The government opened India’s space sector to private players in 2020. Employee associations at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have now formally raised concerns for the first time over how the transition is being carried out. Nine employee bodies representing staff across major ISRO centres have written to ISRO Chairman and Department of Space Secretary V Narayanan, seeking written clarification on the government’s plans and the space agency’s future role.
The five-page representation, dated 4th September, was submitted just after the successful launch of the GSLV F-17/EOS-05 mission. It was signed by representatives of nine employee associations from centres including the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Space Applications Centre (SAC), National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) and ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC).
STORY | ISRO staff bodies seek clarification on trajectory of privatisation
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 6, 2026
Nine employee associations at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have written to the space agency's Chairperson V Narayanan, seeking official clarification on the proposed transfer of its… pic.twitter.com/hNkIPacn1z
Together, these associations represent around 5,000 employees, which is roughly 27% of ISRO’s stated workforce of 18,100.
The employees have made it clear that their concern is not simply about private companies entering India’s space sector. They say they support private participation and commercialisation. Their concern is that activities currently carried out within ISRO could gradually shift to private companies or other entities without a clearly explained policy on what ISRO will continue to do.
Why are ISRO employees worried about privatisation?
The immediate concern comes from a statement made by Pawan Goenka, chairman of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), at Business Today’s India @ 100 Economy Summit. Goenka said that eventually ISRO would not manufacture launch vehicles and that the work would be carried out by private companies or public sector undertakings.
For ISRO employees, the statement raises an important question: if the organisation stops manufacturing its own rockets, what happens to the engineering, manufacturing and operational expertise that ISRO has built over several decades?
The employee associations have therefore sought to know whether Goenka’s statement represents an officially approved decision of the government, the Space Commission or the Department of Space.
Their concern is not that private companies should have no role. Instead, they want clarity on where the responsibility of ISRO ends and where the private sector begins.
The representation says, “Private participation in defined commercial activities can coexist with a strong, publicly owned ISRO. What cannot be accepted without debate is a policy that reduces ISRO to a residual R&D boutique while the realisation of the nation’s launch vehicles and the operation of its launch infrastructure pass out of public hands.”
How did privatisation of India’s space sector begin?
The government’s push to bring private companies into the space sector began more clearly in 2020 as part of the broader economic reforms announced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
While announcing the fourth tranche of the Atmanirbhar Bharat package in May 2020, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government wanted private companies to become partners in India’s space journey.
“The Indian Space Research Organisation has brought a lot of laurels to the country. However, the private sector is also doing a lot of work in the arena now. We want the Indian Private sector to be a co-traveller in India’s space sector journey,” Sitharaman said.
The government also announced that private companies would be allowed to use ISRO facilities and other relevant assets to improve their capabilities. “We will provide a predictable policy and regulatory environment to private players. They will be allowed to use the ISRO facilities and other relevant assets to improve their capacities,” Sitharaman said.
The idea was to make better use of India’s existing space infrastructure while allowing startups and private companies to develop their own capabilities.
The government also planned to liberalise access to geospatial data, allowing Indian technology companies to use remote-sensing satellite data for applications such as agriculture and other sectors.
The larger aim was to move from a space ecosystem dominated almost entirely by the government to one in which private companies could design, manufacture and operate space systems.
ISRO’s role began to change
The reform did not mean that ISRO would simply be handed over to private companies. Instead, the government’s stated approach was to give private players a larger role across the space ecosystem while allowing ISRO to concentrate increasingly on research, advanced technology and strategic capabilities.
For decades, ISRO was effectively the only major Indian organisation where engineers could work on launch vehicles, propulsion systems and spacecraft at scale. This helped the country develop a strong space programme despite relatively limited budgets.
However, the same model also meant that a very large part of India’s space capability remained concentrated within one government organisation.
The opening of the sector was meant to change this. IN-SPACe was created as a regulatory and facilitation mechanism for private participation, while NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) has a commercial role in taking ISRO-developed technologies and systems to industry.
The Indian Space Policy 2023 subsequently gave private companies a much wider role across the space value chain, including the development and operation of space systems.
