ISRO to increase outsourcing to industries

Indian space agency ISRO would significantly scale up outsourcing to industries to fuel the quantum jump in the programmes being undertaken by it and has mooted a risk-sharing model, its chairman K Radhakrishnan said.

He said more than 500 industries (micro, small, medium and large) already account for 60 per cent production of the space agency's programme and their share would further go up.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is witnessing a "quantum jump" in the production of rockets (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) and satellites, in the last two-three years, he said.

Radhakrishnan said the ISRO has already launched three satellites this year, and four more spacecraft are getting ready for launch by March next year.

"So you can see a quantum jump in both satellites and launch vehicles (rockets). And when you do this PSLV missions, you also send some of the foreign satellites," he said, adding the ISRO had already bagged order to launch 11 foreign satellites.

Radhakrishnan said in the case of proven launch vehicles (PSLV), standard satellite buses and communication transponders - which are largely repetitive in nature -

he definitely sees outsourcing to industry to grow significantly.

We are getting into risk-sharing model," he said.

The ISRO has proposed to set up a huge manufacturing complex near the Sriharikota spaceport on the Andhra coast so that its industrial partners have production there.

At present, ISRO's suppliers are located in different parts of the country, and the idea now is to cut down the turnaround time and get the products on time.

The complex is planned to be built on 200-300 acres in Sriharikota, close to the launch site, and ISRO is currently engaged in discussions with the Andhra Pradesh government for land acquisition.

"Industry is positive. We are informally talking to the industries," he said, adding the ISRO is working on different models such as industries setting up facilities on this land or ISRO giving them space to put up factories.

ISRO has also mooted an idea for industrial partners that they can work in consortium mode if they wish - like coming together of players in the field of electronics, production, metals and precision fabrication, among others.

Radhakrishnan said the manufacturing complex is expected to come up during the 12th plan, which starts in April next year.