Recently, the ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan made an announcement at the India Manufacturing show in Bangalore that could change everything: ISRO wants to hand over 50 per cent of PSLV rocket development work to private Indian companies. Yes, you read that right! Half the work of building India's most reliable rocket will soon be done by the private sector.
Why is this such a big deal? Well, think about it this way. For decades, ISRO has been India's pride, launching satellites, sending missions to Mars and the Moon, and making our country a space superpower. But ISRO cannot do everything alone. If India wants to launch 50 rockets per year instead of just 10 or 12—which is Prime Minister Modi's ambitious target—then private companies must step in and share the load.
Narayanan had said that Indian industries were already making 80 to 85 per cent of the systems used in ISRO missions. For instance, the PSLV rocket that ISRO plans to launch by February this financial year, 2025-2026, has been completely built by an Indian industry consortium for the very first time. Once they successfully complete two launches, ISRO will officially give them 50 per cent of all future PSLV development work.
The beauty of this decision lies in understanding what rocket technology really means. “The PSLV, or Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, is India's workhorse rocket. It's the one that launched Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan missions. It's reliable, proven, and now fully understood by Indian industries. Unlike sensitive technologies like nuclear weapons or advanced military systems that countries guard jealously, rocket technology for satellites has matured enough that ISRO feels confident sharing it with private players,” explained space analyst Girish Linganna.
With 50 per cent of the PSLV work being offloaded, ISRO will still oversee everything, but the actual manufacturing, assembly, and testing will increasingly happen in private factories across India. What about money and royalties? Narayanan mentioned that ISRO has already given SSLV technology to HAL through a Rs 511 crore agreement. This means HAL paid ISRO for the knowledge, designs, and technical know-how to build the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle.
“It is like buying a franchise, you pay upfront, learn the recipe, and then you can cook it yourself. The plan is to build 16 SSLV rockets in private industries. This creates jobs, builds expertise, and makes India truly self-reliant in space technology,” added Linganna.
Today, around 450 Indian industries work with ISRO, and after the government announced space sector reforms, the number of space startups exploded from just 3 or 4 to over 330. These young companies are designing satellites, making rocket components, and dreaming up innovative space solutions. ISRO and HCL have even developed a 32-bit Indian computer processor, reducing our dependence on foreign electronics. India now operates 56 satellites for communication, navigation, and Earth observation, and this number will triple or quadruple in the coming years.
ISRO's decision to share rocket-making with private industries is not about stepping back; it's about stepping up together. It's about trusting our own capabilities, building an ecosystem where government and private sector work hand-in-hand, and ensuring that India doesn't just participate in the global space race but leads it. From carrying rockets on bicycles to aiming for 50 launches a year, we've proven that when India dreams, it dreams big and then makes those dreams come true.
