'Isro’s role won’t diminish': Agency allays concerns over privatisation

Two days after nine associations representing thousands of Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) employees sought clarity on the privatisation of the space sector, IN-SPACe chairman Pawan Goenka and Isro on Sunday said the space agency’s role would not diminish.

Goenka said there had been “some misleading narrative” in the media about Isro’s future role. “Let me say it unequivocally: ISRO’s role is by no means diminishing. It will remain the bedrock of Indian space sector. The reforms since 2020 are about expanding India’s overall space ecosystem,” he said in a post on X.

The employees’ associations had written to the Department of Space secretary and Isro chairman V Narayanan seeking clarity after Goenka said 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.”

The associations sought clarity on whether Goenka’s statement represented government policy, besides asking about the transfer of Isro’s manufacturing and operational functions, the agency’s future role and the impact on serving employees and future generations.

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ISRO clarifies on its privatisation stance

Isro, in a separate post on X on Sunday, said neither it would be privatised nor its importance diminished.

The agency said private-sector participation would enable the agency to focus on the next generation of India’s space programme while industry scales mature technologies.

Isro said its “role will progressively strengthen in areas where its scientific expertise matters most: frontier R&D, advanced technologies, human spaceflight, next-generation launch systems, deep-space and planetary missions and strategic national capabilities.”

“Meanwhile, mature and routinely manufactured systems can increasingly be scaled through industry. Production of mature launch vehicles, routine satellites and other established systems can increasingly be undertaken by industry or PSUs through appropriate competitive processes,” said Isro.