ForumIAS announcing GS Foundation Program for UPSC CSE 2025-26 from 27th May. Click Here for more information.
ISRO open doors to private sector
Context
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently issued a tender to the private industry for Assembly, Integration and Testing (AIT) of 30-35 satellites.
How would the tendering be done?
- ISRO has issued a Request For Proposal (RFP) to the private industry to build 30-35 satellites over three years.
- Under this, 4-5 companies would be selected after evaluation and awarded parallel contracts.
- They would be responsible for the AIT of satellites at ISRO facilities.
- Private industries first would get training at the facilities of ISRO, in the next step they will build their own facilities after gaining enough expertise
Why this arrangement?
- ISRO currently launches 3-4 launches per year but the demand is for 16-18 satellites.
- ISRO is planning to launch 58 satellites in the next 3-4 years.
- In-house capacity of ISRO is limited. So it is looking to offload 30-40% of the work to the private sector.
