India’s space program can't spend money fast enough, putting missions in peril

Satnav systems aren’t well, IP is being sold too cheap, and thousands of roles remain open

India’s space program has thousands of vacant roles it’s struggled to fill, isn’t spending money fast enough to meet its mission timelines, and may be undervaluing intellectual property it sells to the private sector.

Those are just some of the findings of India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, which this week published reports on grants it’s been asked to approve for India’s space program.

The committee noted both budget cuts for India’s space program and “significant underutilization” of allocated funds.

One reason for problems is poor procurement processes that make it hard for India’s Space Research Organization (ISRO) to buy the stuff it needs. Another is a “significant shortage of human resources” that has left India’s space program with 2,383 open positions.

The problems it found left the Committee’s members worried that major missions ISRO plans may run late. The space agency is close to uncrewed test flights for the Gaganyaan human spaceflight project, but won’t hit the March 2026 target for the first mission. India also plans two robotic moon landings in 2027 and 2028 under the Chandrayaan program, plus the launch of a Venus orbiter in 2028.

The committee expressed concern that unless India’s space program can hurry up and spend its budget, those missions won’t fly on time.

The report notes that India’s space program has both scientific and strategic significance, so delays aren’t merely inconvenient – they can also impair India’s drive for self-reliance in advanced technologies.

One product of that ambition is India’s NavIC constellation of 12 navigation satellites.

The Committee noted that only eight are functional, but some are unable to provide positioning, navigation and timing services due to malfunctioning of onboard atomic clocks.

India acquired those atomic clocks from overseas, and has since developed its own alternatives. The committee’s report urges replacement of the satellites.

The report also notes that India tried to accelerate its space program by opening it to private participants, and fostering startups. That effort appears not to have gone brilliantly because the committee found IP developed by the national space program was sold at “disproportionately low prices relative to their commercial potential.”

“It has been observed that technologies are often transferred to private players at undervalued rates, allowing these partners to earn significant profits while the originating institutes receive only a marginal share of the value created,” the Committee observed. “Furthermore, there is no credible mechanism to verify whether the benefits of low-cost technology transfers are being passed on to the intended target users for whom the technologies were developed.”

The Committee wants ISRO to “consider adopting a more competitive and market-aligned pricing framework for technology transfer” that charges license fees that “appropriately reflect the true commercial value, uniqueness, and societal impact of technologies developed through public funding.”

Space is hard, and missions often blow deadlines and budgets. India’s space program, however, is famed for delivering complex and successful space missions on shoestring budgets. May that long continue … perhaps after ISRO heeds the Committee’s advice. ®