India’s space programme is set for a major structural shift, with ISRO gradually moving away from manufacturing launch vehicles and routine satellites and transferring these activities to private companies.
Speaking at Business Today’s India @ 100 Economy Summit, IN-SPACe Chairman Dr Pawan Goenka said the transition is already in progress and will enable ISRO to concentrate on research, advanced technologies, scientific missions and infrastructure that private firms may not be able to develop independently.
“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,” Goenka said.
The shift has already started with the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), whose technology and production rights were transferred to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) following a bidding process.
The next stage could be considerably larger, with the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3), India’s most powerful operational rocket, also expected to move towards private production. Unlike the SSLV transfer process, public sector undertakings will not be eligible to participate in the upcoming process, leaving private companies to take the lead.
Goenka said ISRO’s role will increasingly evolve into that of a research and development organisation rather than an agency responsible for manufacturing everything from rockets to satellites.
The space agency will focus on scientific missions, developing emerging technologies, specialised satellites and advanced infrastructure. Once these technologies are sufficiently mature, they can be transferred to private companies for commercial production and operations.
“We have already transferred 120 technologies from ISRO to the private sector,” Goenka said.
The government is also planning to transfer the operation of a new launch centre to private industry. According to Goenka, the operator could be selected within the next four to five months.
The restructuring forms part of India’s broader goal of expanding its space economy from around $8 billion currently to $44 billion by 2033. Goenka said reaching that target would require three key drivers: government demand, wider adoption of space technology by industries outside the traditional space sector, and greater expansion into international markets.
He emphasised that the government would need to serve as an anchor customer for the growing private space industry.
The Department of Defence has already placed an order with private companies for 31 satellites, while ISRO is expected to manufacture another 21 satellites under the larger programme.
India is also moving towards an ownership-based commercial space model, in which private companies own satellites and other space assets and generate revenue by monetising their data and services.
For ISRO, the transition would mean reducing its involvement in the routine manufacturing activities that helped establish India as a space power and concentrating instead on developing the technologies, infrastructure and scientific missions that could shape the country’s next phase of space exploration.
