A massive political firestorm has erupted over the privatisation push for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), as Opposition parties gun for the government’s intentions. Meanwhile, several ISRO staff bodies have also written to the ISRO chief seeking clarity.
Congress Leader Jairam Ramesh questioned the intentions behind opening up the ISRO’s research to private companies. Ramesh wrote, “In the name of encouraging startups in the space economy, ISRO’s role is being deliberately circumscribed by the Modi Govt. Worse, capabilities it has built up over decades in a painstaking manner are to be transferred to private companies whose long-term commitment is doubtful.”
He lauded the voices within the organisation who have written to ISRO Chief V Narayanan, seeking clarity behind this move. He added, “One former ISRO Chairman has been bold enough to express his concerns. Others like him must also have the courage of their convictions and not simply keep quiet.”
ISRO, however has rejected reports that the government is seeking to privatise the space agency or reduce its role, calling such claims “baseless and incorrect.” It said ISRO will remain India’s principal institution for advanced space research, technology development, strategic and national missions, space science and exploration, and critical space capabilities.
The government’s space-sector reforms since 2020 are instead aimed at expanding the wider space ecosystem by allowing private companies, startups and academia to participate across the sector. ISRO said this would allow mature technologies and established capabilities to be transferred to industry for large-scale production and commercialisation, while the agency focuses on advanced research and complex missions.
ISRO said its future role will increasingly centre on frontier technologies and high-end missions, including human spaceflight, next-generation launch systems, deep-space and planetary exploration, advanced payloads, propulsion and other strategic capabilities. Meanwhile, mature and routinely manufactured systems such as established launch vehicles and satellites could increasingly be produced by private industry or PSUs through competitive processes.
The agency described this as a transition towards an “ISRO-led national space ecosystem”, rather than privatisation or a dilution of its importance.
Senior leader and Congress MP Abhishek Singhvi has also slammed the move in his X post. He wrote, “ISRO was built as the symbol of India’s self-reliance. Under PM Modi, is even that legacy now being handed over to private interests?”
Six years after the government opened the space sector to private companies, sources have told Times Now that as many as nine ISRO employee associations have sought clarification from ISRO chief V Narayanan over reports surrounding the privatisation of the agency in the wake of reports proposing plans to transfer the space centre’s manufacturing and operational functions to private entities.
The letter to ISRO chief Narayanan was written on September 4 after the launch of GSLV F17 carrying EOS 5. In their letter, the employee associations have sought clarity primarily on the government’s privatisation policy, ISRO’s future role and the possible repercussions of privatisation in connection with existing employees and future recruitments.
According to the letter accessed by Times Now, its subject says, “Request for official clarification on Government policy regarding privatization / transfer of ISRO manufacturing and operational functions, the future role of ISRO and the impact on serving employees and future generations-submission of concerns of ISRO employees.”