By Gyan Pathak
Government of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now set to transfer even satellite production and launch vehicles from India Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to private sector. The Government’s claim is that it being done to make ISRO more focused on research, scientific missions, and advanced space infrastructure. However, critics including a parliamentary committee has flagged foul play to favour certain private companies.
Speaking at an event in New Delhi on Friday, Chairman of IN-SPACe Dr. Pawan Goenka declared that ISRO will stop manufacturing routine satellites and launch vehicles like PSLV and LVM3, transitioning production fully to the private sector and PSUs.
Dr Goenka said that the ISRO’s manufacturing launch vehicles and routine satellites will be gradually handed over to the private sector. Transition is already underway he said, that will allow ISRO to focus on research, advanced technologies, scientific missions and infrastructure that private companies may not be able to build on their own.
The patter in therefore the same as it has been adopted for privatisations of facilities under government, such as in the railways, or privatisation of Public Sector Undertakings, but only after building the facilities on public money, then neglecting them to show that they are not functioning properly, and finally transferred to the private companies on throwaway prices to benefit them. Allegations are that officials have also gained cuts and commissions under such murky dealings.
IN-SPACe chairman said that the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) technology and production rights have already been transferred from ISRO to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited following a bidding process. He also said that the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3) are also headed towards privatisation. PSLV and LVM3 are India’s most powerful operational rockets.
The assertion by Dr Goenka that unlike the SSLV process, PSUs will not be allowed to participate in the upcoming transfer process, leaves the private industry to take charge.
“We have already transferred 120 technologies from ISRO to the private sector,” he said, adding that the government is also planning to hand operations of a new launch centre to private industry, and the private operator could be finalised within the next four or five months.
IN-SPACe chairman Dr Goenaka said that it is part of India’s broader ambition to expand its space economy from around $8 billion now to $44 billion by 2033. What he said further is even more revealing. Defence has already placed an order for 31 satellites with private companies, while ISRO is expected to produce, even less, only 21.
To understand the entire scenario, one needs to note that IN-SPACe is a government organisation that according to critics was designed purely as a regulatory and authorization body. Former space officials have criticised it on the ground of blurring institutional boundaries between IN-SPACe and ISRO’s commercial arm NewSpace India Limited (NSIL). Critics argue that IN-SPACe’s expanding footprints aggressively drive commercialization of ISRO assets and bypass the original mandate of NSIL and its stakeholders.
While massive government’s efforts are being directed towards enabling private commercial infrastructure, ISRO’s primary scientific mandates have been slowing down. Even the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology in its report (March 2026) had raised alarm over underutilized budgets and delays hitting major exploration programmes including Chandrayaan-4, Chandrayaan-5, and the Venus Orbiter Mission (Shukrayaan-1).
In the scathing report, the parliamentary panel flagged that high-end technologies (satellites, rockets, and advanced materials) are being transferred to private players at “disproportionately low prices”. Out of 100 technology transfer agreements signed via ISRO’s commercial arm NSIL, nearly 70 were transferred for under Rs10 lakh. Some commercial components were sold for as low as Rs6000 and a few at no cost at all. The panel noted that it allows private entities to reap massive profit while the originating taxpayer-funded institutes receive only marginal return.
Neglect of ISRO and its scientists is another issue. Privatisation of its several operations have led to a situation in which ISRO has been facing human resource crisis. Over 100 senior scientists and technical personnel have recently resigned or opted for voluntary retirement to private sector. It is yet to be ascertained how much the government’s neglect pushed them into private sector, and if it was also a conspiracy thatched by government officials and private sector entities.
Former ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair has warned that these departures point toward systemic governance flaws and “increasing bureaucratisation” rather than just salary issues. In July 2026, Department of Space issued an emergency directive to block further routine resignation approvals for Group ‘A’ scientists involved on only flagship projects like the Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission.
Operational shift of the ISRO has been accelerated under the Space Policy of 2023. In late 2025, SSLV technology and production rights were transferred the HAL for Rs511 crore. HAL is a Public Sector company, which has been lately in great controversies. It has faced recurring public and parliamentary criticism over delayed delivery timelines for key indigenous platforms like the Tejas Mk1A jets, stretching timelines on multi-thousand-crore domestic orders. Delays in domestic engine and equipment integration have frequently sparked friction regarding production efficiency vs indigenous self-reliance goals. It was also at the centre of intense political debate around Rafale deal. Opposition had alleged that government favoured a private company Reliance (in place of HAL) for partnership with Dassault Aviation for the manufacturing Rafale in India. In this backdrop, the transfer of SSLV tech and production by ISRO to HAL is seen to have other intentions than what was declared by the government. (IPA Service)
