‘ISRO being privatised?’ Space agency says no, but private firms may build its rockets and satellites

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday sought to allay concerns over its growing collaboration with private companies, making it clear that the space agency "will neither be privatised nor will its importance be diminished".

In a post on X , ISRO said greater participation by industry would allow it to concentrate its scientific and technical resources on advanced areas of India's space programme , while private players take up the scaling of technologies that have already matured.

Clarification regarding media reports on concerns relating to Space Sector Reforms and the role of ISRO

ISRO’s Next Chapter: Leading India’s National Space Ecosystem
There has been considerable reporting in parts of the media around the future role of ISRO including speculations…

— ISRO (@isro) September 6, 2026

The clarification followed a September 4 letter, accessed by DH , from nine ISRO employee associations to ISRO Chairperson V Narayanan. The associations had sought clarity over reports that manufacturing and operational responsibilities currently handled by ISRO could eventually be transferred to private companies and public sector undertakings (PSUs).

The employees' concerns were linked to comments made by Pawan Goenka, chairperson of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), at a public event on August 21.

Goenka had reportedly said that ISRO would eventually stop manufacturing launch vehicles, with their production being taken up by industry or PSUs.

Responding to the concerns, ISRO said its responsibilities would increasingly centre on areas requiring specialised scientific expertise.

"Its role will progressively strengthen in areas where its scientific expertise matters most: frontier R&D, advanced technologies, human spaceflight, next-generation launch systems, deep-space and planetary missions and strategic national capabilities," the agency said.

ISRO added that it would continue to work on technologies critical to the country's space ambitions, including advanced payloads for communication, navigation and Earth observation, along with sensors, propulsion systems and other key technologies.

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At the same time, systems that have already reached technological maturity and require routine, large-scale manufacturing could increasingly be produced by industry and PSUs through competitive processes.

"Meanwhile, mature and routinely manufactured systems can increasingly be scaled through industry. Production of mature launch vehicles, routine satellites and other established systems can increasingly be undertaken by industry or PSUs through appropriate competitive processes," ISRO said.

According to the space agency, this division of responsibilities would free up scientific manpower and resources for more ambitious missions and emerging technologies.

Among the long-term goals it cited are the development of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station by 2035, an Indian crewed mission to the Moon by 2040, next-generation and reusable launch vehicles, sustained lunar and planetary exploration, and India's emergence as a major global space power.

The employee associations, however, had questioned the absence of a formal communication from the Department of Space explaining the proposed changes.

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In their September 4 letter, they said Goenka's remarks had not been accompanied by details on the policy being followed, its legal and administrative basis, the timeline for implementation, or its implications for ISRO's existing workforce and future recruitment.

"Technology developed by ISRO is a national asset. Its transfer must be transparent, accountable and consistent with strategic, safety and employment considerations -- not presented to employees through newspaper reports," the associations said in the letter.

Goenka also responded to the issue through a series of posts on X on Sunday, stressing that the reforms were not aimed at weakening ISRO.

"ISRO is by no means diminishing, and it will remain the bedrock of the Indian space sector," he said.

He explained that the reforms initiated since 2020 were intended to broaden India's overall space ecosystem by allowing private industry to increasingly manufacture and scale technologies that were already mature.

"The idea is to let industry increasingly manufacture and scale mature launch vehicles, satellites and other systems," Goenka said.

He added that ISRO would retain responsibility for advanced research and development, scientific and strategic missions, emerging technologies and infrastructure that private companies may not be capable of developing independently.

Goenka also underlined the need for collaboration between ISRO and private companies to meet India's target of conducting 50 launches a year by 2030.

" A goal of this scale cannot be achieved by one organisation alone," he said.

IN-SPACe, an autonomous agency under the Department of Space, is responsible for promoting, enabling, authorising and supervising space-related activities undertaken by non-government entities.