The larger question raised by the associations is simple: If ISRO is no longer to manufacture launch vehicles, what will happen to the institution's accumulated capabilities and the people who built them?
The nine employee associations of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are planning to step up their campaign over the future of the space agency by issuing pamphlets to employees and the public, after failing to get satisfactory answers from the top management.
They also want a Joint Consultative Machinery (JCM) in vogue in ISRO.
"We will be issuing pamphlets about our issues. The response of (ISRO Chairman Dr V) Narayanan is not satisfactory and it did not address the core issue raised by the nine associations in their letter," a leader of an employee association, not wanting to be quoted, tells this correspondent.
The move comes after the associations wrote to Dr Narayanan -- who is also Department of Space secretary, chairman of the Space Commission besides being ISRO chairman -- on September 4 seeking clarity on the proposed transfer of ISRO's manufacturing and operational functions to private entities.
Their concerns ranged from ISRO's future role and the fate of its workforce to recruitment, sanctioned strength and the continued in-house realisation of launch vehicles and satellites.
Key Points
- Nine ISRO employee associations plan a pamphlet campaign after saying ISRO Chairman V Narayanan failed to answer their core concerns.
- They want written clarity on the transfer of ISRO's manufacturing and operational functions to private entities.
- Employees say they support private participation but oppose transferring key rocket technologies while ISRO's future role remains unclear.
- The associations want ISRO to retain clarity over PSLV, LVM3, SSLV and future launch vehicle responsibilities.
Narayanan's video address
After receiving the letter, Dr Narayanan addressed ISRO employees through a video conference.
But the address did not satisfy the employees.
"He spoke about ISRO's achievements, the development of the Next Generation Launch Vehicle, India's plans to build a space station and other projects, assuring that there will be work for all," an ISRO employee tells this correspondent.
"However, he didn't touch upon the core questions raised by the nine employee associations in their letter. This was disappointing for all," the employee said.
The employees felt that the address largely repeated what had been said about ISRO's future over the past few years, without answering the specific questions raised in the September 4 representation.
The pamphlet campaign is therefore being seen as the next step by the associations to take their concerns directly to the workforce.
What the associations want answered
In their joint letter to Dr Narayanan, the nine employee associations had asked him to give a written clarification on:
'The institutional arrangement under which publicly created technology, test facilities, launch complexes and know-how - built with taxpayer funds and the labour of generations of ISRO employees - are being transferred or opened to private operation, and the role of NSIL (NewSpace India Ltd) vis-a-vis IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre) in such transfers.'
The associations have also sought Dr Narayanan's answers to several other questions, including whether the statements of the chairman, IN-SPACe, Dr Pawan Kumar Goenka, represent an approved decision of the Government of India, Space Commission or Department of Space, or are an expression of IN-SPACe's promotional outlook.
'If approved, the date, authority and text of the policy decision may kindly be indicated,' they said.
The associations also asked:
'What will be the future mandated role of ISRO as a public organisation -- specifically, whether design, development, realisation, integration, testing and launch of rockets like PSLV, LVM3, SSLV and successor vehicles will continue as ISRO functions or will cease.
'Whether any decision has been taken to exclude Public Sector Undertakings from the proposed transfer of PSLV / LVM3 production, and the justification for such exclusion.'
The questions were triggered in part by public remarks attributed to IN-SPACe Chairman Dr Pawan Kumar Goenka that eventually ISRO would not make launch vehicles and that their manufacture would be undertaken by the private sector or public sector undertakings.
The associations have argued that such a major change cannot be communicated to ISRO employees through media reports and public statements without a formal policy being placed before them.
'Technology developed by ISRO is a national asset. Its transfer must be transparent, accountable and consistent with strategic, safety and employment considerations -- not presented to employees through newspaper reports,' the associations said in their representation.
Not against private sector
The associations have repeatedly stressed that they are not opposed to private participation in the space sector.
We are not against the private sector per se. What we are against is the transfer of rocket technologies to private players to the exclusion of public sector players.'
Their concern is what happens to ISRO if the agency gradually withdraws from the design, development, fabrication, integration, testing and launch of rockets that it has developed over several decades.
The associations have specifically sought clarity on whether the development and realisation of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3), Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) and successor vehicles will continue to remain ISRO functions.
They also questioned whether public sector undertakings have been excluded from the proposed transfer of PSLV and LVM3 production.
For the employees, the issue goes beyond rocket factories.
If manufacturing and other operational activities move outside ISRO, the associations fear that the resulting reduction in in-house work could affect manpower requirements, promotions, career progression and recruitment.
Their earlier representation had also questioned what would happen to scientific, technical, administrative and industrial manpower across ISRO centres if activities currently performed in-house were progressively shifted outside.
The LVM3 and Soorya question
The employee associations have also linked ISRO's future to the development of the next-generation launch vehicle.
"The technology for ISRO's heavy-lift rocket LVM3 should not be transferred to the private sector unless the next generation launch vehicle (code named Soorya) is up and flying. Without NGLV and LVM3 the future of ISRO is uncertain," an employee association leader said.
The concern is that SSLV is moving towards industry, PSLV and LVM3 technologies are being offered for transfer, while the GSLV Mk II is expected to be retired after its approved launches.
At the same time, Soorya is still under development.
The associations therefore want to know what ISRO will continue to build and operate itself as the private sector assumes a larger role in manufacturing. Their earlier concerns were that a gradual withdrawal from these activities could reduce the organisation's in-house capabilities and eventually affect its workforce.
JCM remains another sore point
The associations are also unhappy about the absence of the Joint Consultative Machinery (JCM) in ISRO since 2019.
"One of the issues faced by the ISRO employees is the absence of Joint Consultative Machinery since 2019 within the organisation to deliberate and decide on the issues in a structured manner," the employee association leader said.
They believe that such a mechanism would provide a structured forum for discussing major organisational changes and recording the decisions taken.
In the absence of such a mechanism, they say, employees are left trying to understand the future of the organisation through public statements, media reports and occasional addresses by senior officials.
When asked why the associations didn't ask the Department of Space, Space Commission or ISRO to come out with the report of the Failure Analysis Committee that went into the reasons for the failure of last two PSLV rockets the employee association leader said: "It is for the chairman to decide on that. If there is a JCM we can ask for the same in writing and the organisation would give its answers in writing."
From letter to pamphlets
The proposed pamphlets are thus more than an employee communication exercise.
They represent an attempt by the nine associations to take the debate over ISRO's future beyond the September 4 letter and the subsequent video address by Dr Narayanan.
The associations want employees to understand the implications of transferring publicly developed technologies, facilities and operational functions to industry.
They also want answers on the respective roles of ISRO, NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL) and IN-SPACe, and whether the reported changes represent an approved government policy.
The larger question raised by the associations is simple: If ISRO is no longer to manufacture launch vehicles, what will happen to the institution's accumulated capabilities and the people who built them?
ISRO has said it will neither be privatised nor have its importance diminished and that it will remain the principal institution for advanced space research, technology development, national and strategic missions and frontier capabilities.
The employee associations, however, want these assurances translated into a clear policy on what remains with ISRO, what moves to industry and what happens to the people who currently perform those functions.
Their pamphlets could therefore be the beginning of a more visible campaign over the future shape of India's public space programme.
Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at venkatacharijagannathan@gmail.com
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff
