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Isro to stop making rockets, private sector to take over
Isro will gradually stop manufacturing launch vehicles and routine satellites, with the private sector taking over production, IN-SPACe Chairman Dr Pawan Goenka announced at the Business Today India @ 100 Economy Summit.…
Isro will gradually stop manufacturing launch vehicles and routine satellites, with the private sector taking over production, IN-SPACe Chairman Dr Pawan Goenka announced at the Business Today India @ 100 Economy Summit. The shift has already begun with the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), whose technology and production rights were transferred to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited after a bidding process.
Goenka said the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3) will also be privatised, but public sector companies will not be allowed to bid this time. Isro will instead focus on research, development, scientific missions and advanced infrastructure. The government aims to expand India's space economy from $8 billion to $44 billion by 2033.
A new launch centre operator is expected to be finalised within four to five months. The government will act as an anchor customer: the defence department has ordered 31 satellites from private firms, and Isro will build 21 more under the same programme.
Indian Opinion Analysis
This marks the most aggressive opening of India's space sector since the 2020 reforms allowed private participation. By handing over PSLV and LVM3, the workhorse rockets that have launched hundreds of domestic and foreign satellites, Isro is betting that private efficiency can lower costs and free up its scientists for next-generation projects such as human spaceflight and interplanetary missions. The exclusion of public sector companies from the next transfer suggests the government wants genuine private competition, not a shift from one state-owned manufacturer to another. The real test will be whether domestic firms can match Isro's reliability record and pricing, especially as global launch demand surges. Watch for the operator selection for the new launch centre, due within five months, and the first private-built PSLV flight, likely two to three years after the transfer is finalised.
Source: news.google.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