What is already being transferred?
The employee associations have pointed to several developments that they say show the transition is already underway.
One major example is the transfer of technology and production of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The associations have also referred to the ongoing process for transferring technology related to the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3), one of India’s most powerful launch vehicles.
LVM3 is particularly important because it was used for the Chandrayaan-3 mission and is among India’s key launch vehicles. Similar efforts are also being discussed in relation to the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
The representation also refers to reports that routine satellite manufacturing could eventually move outside ISRO. It raises concerns about new launch infrastructure, including the Space Launch Complex at Kulasekarapattinam in Tamil Nadu, being opened to private entities.
For the employee associations, each of these steps may have its own justification. What they want is an overall policy explaining how these decisions fit together and what the final structure of India’s space programme is expected to look like.
What exactly are ISRO employees asking?
The employee bodies have sought detailed answers on the future role of ISRO and the status of the government’s plans.
One of their key questions concerns Goenka’s statement that ISRO would eventually stop manufacturing launch vehicles. They want to know whether this represents an approved decision of the Government of India, the Space Commission or the Department of Space. If it does, they want details about when and how the decision was approved and by which authority.
They have also asked what the future mandate of ISRO will be, specifically whether the design, development, realisation, integration, testing and launching of PSLV, LVM3, SSLV and future launch vehicles will remain ISRO functions.
The associations have also sought clarification on whether public sector undertakings will be excluded from the proposed transfer of PSLV and LVM3 production and why such an arrangement, if planned, would be followed.
Another major demand is transparency about the institutional framework under which technologies, test facilities, launch complexes and technical know-how developed with public money will be made available to private operators.
The employees argue that they deserve to know what is happening to the organisation they work for. “…Serving employees have an earned right to be informed, consulted and protected. Natural justice and good administration require that policy of this magnitude be explained to the workforce by the Department itself,” the representation says.
‘ISRO built with public funds, public purpose and public workforce’
The employee associations have also stressed that ISRO is not simply a manufacturing organisation. They argue that its ability to design, build, test and launch rockets represents decades of institutional experience.
“ISRO was built as a national scientific institution with public funds, public purpose and a public workforce. Launch-vehicle design, realisation, integration, testing and launch operations are not merely ‘manufacturing contracts’. They are the core competence, institutional memory and strategic capability of the organisation,” the letter says.
The government’s argument for private participation is that India needs a much larger space industry, with private companies contributing investment, technology, manufacturing capacity and new ideas. The employees, however, want to ensure that this expansion does not come at the cost of ISRO’s own capabilities.
They are also worried about the impact on employees. If activities currently performed by ISRO are increasingly handed to private contractors, they fear that some existing employees could become surplus or be moved to other jobs without meaningful work.
What is happening to ISRO scientists?
The debate over the future of ISRO has also coincided with reports that around 120 scientists have resigned or sought voluntary retirement from the organisation in recent months. The departures have triggered concerns about a possible “brain drain”, particularly because ISRO works on highly specialised programmes. The Department of Space has tightened scrutiny of resignations involving scientists working on critical projects.
However, there is another way to look at these departures.
India’s space sector is no longer limited to ISRO. As private companies build launch vehicles, satellites and other space technologies, they need experienced engineers and scientists. Many of these professionals have spent years working inside ISRO and possess exactly the kind of expertise that new space companies require.
The emergence of private space companies therefore means that some scientists leaving ISRO may not be leaving India’s space ecosystem. Instead, they may be moving from one Indian organisation to another.
Skyroot Aerospace is one example of how this transition can work. Two former ISRO scientists left the organisation in 2018 to establish the company. Their move could initially have been seen as ISRO losing experienced talent. But the company has since developed the Vikram series of rockets and emerged as one of India’s leading private space companies.
This illustrates the larger argument behind the government’s reforms. If India wants a genuine private space industry, experienced engineers will have to move between organisations. A growing space sector will naturally create talent competition.
The real question, therefore, is not simply how many scientists remain inside ISRO. It is whether India as a whole is gaining more capability in space.
