Bengaluru: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has rejected reports and speculation that the space agency could be privatised or see its role diminished, calling such claims “baseless and incorrect” amid ongoing reforms aimed at expanding India’s space sector.
“These assertions are completely baseless and incorrect. We wish to categorically state that ISRO will neither be privatised nor will its importance be diminished,” the space agency said in a statement.
The statement comes days after reports claimed nine associations representing thousands of ISRO employees had sought clarification over a proposal to hand the space agency’s manufacturing and operational work to private entities.
ISRO emphasised it will continue to remain the country’s principal institution for advanced space research and technology development, national and strategic missions, space science and exploration, and critical and frontier space capabilities.
India has been opening up its space sector to greater participation from private companies, startups, academia and public sector undertakings (PSUs).
“What is changing is not the importance of ISRO, but the scale and structure of India’s space ecosystem,” the space agency elaborated.
ISRO said its shift was the key for its Space Vision 2047, and seeks to establish Bharatiya Antariksh Station by 2035, send Indian astronauts to the Moon by 2040, build next-generation and reusable launch systems, continue long-term exploration of the Moon and other planets, and position India as a leading space power globally.
“These are technologically demanding missions that require ISRO to remain focused on advanced research and capabilities that cannot simply be substituted by commercial activity,” the statement read.
