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ISRO will not be privatised
In Short
Space agency clarifies on private sector push
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New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has issued a strong clarification on its future role, rejecting speculation that the government's push to expand private sector participation in the space industry is aimed at privatising or diminishing the country's premier space agency.
“We wish to categorically state that ISRO will neither be privatised nor will its importance be diminished,” the space agency said on Sunday.
The clarification comes amid growing debate over the future structure of India's space programme, following concerns raised by sections of ISRO's workforce over the government's plans to increase the role of private companies and public sector undertakings in manufacturing launch vehicles, satellites and other mature space systems.
ISRO said it would continue to remain India's principal institution for advanced space research and technology development, national and strategic missions, space science and exploration, and critical frontier capabilities.
The agency stressed that greater private sector participation was not intended to reduce ISRO's role but to allow it to focus more strongly on the next generation of India's space programme.
“What is changing is not the importance of ISRO, but the scale and structure of India's space ecosystem,” the organisation said. The reforms initiated since 2020, and subsequently institutionalised through the Indian Space Policy 2023 and progressive liberalisation of foreign direct investment norms, are aimed at creating a larger and more globally competitive space ecosystem, ISRO said.
Under the new framework, private industry, startups and academic institutions are being encouraged to participate across the space value chain, complementing ISRO's capabilities. ISRO said the reforms should be seen as an expansion of the national space ecosystem rather than privatisation. As India's industrial capabilities grow, mature technologies and scalable activities can increasingly be undertaken by industry, allowing ISRO's scientific and technical workforce to focus on advanced research and complex missions.
The organisation noted that it had already transferred multiple technologies to industry, adding that transferring a mature technology did not mean ISRO was withdrawing from that area.
