Published Sep 07, 2026 | 9:32 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 07, 2026 | 9:57 AM
ISRO
Synopsis: The employee bodies said they are not opposed to private participation in defined commercial activities, but argued that launch-vehicle manufacturing, integration and operations form part of ISRO’s “core competence, institutional memory and strategic capability”. On Sunday, 6 September, responding to the letter, IN-SPACe chairman Pawan Kumar Goenka wrote on X: “There has been some misleading narrative in the media around the future role of ISRO. Let me say it unequivocally: ISRO’ s role is by no means diminishing. It will remain the bedrock of Indian space sector.”
Nine ISRO employee bodies have written to the Department of Space on Friday, 4 September, seeking a formal written response from the Chairman of the Space Commission on the government’s plans for greater private-sector involvement in India’s space programme.
The representation follows remarks by IN-SPACe Chairman Pawan Goenka that ISRO could eventually stop routine manufacturing of launch vehicles, with industry taking on a larger role.
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. They have asked whether Goenka’s comments reflect an officially approved Union government policy and, if so, sought the date, authority and text of that decision.
The employee bodies said they are not opposed to private participation in defined commercial activities, but argued that launch-vehicle manufacturing, integration and operations form part of ISRO’s “core competence, institutional memory and strategic capability”.
According to a TNIE report, the representation noted that the transfer process has already begun with SSLV technology and production rights handed over to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), while similar transfers are proposed for the PSLV and LVM3. The associations also claimed that routine satellite manufacturing could be moved out of ISRO and that private entities could operate new launch infrastructure, including the Space Launch Complex at Kulasekarapattinam.
The associations further reportedly asked the ISRO chairman to clarify the institutional framework under which publicly created technologies, facilities and launch complexes would be transferred to private operation, including the respective roles of NSIL and IN-SPACe.
They have raised concerns that existing employees could be rendered surplus or left with reduced roles while private contractors perform work developed through public investment. They also fear that regular recruitment across categories could decline further.
“We submit this representation in a constructive and democratic spirit. Our loyalty to ISRO and to the national space programme is not in question. Precisely because of that loyalty, we consider it our duty to seek clarity before uncertainty hardens into irreversible policy,” the nine associations said in the letter, ANI reported.
The issue has gained added significance amid reports of scientists leaving ISRO and tighter rules around resignations and voluntary retirement for personnel working on key missions such as Gaganyaan. Goenka has meanwhile argued that India’s ambition of reaching around 50 launches annually by 2030 would require both government and private industry to scale up capacity.
On Sunday, 6 September, responding to the letter, IN-SPACe chairman Pawan Kumar Goenka wrote on X: “There has been some misleading narrative in the media around the future role of ISRO. Let me say it unequivocally: ISRO’ s role is by no means diminishing. It will remain the bedrock of the Indian space sector.”
“The reforms since 2020 are about expanding India’s overall space ecosystem. IN-SPACe will facilitate and authorise greater non-government participation, while NSIL will help commercialise mature capabilities.”
“The idea is to let industry increasingly manufacture and scale mature launch vehicles, satellites and other systems, while ISRO focuses on what it is uniquely placed to do: advanced R&D, scientific missions, strategic missions, new technologies, and infrastructure that is too complex for the private sector to develop on its own.”
“ISRO will remain at the core of India’s space programme, leading frontier research and the next generation of national missions, including the Bharatiya Antariksh Station by 2035, an Indian crewed mission to the Moon by 2040, next-generation launch systems, and sustained lunar and planetary exploration. The direction is not a smaller ISRO. It is a larger Indian space ecosystem, with ISRO pushing the technological frontier.”
There has been some misleading narrative in the media around the future role of ISRO. 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…
— Pawan K Goenka (@GoenkaPk) September 6, 2026
(With inputs from Keerthivas)
