'IN-SPACe like an octopus is stretching its tentacles everywhere and choking ISRO.'
'An instruction came from somebody in Delhi saying, "don't go with the launch".'
There is no answer to the question of how IN-SPACe invited EOIs for ISRO's mature rockets and whether it was based on any government policy decision.
'It seems the prime minister may not be given the real picture about the country's space sector and ISRO. So, we are having the seminar to bring the issues to his notice.'
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?
A rocket designed and developed by ISRO is being transferred to industry for production.
Nine ISRO associations want to know whether this is simply an effort to expand India's industrial capacity or part of a larger policy under which ISRO itself will eventually withdraw from rocket manufacturing.
'I don't think the government will sacrifice such a fine institution for monetary gains.'
While recovery efforts are ongoing, the likelihood of recovery currently appears low.
Pawan Goenka, tells Shally Seth Mohile the Alturas, by far the most-expensive model wearing an Indian badge.
