India targeting 50 launches a year. One organisation can't do it: Pawan Goenka amid ISRO staff unions' letter
ISRO's research will continue to push the frontiers of what is possible. Private industry must translate that momentum into manufacturing at scale, says Pawan Goenka
- Sep 6, 2026,
- Updated Sep 6, 2026 4:04 PM IST
Pawan Goenka, chairman of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), on Sunday said India is targeting 50 space launches a year by 2030 and that the goal cannot be achieved by a single organisation.
His comments came days after nine employee associations at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) sought clarification from chairman V Narayanan over the proposed transfer of some of the agency's manufacturing and operational functions to the private sector.
Writing on X, Goenka said India had two clear objectives when it opened up the space sector five years ago: enabling ISRO to explore new frontiers and helping private companies scale up.
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"Today, we are seeing both take shape. EOS-05 is a major achievement by ISRO, and this is just the beginning," he said. "At the same time, from barely a handful of space startups five years ago, India today has over 450. Indian private industry has already flown a rocket to orbit."
The IN-SPACe chairman said that scaling up was now the real test.
"We have set ourselves an ambitious target of 50 launches a year by 2030," he said. "A goal of this scale cannot be achieved by one organisation alone. Government and private industry have to build this future together."
Goenka said ISRO's research would continue to push technological boundaries, while private companies would need to turn that progress into large-scale manufacturing.
"ISRO's research will continue to push the frontiers of what is possible. Private industry must translate that momentum into manufacturing at scale: more rockets, more satellites, more launch capacity, and new technologies."
Earlier today, The Indian Express reported that nine ISRO employee associations wrote to Narayanan on September 4, seeking official clarification on the proposed transfer of manufacturing and operational functions to private entities. The associations also raised questions about ISRO's future role and the implications 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.
The associations also referred to Goenka's August 21 comments on the planned role of private companies in the space sector.
Must Read: ISRO places EOS-05 into orbit: Why India’s first geo-orbit imaging satellite matters
What Goenka Said About ISRO
Speaking at Business Today's India@100 event, Goenka had said the PSLV and LVM3 rockets would be privatised, with the private sector taking over their production. "The PSLV rocket and LBM3 rocket will be privatised. Here we are not allowing PSU to participate. So it'll have to be the private sector," he said.
He had also said operations at the new launch centre would be handed to private companies and some satellites currently being built by ISRO would be transferred to the private sector.
"Eventually, ISRO will not manufacture any launch vehicles. That'll be all done by the private sector or PSU as in the case of SSLV. They will not do any day in day out kind of satellites. They will do the satellites that are for special purposes, for orbits, and for scientific research," Goenka said.
Pawan Goenka, chairman of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), on Sunday said India is targeting 50 space launches a year by 2030 and that the goal cannot be achieved by a single organisation.
His comments came days after nine employee associations at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) sought clarification from chairman V Narayanan over the proposed transfer of some of the agency's manufacturing and operational functions to the private sector.
Writing on X, Goenka said India had two clear objectives when it opened up the space sector five years ago: enabling ISRO to explore new frontiers and helping private companies scale up.
Don't Miss: ISRO’s ‘Bahubali’ gathers industry bigwigs: L&T, Adani, JSW eye rocket technology
"Today, we are seeing both take shape. EOS-05 is a major achievement by ISRO, and this is just the beginning," he said. "At the same time, from barely a handful of space startups five years ago, India today has over 450. Indian private industry has already flown a rocket to orbit."
The IN-SPACe chairman said that scaling up was now the real test.
"We have set ourselves an ambitious target of 50 launches a year by 2030," he said. "A goal of this scale cannot be achieved by one organisation alone. Government and private industry have to build this future together."
Goenka said ISRO's research would continue to push technological boundaries, while private companies would need to turn that progress into large-scale manufacturing.
"ISRO's research will continue to push the frontiers of what is possible. Private industry must translate that momentum into manufacturing at scale: more rockets, more satellites, more launch capacity, and new technologies."
Earlier today, The Indian Express reported that nine ISRO employee associations wrote to Narayanan on September 4, seeking official clarification on the proposed transfer of manufacturing and operational functions to private entities. The associations also raised questions about ISRO's future role and the implications 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.
The associations also referred to Goenka's August 21 comments on the planned role of private companies in the space sector.
Must Read: ISRO places EOS-05 into orbit: Why India’s first geo-orbit imaging satellite matters
What Goenka Said About ISRO
Speaking at Business Today's India@100 event, Goenka had said the PSLV and LVM3 rockets would be privatised, with the private sector taking over their production. "The PSLV rocket and LBM3 rocket will be privatised. Here we are not allowing PSU to participate. So it'll have to be the private sector," he said.
He had also said operations at the new launch centre would be handed to private companies and some satellites currently being built by ISRO would be transferred to the private sector.
"Eventually, ISRO will not manufacture any launch vehicles. That'll be all done by the private sector or PSU as in the case of SSLV. They will not do any day in day out kind of satellites. They will do the satellites that are for special purposes, for orbits, and for scientific research," Goenka said.