Industry Odisha Bureau, Sep 06 : Nine ISRO employee associations have sought official policy clarity. Their concern involves manufacturing shifting to private entities. A letter went to ISRO chairman V Narayanan. He also serves as Department of Space secretary. The associations want clarity on workforce and recruitment impact.
The letter is dated September 4 this year. It follows six years of private-sector space policy. Associations want details on ISRO’s future manufacturing role. They represent thousands of employees across several ISRO centres. Signatories include the ISRO Staff Association and eight others. These span SHAR, ISAC, LPSC, BBU and other centres.
The trigger was a recent remark by Goenka. Pawan Kumar Goenka chairs IN-SPACe, the space regulator. He said ISRO would eventually stop manufacturing launch vehicles. Private companies or PSUs would take over that work. The associations asked if this reflects formal government policy.
They noted this transition has already begun somewhere. The Small Satellite Launch Vehicle saw early movement. Concerns now extend to two other vehicles. These are the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and LVM3. No completed production transfer for these was confirmed, though.
Beyond launch vehicles, other worries were also raised. Routine satellite manufacturing could move outside ISRO, they said. New launch infrastructure is another flagged concern. This includes the Space Launch Complex at Kulasekarapattinam. The letter also cited around 120 technologies already transferred. These technologies have already moved to private industry.
A central complaint concerns the lack of documentation. Public statements have received wide national attention, the letter said. Yet no official communication has followed from the department. Employees say policy basis and phasing remain unexplained. Workforce consequences and recruitment plans are similarly unclear.
This uncertainty has created real anxiety, the associations said. It affects employees and their families directly. They warned of shrinking in-house work and frozen recruitment. Promotion and skill-development paths could also narrow. This spans technical, scientific, administrative and other cadres.
The associations framed launch-vehicle work as more than manufacturing. Design, integration, testing and launch reflect institutional memory, they said. These functions represent strategic capability, not simple contracts. Existing staff could become surplus or redeployed, they warned. Reduced recruitment could also limit opportunities for newcomers.
Importantly, the associations did not oppose private participation itself. They accept commercialisation through NewSpace India Ltd. This applies within a clearly defined framework, they stressed. Their real concern is a missing policy boundary. No official document separates enabling participation from dismantling capability, they said.
The associations posed direct questions to the department. They asked whether Goenka’s comments represent settled policy. They also asked who will retain core responsibilities going forward. This includes design, development, testing and launch of PSLV, LVM3, SSLV and future vehicles. That question remains unanswered for now.
