Isro dismisses privatisation speculation, says role will only strengthenNEW DELHI: Allaying fears of some of its staff that the organisation will be privatised and its role reduced to an R&D lab, Isro on Sunday dismissed “speculations and misinformation” about any diminution of its role, calling such reports “baseless and incorrect”. “We wish to categorically state that Isro will neither be privatised nor will its importance be diminished,” the space agency said.

Space promoter and regulator Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (INSPACe) chairman Pawan Goenka also said on Sunday that Isro “will remain the bedrock of Indian space sector” and it will remain at the core of India’s space programme leading frontier research and the next generation of national space programmes like space station and crewed lunar mission. In a long statement, the space agency said, “Participation of the private sector in space is not about reducing its role.

It is about enabling Isro to focus even more strongly on the next generation of India’s space programme, while industry scales mature technologies and capabilities. ”“The transition is therefore towards an Isro-led national space ecosystem,” the agency said.

The agency also said that 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. It will continue developing cutting-edge technologies, including advanced payloads for communication, navigation and Earth observation, sensors, propulsion systems and other critical technologies.”

After nine Isro employee associations have sought a “written clarity” from the agency chairman on the private sector shift, Goenka in a post on X late on Sunday evening said, “Let me say it unequivocally: Isro' s role is by no means diminishing. It will remain the bedrock of the Indian space sector.

On scaling up the production of rockets and satellites in India, the INSPACe director declared that the country has set an “ambitious target of 50 launches a year by 2030”. “A goal of this scale cannot be achieved by one organisation alone.

Govt and private industry have to build this future together,” he said. Explaining the reasons for opening up the sector, the INSPACe chairman said, Goenka said, “The reforms since 2020 are about expanding India’s overall space ecosystem.