ISRO Employee Association Raises Concerns Over Launch Vehicle Privatisation

Staff members and employee unions at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) formally submitted a letter to ISRO Chairman, questioning the agency’s strategic trajectory regarding space privatisation. The concern emerged following statements by IN-SPACe Chairman Pawan Goenka indicating that ISRO would gradually cease manufacturing established launch vehicles like the PSLV and GSLV, leaving production entirely to private sector consortiums.

In June 2020, the Union Cabinet approved major space sector reforms, establishing the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) as a single-window autonomous agency under the Department of Space. The reforms aimed to transition ISRO from routine manufacturing toward advanced scientific research, interplanetary exploration, and deep-space technology development, while opening satellite launch operations to non-government entities (NGEs).

The employee union's letter highlights workforce security, loss of core sovereign technical competencies, and the financial viability of private entities handling heavy payload systems like the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3). Currently, ISRO’s commercial arm, NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), has already transferred technology for the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) to a private consortium led by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

This issue lies at the intersection of Science & Technology policy and Space Governance. Prelims exams frequently ask about space institutions (IN-SPACe, NSIL, Antrix, ISRO) and launch vehicle specifications (PSLV, GSLV Mk III, SSLV). Mains GS-Paper III questions analyze space sector deregulation, public-private partnerships (PPP) in strategic sectors, risk-sharing mechanisms, and national technological self-reliance (Atmanirbhar Bharat).