ISRO Chief K Sivan rules out privatisation; calls Modi govt’s space sector reforms ‘true game changer’

Sivan said private sector participation in the space sector has increased worldwide and is a positive development (ANI image)

The Chief of the Indian Space Research Organisaton (ISRO) has ruled out what he called some misconception about the privatisation of India’s space agency in a webinar attended by the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, K Vijay Raghavan, Chairman of the Mahindra Group Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Bharti Enterprises Sunil B Mittal among others. Instead, he said that the recently announced changes have been brought into the space sector to help private players to carry out space activities that earlier were done by the ISRO.

“There have been many misconceptions like privatisation of ISRO. I want to state that there is no privatisation of ISRO. In fact, the whole mechanism is enabling private people to carry out space activities, which otherwise are done by ISRO”, said ISRO Chief, K Sivan.

On 24 June, the Union Cabinet approved the private sector’s participation in the entire spectrum of space operations, including planetary exploration missions. The government had said that the newly created Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe) will allow private players to flourish by encouraging policies and a friendly regulatory environment in space activities by hand-holding industries.

The New Space India Limited (NSIL), space department-led PSU, will also seek to reorient space activities from a “supply-driven” model to a “demand-driven” model, thereby ensuring optimum use of our space assets, it said.

Noting that the government’s initiated space sector reform would be a “true game-changer,” Sivan said private sector participation in the space sector has increased worldwide and is a positive development, as it increases diversity. In India, too, startups in the space sector are taking developmental activities both in launch vehicles and in satellites, he said. Sivan said in addition to that it will also promote the involvement of the private sector in major national missions by announcing opportunities.