Bengaluru: Days after the successful launch of the GSLV F17 - EOS 05 mission, service associations representing employees of various Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) centres and units have written to Department of Space Secretary and ISRO Chairman V Narayanan, seeking official clarification on the government's policy on the proposed privatisation or transfer of ISRO's manufacturing and operational functions.
In a joint representation dated September 4, 2026, nine associations, including the ISRO Staff Association, SHAR Employees Association, ISAC Employees Association, ISRO Staff Association LPSC, ISRO Staff Association-BBU, NRSA Employees Union, Space Employees Association-BBU, ISRO Staff Association-IPRC and SAC Employees Welfare Association, raised concerns over reports and public statements regarding the proposed transfer of various activities from ISRO to private entities and public sector undertakings.
The associations cited public remarks made by Pawan Kumar Goenka, Chairman of IN-SPACe, at the Summit on August 21, 2026.
He was reported to have said: "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 letter also referred to reports that the transfer process had begun with SSLV technology and production rights being handed to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), with the process proposed to be extended to PSLV and LVM3. It also raised concerns that routine satellite manufacturing may move out of ISRO, operations of new launch infrastructure could be opened to private entities, and about 120 technologies have already been transferred from ISRO to the private sector.
The associations said these statements have received wide national publicity but have not been followed by any official communication from the Department of Space to its employees explaining the approved policy, its legal basis, phasing or consequences for the existing workforce and future recruitment.
The letter states that ISRO was built as a national scientific institution with public funds and that launch vehicle design, realisation, integration, testing and launch operations are not merely ‘manufacturing contracts’ but core competence and strategic capability.
The associations said progressive withdrawal from launch vehicle and satellite realisation could shrink in-house work, freeze sanctioned strength and close promotion avenues. They also warned that existing staff could be rendered surplus or left without meaningful work while the same tasks are carried out by private contractors, and that strategic autonomy, quality assurance and safety culture could be diluted if core operations pass out of public control.
The associations clarified that their concern is not hostility to Indian industry or to legitimate commercialisation through NSIL, but the absence of an official policy document that draws a line between enabling private participation and reducing ISRO's own capabilities.
The associations have requested a time-bound written clarification on whether the IN-SPACe Chairman's statements represent an approved Government of India decision; what the future role of ISRO will be, including whether PSLV, LVM3, SSLV and successor vehicles will continue as ISRO functions; the implications for sanctioned strength, vacancies and recruitment; safeguards for serving employees; the institutional arrangement for transferring publicly created technology, facilities and launch complexes to private operation; and whether service associations will be consulted before any irreversible decision.
They have also requested that the Chairman issue an official written clarification, confirm that no irreversible transfer of core realisation or launch functions will take place, hold structured interactions with recognised associations, and reassure employees that their service conditions and public employment status will be protected.
"We submit this representation in a constructive and democratic spirit. Our loyalty to ISRO and to the national space programme is not in question. Precisely because of that loyalty, we consider it our duty to seek clarity before uncertainty hardens into irreversible policy," the letter, signed by nine general secretaries and presidents, including M Prasad (SEA-SDSC), Shashikumar B (ISAC EA), Sarathkumar VS (ISRO SA) and Shirish Balu Gharde (SEWA-SAC), said.
