The role of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was “by no means diminishing”, said IN-SPACe chairman Pawan Kumar Goenka on Sunday (September 6, 2026), responding to a joint letter from nine ISRO employee associations seeking written clarification on whether the government intends to transfer the agency’s launch-vehicle and satellite manufacturing to private firms.

“ISRO will remain the bedrock of the Indian space sector,” Dr. Goenka said in a post on X, describing recent reporting as a “misleading narrative.”

The reforms begun in 2020, he said, were aimed at expanding India’s overall space ecosystem, with IN-SPACe authorising non-government participation and NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) commercialising mature capabilities.

Industry would increasingly manufacture and scale mature launch vehicles and satellites, he added, while ISRO would concentrate on advanced R&D, scientific and strategic missions, and infrastructure too complex for private developers — including the Bharatiya Antariksh Station by 2035 and an Indian crewed lunar mission by 2040. “The direction is not a smaller ISRO,” he wrote.

His post was followed by a longer clarification from ISRO, calling suggestions of privatisation “completely baseless and incorrect” and stating that the agency would neither be privatised nor have its importance reduced. Transferring a mature technology, it said, did not amount to withdrawal from that domain; the shift was towards an “ISRO-led national space ecosystem”, institutionalised through the Indian Space Policy 2023.

The agency said India now has over 450 space startups against a handful in 2020, and aims to grow its roughly $8.4-billion space economy to $44 billion by 2033. Ownership of critical national space infrastructure, it said, would remain with the government.

The letter that prompted the responses was dated September 4 and addressed to Dr. V. Narayanan, Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, ISRO. Its signatories cited Dr. Goenka’s public remarks on August 21 that ISRO would eventually not make or manufacture any launch vehicles. They asked whether that position represented an approved Space Commission decision, what would happen to sanctioned strength and recruitment over the next five to ten years, and whether the associations would be consulted before irreversible decisions.

Employees of the Department of Space are exempted from the statutory definition of “industry” and cannot form trade unions. They instead organise as service associations recognised under the Central Civil Services (Recognition of Service Associations) Rules, 1993. The letter was copied to the Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers.

The letter was sent on the same day ISRO successfully launched its first Earth imaging satellite, the EOS-05, aboard the GSLV-F17 from Sriharikota. This was the first successful launch by ISRO this year after a series of setbacks.

Nine employee associations at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have written to the space agency’s Chairperson, V. Narayanan, seeking official clarification on the proposed transfer of its manufacturing and operational functions to private entities.

In a letter dated Friday (September 4, 2026), the associations also raised questions about the agency’s future role and the consequences for serving employees and future recruitment.

“Private participation in defined commercial activities can coexist with a strong, publicly owned ISRO. What cannot be accepted without debate is a policy that reduces ISRO to a residual R&D [research and development] boutique while the realisation of the nation’s launch vehicles and the operation of its launch infrastructure pass out of public hands,” the letter said.

It pointed to the August 21 comments made by Pawan Goenka, chairperson of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), which promotes, enables, authorises and supervises various space activities of non-governmental entities.

Mr. Goenka, at a public event, reportedly 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 employee associations claimed that these remarks have not been accompanied by any corresponding official communication from the Department of Space, explaining the approved policy, its legal and administrative basis, its phasing, or its consequences for the existing workforce and future public recruitment.

“Technology developed by ISRO is a national asset. Its transfer must be transparent, accountable and consistent with strategic, safety and employment considerations — not presented to employees through newspaper reports,” the letter said.

It raised several other concerns. These include whether the design, development, realisation, integration, testing and launch of PSLV, LVM3, SSLV and successor vehicles will continue as ISRO functions or will cease.

Also, it asked about the implications of the proposed shift for sanctioned strength, existing vacancies, recruitment calendar, and induction of scientific/technical/administrative/industrial manpower in all ISRO centres.