Thousands of ISRO Employees Question Privatisation Plans

Thousands of employees at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have expressed concern over the government's move to privatise parts of the space sector. They have written to the ISRO chairman seeking clarity on how this will affect the organisation’s capabilities and workforce.

The employees fear that privatisation could lead to tampering with research experiments, a reduction in in-house work, freezing or cutting sanctioned staff strength, and closing promotion and skill-development opportunities across technical, scientific, administrative, and other cadres. They are particularly worried about the absence of an official Department of Space policy document that clearly distinguishes between enabling private participation and dismantling ISRO’s own realisation capabilities. The institutional arrangements under which publicly funded technology, test facilities, launch complexes, and know-how—developed through taxpayer money and the efforts of generations of ISRO employees—are being transferred or opened to private operators have also raised questions. The role of NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) in relation to the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) in these transfers is a matter of concern.