ISRO rejects privatisation reports, says role will never diminish

"Completely baseless and incorrect": ISRO rejects reports of privatisation, says its importance will never diminish

Bengaluru, September 7

In a detailed statement titled "ISRO's Next Chapter: Leading India's National Space Ecosystem", the space agency wrote, "There has been considerable reporting in parts of the media around the future role of ISRO including speculations and misinformation that there is an attempt to privatise ISRO or reduce its role. These assertions are completely baseless and incorrect."

"We wish to categorically state that ISRO will neither be privatised nor will its importance be diminished," it added.

ISRO said it will continue to lead India's advanced space research, national and strategic missions, space science and exploration programmes, along with critical and frontier space capabilities.

The space agency stated that private sector participation in space is aimed at expanding India's space ecosystem and enabling ISRO to focus more strongly on next-generation technologies, while industries scale mature technologies and capabilities.

"What is changing is not the importance of ISRO, but the scale and structure of India's space ecosystem," ISRO said.

The clarification comes amid discussions around space-sector reforms initiated since 2020 and institutionalised through the Indian Space Policy 2023. ISRO said these reforms, along with progressive liberalisation of foreign direct investment (FDI) policy, are aimed at creating a larger, stronger and globally competitive Indian space ecosystem.

"Industry, start-ups and academia are being enabled to participate across the space value chain, complementing and multiplying ISRO's capabilities. The reforms should therefore be seen as ecosystem expansion and capability multiplication, not privatisation," the agency said.

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.

"It enables large-scale production, commercialisation, innovation and access to global markets while allowing ISRO's scientific and technical manpower to concentrate on advanced research, next-generation technologies and complex national missions," it said.

The agency described the transition as moving towards an "ISRO-led national space ecosystem", where different stakeholders will have distinct roles.

According to ISRO, the Department of Space will continue to provide overall policy direction, while ISRO will remain the core organisation for advanced research and development, technology development and national missions. IN-SPACe will facilitate and authorise participation of non-government entities, while NSIL will undertake commercialisation and industry-led utilisation of mature capabilities.

The agency said private participation in operations and services will be enabled wherever appropriate but will remain subject to national security, safety and regulatory requirements.

"Strategic and nationally critical capabilities will continue to be governed by security, safety, quality and national-interest considerations," ISRO said.

ISRO further highlighted that its focus will increasingly shift towards frontier technologies, including advanced research and development, human spaceflight, next-generation launch systems, deep-space and planetary missions, and strategic national capabilities.

It said it will continue developing cutting-edge technologies, including advanced payloads for communication, navigation and Earth observation, sensors, propulsion systems and other critical technologies.

Meanwhile, mature and routinely manufactured systems such as established launch vehicles and satellites can increasingly be scaled through industry or public sector undertakings through appropriate competitive processes, ISRO said.

"This allows ISRO to devote more resources and scientific manpower to the next generation of technologies and missions, while the wider ecosystem provides the investment, manufacturing capacity and scale required by an expanding national space programme," it added.

The space agency also outlined India's long-term ambitions under Space Vision 2047, including establishing the Bharatiya Antariksh Station by 2035, undertaking an Indian crewed mission to the Moon by 2040, developing reusable launch systems and pursuing sustained lunar and planetary exploration.

"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 agency said.

On the growth of India's private space sector, ISRO said the 2020 reforms have led to the emergence of a vibrant ecosystem, with more than 450 Indian space start-ups currently working across launch vehicles, satellites, propulsion, ground systems, Earth observation, communications and space applications.

It said India's space economy is currently estimated at around USD 8.4 billion and the country aims to increase its share of the global space market to USD 44 billion by 2033.

"That scale cannot be achieved through government resources and ISRO's manpower alone. It requires private capital, industrial capacity, entrepreneurship and global market access," ISRO said.

ISRO said the success of space reforms should be measured by the growth of India's overall space capability.

"ISRO remains at the centre of India's space programme, leading national efforts in advanced research, strategic capabilities, human space-flight, next-generation launch technologies, the Bharatiya Antariksh Station and lunar and planetary exploration, while a wider Indian ecosystem provides the scale needed to realise India's Space Vision 2047," the agency said.

Meanwhile, ISRO also informed that the second orbit-raising operation of Earth Observation Satellite EOS-05 was successfully completed on Sunday at 7 pm.

"The LAM engine fired for 338.9 seconds and the estimated apogee after manoeuvre is 35786 km. The satellite health is normal," ISRO said in a post on X.

— ANI