Don’t do a BSNL on ISRO

Govt push to bring pvt sector in space programme is ringing alarm bells

Alok Tiwari

When nine employee associations of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) wrote to their chairman last week expressing concern about its future, it brought into open the unease that has been simmering under the surface for years. The reason is simple. Government’s push to encourage private sector in space sector is now beginning to threaten the very existence of ISRO. Despite the shortcomings inevitable in any government organization, ISRO remains one of India’s few success stories, especially in the public sector. Just a few years ago it was hailed for putting a satellite around Mars for less than a Hollywood movie’s cost. Its pioneering work over the decades has placed the country in the frontline of space powers.

Since then, there has been a visible movement downhill. Now symptoms are out in the open. Not only have the launch frequency slowed but senior scientists are increasingly heading for the exit door. This can be traced back to 2023 policy that formalized large-scale entry of private sector in every stage of space programme. There is nothing wrong with this per se. However, India’s policy envisages pushing private sector by using the technology and facilities developed by ISRO. When chairman of space regulator IN-SPACe Pawan Goenka articulated a vision in which ISRO would no longer be building or launching any rockets and only doing basic research, it understandably set the alarm bells ringing.

Perhaps this push for private participation is result of spectacular work done by companies like Space X, Blue Origin, or Virgin Galactic. However, these companies, each led by a charismatic billionaire, undertook their own R&D and came up with technologies and methods that even public sector organizations like NASA are now using. Their work has resulted in substantial lowering of launch costs. They do use public facilities but after paying realistic fees.

In India, the route being taken is quite the opposite. Here private sector is being given access to technologies and facilities developed at a huge public expense. Not just that, ISRO is being officially discouraged from doing some of the activities like launches and leave the field open to private sector. At the same time, there is nothing in the policy to compel these companies, once they start making money, to share the profits with ISRO or government. No wonder, ISRO staff are worried about not just their own future but also of the organization.

We have seen this script before. Remember BSNL? There was a time when the public sector behemoth dominated the telecommunication scene. Two decades back, the company was pushing a turnover of over Rs45,000 crore and profits of Rs 4,000 crore. Now it is down to less than Rs25,000 crore and mostly in the red. Meanwhile, the private sector in telecom sector is a duopoly that is constantly pushing up prices and making extraordinary profits.

How did this happen? It all started with similar push for private sector. In the name of creating a level playing field, BSNL was not allowed into mobile sector for many years. Even then when it entered, there used to be a queue for its SIM cards. Then the communications minister himself sabotaged company’s 4 crore line mobile tender on flimsy grounds. It was also denied investment in latest technologies. A policy was brought to force it to share its mobile towers with its own rivals in the name of increasing access.

When 4G came, the government asked it to buy spectrum at commercial rates despite the company having multiple public obligations. The government refused all financial help for buying spectrum while offering a much bigger Rs 72,000 crore package to allow it to shed staff. It was asked to develop 4G technology indigenously while its rivals brought it off the shelf. The result is a 4G that performs worse than 3G while rivals have moved on to 5G. BSNL’s 5G is nowhere on the horizon. The public were encouraged to believe that BSNL went down because its employees did not work while in fact its owner, the government, continues to do everything in its power to ensure it never thrives. Of course, publicly homilies are paid to the importance of BSNL and its future.

ISRO stares at the same fate. Only the ramifications are going to be worse. BSNL, though it has a strategic role, is after all just a telecom company. ISRO’s role is much more important. Its rocket launching capabilities get more visibility but its satellites over the years have been the backbone of Indian telecommunications, entertainment, remote sensing, weather forecasting and agricultural planning. These facilities and products have been offered to users at nominal prices. Imagine the cost of these services once these are available only through profit driven private companies. No prizes for guessing who will ultimately pay those costs.

ISRO’s rocket technologies have also played a huge role in India’s missiles programme. Its satellites have military uses as well. It is hard to imagine that the government and armed forces will be able to maintain the same level of control once key elements of these too go into private hands. Instances of espionage have been found even with everything being under government. Think of the situation when much of it is in the hands of dozens if not hundreds of private companies.

It does not mean private sector has no role in space programme. However, it should not piggyback on ISRO’s capabilities. Private sector is all about innovation and risk taking. It should invest in its own R&D and come up with solutions that users, including ISRO, may need. Some testing facilities or launch pads can be offered to companies after charging a reasonable rate. However, there is no case to turn ISRO into what its staff called a “R&D boutique”. Or, in ten years we might find ISRO selling its land assets to survive, pretty much as BSNL is doing now.

This column appeared in Lokmat Times on Sept 10, 2026