IN-SPACe Chairman Pawan Goenka has rejected reports that ISRO's role is shrinking, saying ongoing space-sector reforms are meant to expand India's ecosystem, not sideline the national agency.

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• IN-SPACe Chairman Pawan Goenka said on September 6, 2026 that ISRO will remain the "bedrock" of India's space sector, dismissing media narratives suggesting otherwise.
• Goenka said the reforms initiated since 2020 aim to expand India's overall space ecosystem rather than diminish ISRO's importance.
• Under the plan, IN-SPACe will authorise greater non-government participation while NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) commercialises mature ISRO capabilities.
• Industry will increasingly manufacture and scale up mature launch vehicles, satellites and other systems that ISRO has already perfected.
• ISRO itself will concentrate on advanced R&D, scientific and strategic missions, and infrastructure too complex for private industry to build alone.
• The clarification came two days after nine ISRO employee associations sought answers from ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan on the transfer of operational functions to private firms.
• The employees' letter, dated September 4, 2026, said ISRO's technology is a national asset whose transfer must be transparent and account for strategic, safety and employment concerns.
• Goenka said ISRO would continue to lead the Bharatiya Antariksh Station by 2035 and a crewed Indian lunar mission targeted for 2040.
• The reforms are institutionalised through the Indian Space Policy 2023 and related FDI liberalisation, aimed at building a globally competitive space ecosystem.
• A separate Expression of Interest has invited private industry to operate the upcoming second spaceport at Kulasekarapatnam in Tamil Nadu once ISRO completes it.
• IN-SPACe has projected that expanded private participation could help India scale up to 50 launches a year by 2030.
• India had just one registered space startup in 2014; by August 2026 that number had grown to around 440, reflecting the reforms' early impact.