Context:
Following high-profile successes such as Chandrayaan-3 (2023), Aditya-L1 (2024), and NISAR (2025), ISRO now faces structural and governance challenges amid sector liberalisation and rising mission complexity.
Key Highlights:
Recent Milestones (Chronological)
- August 23, 2023 – Chandrayaan-3 soft landing on Moon’s south pole region.
• January 6, 2024 – Aditya-L1 positioned in halo orbit at Sun–Earth L1 Lagrange Point.
• July 2025 – Launch of NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission for climate and hazard monitoring.
Emerging Challenges
- Increasing mission complexity (Gaganyaan, Chandrayaan-4, NGLV).
• Bottlenecks in launch cadence.
• Prioritisation dilemmas leading to project delays.
• Decline in private investment in 2024.
Governance Issues
- Absence of comprehensive National Space Law.
• Institutional overlaps involving:
– IN-SPACe (regulatory facilitation)
– NSIL (commercial arm)
• ISRO functioning as fallback regulator in ambiguous situations.
Industrial & Competitive Pressures
- Need for:
– Reusable launch vehicles
– Higher launch frequency
– Rapid satellite manufacturing
• Greater integration of private players.
• IN-SPACe launched Technology Adoption Fund to bridge prototype-to-market gaps.
Relevant Prelims Points:
- Lagrange Points – Locations where gravitational forces of two celestial bodies balance.
• IN-SPACe – Autonomous agency promoting private sector participation in space.
• NSIL – Commercial arm of ISRO.
• NISAR – Joint Earth observation mission for climate and disaster monitoring.
• Halo Orbit – Orbit around a Lagrange point.
Relevant Mains Points:
- Reflects transition from state-led space programme to public–private ecosystem.
• Need for clear legal architecture to regulate liability, insurance, and private launches.
• Space sector crucial for:
– National security
– Climate monitoring
– Disaster management
– Digital economy - Competitiveness requires scaling manufacturing and innovation ecosystem.
• Governance reforms essential for sustaining global credibility.
Way Forward
- Enact comprehensive Space Activities Law.
• Strengthen regulatory clarity for private sector.
• Enhance R&D funding and industrial depth.
• Improve launch cadence and technological innovation.
UPSC Relevance:
- GS 3 – Science & Technology (Space Technology)
• GS 2 – Governance (Regulatory Framework)
• GS 3 – Economy (Emerging Sectors, Innovation Ecosystem)
• Prelims – ISRO Missions, Lagrange Points