The reforms since 2020 are about expanding India's overall space ecosystem. The idea is to let industry increasingly manufacture and scale mature launch vehicles, satellites and other systems."
Notably, the associations had sought clarification after Goenka said at a recent event that “eventually, Isro will not make any launch vehicles and will not manufacture any launch vehicles. That will all be done by the private sector or PSU.”