ISRO Employees Raise Alarm Over Privatisation, Seek Clarity On Agency’s Future Role

Nine employee associations representing staff across the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have formally questioned the direction of the government’s space-sector privatisation push, seeking clarity on what role the space agency will retain in building rockets, satellites and operating launch infrastructure.

The joint representation, dated September 4 and accessed by The Times of India, was addressed to V Narayanan, Chairman of the Space Commission, Secretary of the Department of Space and Chairman of ISRO. It came shortly after ISRO successfully launched the GSLV-F17/EOS-05 Earth observation mission.

At the centre of the concerns are remarks made by Pawan Goenka, chairman of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), at a Business Today event on August 21. Goenka had said that eventually ISRO would not manufacture launch vehicles, with such work to be undertaken by private companies or public sector undertakings.

The employee bodies have now sought a written clarification on whether the statement reflects an approved decision of the government, Space Commission or Department of Space. They have also asked what ISRO’s future mandate will be for the design, development, integration, testing and launch of vehicles such as the PSLV, LVM-3 and SSLV.

Employees Flag Jobs, Institutional Expertise

According to The Indian Express, the associations argue that the activities referred to by Goenka form part of ISRO’s “core competence”. They have raised concerns that a gradual withdrawal from launch-vehicle and satellite realisation could reduce in-house work, limit promotion and skill-development opportunities and eventually affect recruitment.

The representation also raises the possibility that existing employees could be redeployed or rendered surplus while similar work is carried out by private contractors using technology developed by ISRO.

Government data, cited by India Today, showed that as of February 2026, 15,529 people were in position against 18,142 sanctioned posts at ISRO, leaving a vacancy of about 14.4%. The employee associations have warned that greater outsourcing of core activities could further reduce the need for future recruitment.

The associations have also questioned how publicly funded technology, testing facilities, launch complexes and technical know-how are being transferred or opened to private operators. They have sought clarity on the respective roles of NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL) and IN-SPACe in such transfers.

Private Participation Or Shrinking ISRO Role?

The employee bodies have stressed that they are not opposed to private participation or commercialisation. Their concern, as outlined in the representation, is whether the opening of the sector could eventually leave ISRO primarily as a research and technology-development organisation while private companies and PSUs take over much of the actual realisation of space systems.

Since the sector was opened to private participation in 2020, the government has sought to encourage companies to undertake a larger share of commercial space activities while ISRO focuses increasingly on scientific, strategic and advanced technology missions. The Indian Express noted that ISRO has already transferred around 120 technologies to industry, including technologies related to the SSLV and PSLV.

The debate also touches on strategic capability. Ajay Lele of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses told The Indian Express that some functions would naturally shift to private players as ISRO takes on major missions such as Gaganyaan and the Bharatiya Antariksh Station. However, he cautioned that ISRO should retain the capability to launch some of its own satellites, particularly strategic ones.

The employee associations have said they will decide their further course of action after receiving a written response from the Department of Space. The representation, they said, was made in a “constructive and democratic spirit”, with the objective of seeking clarity before any decision affecting ISRO’s structure, mandate and workforce becomes irreversible.