ISRO Staff Groups Seek Clarity on Proposed Shift to Private Sector

Nine associations representing thousands of Indian Space Research Organisation employees have written to Chairman and Department of Space Secretary V. Narayanan, demanding clarity on the proposed shift of manufacturing and operational functions to private entities.

In their Sept. 4 letter, the employee groups asked about the government’s privatisation policy, ISRO’s future role, and the consequences for current staff and future recruitment. The associations, representing employees at several ISRO centres, said public statements about the transition had not been matched by official communication explaining the policy’s legal and administrative basis, timing, or effect on the workforce.

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Eventually, ISRO will not make any launch vehicles and will not manufacture any launch vehicles. That will all be done by the private sector or PSU.

Their concerns followed remarks by Pawan Kumar Goenka, chairman of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, that “eventually, ISRO will not make any launch vehicles and will not manufacture any launch vehicles. That will all be done by the private sector or PSU.” The associations said the transition had begun with the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle and could extend to the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and LVM3.

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These statements have received wide national publicity. They have not, however, been accompanied by any corresponding official communication from the Department of Space to its employees explaining the approved policy, its legal and administrative basis, its phasing, or its consequences for the existing workforce and for future public recruitment.

They also pointed to reports about transferring production of those vehicles, moving routine satellite manufacturing outside ISRO, and opening new launch infrastructure, including the Space Launch Complex at Kulasekarapattinam, to private entities. Their letter referred to about 120 technologies already transferred from ISRO to the private sector.

The groups said the prospect of ISRO withdrawing from launch-vehicle and satellite production had created anxiety among employees and their families. They warned that it could reduce in-house work, freeze or cut sanctioned staffing, and narrow promotion and skills-development opportunities across technical, scientific, administrative, procurement, quality, safety and industrial roles. “Launch-vehicle design, realisation, integration, testing and launch operations are not merely ‘manufacturing contracts’. They are the core competence, institutional memory and strategic capability of the Organisation,” the letter said.

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Launch-vehicle design, realisation, integration, testing and launch operations are not merely ‘manufacturing contracts’. They are the core competence, institutional memory and strategic capability of the Organisation.