India’s private space sector is on an expansion path amid debate over ISRO’s role

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Highlights

Following the successful flight of Skyroot Aerospace’s Vikram-1, the government is strengthening the private sector’s role in meeting its target of 50 launches a year by 2030.
Under the Indian Space Policy 2023, ISRO will focus on R&D, while mature systems will be transferred to industry for commercial use.
Dissatisfaction and uncertainty among ISRO employees persist, with unofficial reports emerging of 100–120 scientists resigning in 2023.

This article was translated from the original. Read the original version by our correspondent here.

Policy changes and institutional role

According to Forbes India, following the successful orbital flight of Skyroot Aerospace’s Vikram-1 in July, the private sector’s role is seen as increasingly important to India’s target of 50 launches annually by 2030. The government wants to move toward a portfolio of six launch vehicles, while ISRO is expected to hand over operational and commercial work to industry and focus more on research and advanced technology.

Many industry founders see this shift not as privatization, but as an expansion of the space ecosystem. Pixxel founder and CEO Awais Ahmed says the space research organization should not have revenue targets, while Skyroot Aerospace CEO Pawan Kumar Chandana says ISRO can focus on human spaceflight, planetary exploration, science missions and high-risk programs, while industry handles repeatable commercial work.

The Indian Space Policy 2023 also points in this direction. Under the policy, ISRO’s primary focus will remain on R&D, while mature systems will be transferred to industry for commercial use.

Employee concerns and industry impact

However, this transition does not appear to be entirely smooth within ISRO. On September 4, nine employee associations wrote to Chairman V Narayanan seeking clarification after IN-SPACe Chairman Pawan Goenka said that launch vehicle manufacturing could be handled by private companies or public sector undertakings in the future; on September 7, Narayanan said that ISRO is a government organization and is not being privatized.

In a subsequent letter dated October 7, the Joint Staff Council said that fundamental questions about ISRO’s future mandatory role, privatization policy, the transfer of manufacturing and operational work, technology transfer, staffing and employee security remain largely unanswered. Meanwhile, media estimates that 100 to 120 scientists resigned during some months this year have further heightened uncertainty, although no official figures have been released.

Former ISRO scientist Gurpeet Singh says the trend of leaving the organization is not new, citing opportunities in the private sector, higher education and dissatisfaction with repetitive work as reasons. According to him, if repetitive work such as satellite manufacturing is shifted to private companies, ISRO scientists may have more scope to pursue deeper research and higher-risk missions.

The industry also highlights that private companies still depend on ISRO’s infrastructure, testing facilities, supply chain and technology transfers. IN-SPACe now serves as a single window for access to ISRO’s testing facilities and has facilitated 118 technology transfer agreements so far. This is giving momentum to India’s space manufacturing and launch ecosystem, but the demand for clarity about the institution’s new role remains just as strong among ISRO employees.

Our previous report discussed the race for regulatory approvals for satellite internet (Satcom) services in India and the status of OneWeb, Starlink and other players. It noted that despite GMPCS licenses, final spectrum allocation, security assessments and the remaining approvals remain decisive hurdles to a commercial launch.

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