The New Indian Express ·
Politics
ISRO not getting privatised, says Chairman Narayanan
BENGALURU: Putting all doubts over India's premier space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), getting privatised, ISRO Chairman V Narayanan on Monday said, "ISRO is not getting privatized. It is a government organisation and as per the space sector policy, it is its duty to hand-hold private organisations and start-ups."
He said presently there are over 56 assets in space and as per the target set by the Prime Minister, in the next five years, 50 satellites will be launched per year. This will not be done by ISRO but by Indians in India. To attain this, the involvement of the private sector is essential, he said.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration of the three-day Bengaluru Space Expo-2026, its ninth edition, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry in partnership with ISRO, IN-SPACe and New Space India Limited (NSIL), in Bengaluru.
Narayanan said that earlier, in 2022, there was only one start-up and now there are 450-odd working with ISRO. He explained that when a rocket is launched, many private companies are involved and around 80% of the amount realised from the launches goes to the industries.
He said ISRO's hands are full till 2047. The missions are evolving and include Chandrayaan-4 & 5, Bharatiya Antariksh Station, manned lunar missions, besides missions to Mars and Venus, GSLV Mark-3 launching payloads over 30 tonnes, Gaganyaan, NavIC constellation, and so on. To attain all these, private sector support is required when so many space activities are happening and the space ecosystem is growing, and it is also one of the mandates of the space policy. "We have to hand-hold the private companies for the launch missions and other space missions. But this does not mean privatisation."
He said the set targets are achievable as there is no dearth of funds for ISRO. "We are getting what is required. The government is also giving more when asked," he said.
Pertaining to the letter written by the ISRO employees, Narayanan said there are over 20,000 employees working in ISRO and some of them giving a written communication is not right. "We will clarify all their doubts. We have a system in the organisation where we regularly talk to our employees," he said.
Pertaining to the attrition of senior scientists from ISRO, Narayanan said, "Over the last 5-6 years, around 150 have resigned. This is normal in every organisation and it has been happening for many years in ISRO, too. However, there has been a marginal increase. But we cannot stop anybody from going. ISRO works as a team and the role of each one, including the organisation as a whole, is clearly defined."
Adding to this, also present on the occasion, IN-SPACe Chairman Pawan Goenka said there is an attrition of around 1% in ISRO, while in the private sector it is around 10-15%. Attrition is not unusual or concerning as it has not slowed down or shadowed the operations or the set targets.
"The Prime Minister has set a target of 50 launches a year. No agency anywhere reaches that scale by itself, and it should not. Reaching it requires more capability and more hands. It calls for strong private manufacturing and launch industry working alongside ISRO, and this is what Indian space reform is all about. India's ambition is simple: make in India, for the world. We are not building a closed ecosystem; we are building an open one," he added.