Indian Rockets Are in ‘Great Demand’ Globally, But We Are Short of Manufacturing Capacity, Says Ex-ISRO Chief
India’s space technology is making waves globally, but the country’s limited manufacturing infrastructure is holding it back, said former ISRO Chairman S Somanath on Monday. Speaking at Accel’s Advanced Manufacturing Summit in Bengaluru, Somanath remarked that Indian rockets are in “great demand” internationally, but the nation’s current manufacturing capacity can’t meet that demand.
“Indian rockets are in great demand. But the problem is availability — it’s controlled by our ability to manufacture in numbers,” said Somanath during a panel discussion focused on India’s high-tech manufacturing ecosystem.
He emphasised that spacecraft and rockets are not off-the-shelf products. They are typically custom-built, requiring specialised infrastructure that India currently lacks at scale.
This observation comes at a time when India is aggressively pushing to become a global space player, with private firms like Agnikul, Skyroot, and Pixxel entering the fray in both satellite and launch vehicle markets.
Still Dependent on Legacy Manufacturing Chains
Somanath also highlighted the fragmented nature of India’s manufacturing ecosystem for aerospace. “If you want to make a rocket engine in India, you still have to rely on organisations like Godrej for manufacturing. But they can’t put it all together themselves. The final assembly still comes back to ISRO,” he said.
He noted a gap in deep industrial capabilities, particularly in areas like thermal design, tooling, materials engineering, and process control. While India has no dearth of design talent, the pipeline for skilled manufacturing remains underdeveloped. “We have good designers, but not enough people who understand manufacturing itself,” Somanath added.
BrahMos Missile Gets Unexpected Promotion
Fellow panellist and former BrahMos Aerospace CEO, Dr. Sudhir Mishra, took a lighter tone, saying that even Pakistan’s Prime Minister became an ‘ambassador’ for the BrahMos missile, referencing past remarks by Pakistan alleging that India fired the missile across the border.
“The government of India never said that we fired BrahMos. But he kept saying it, and that gave us a lot of visibility and spurred interest in our technology,” Mishra said.
Manufacturing Push in Karnataka, but Gaps Remain
Gunjan Krishna, Commissioner for Industries and Commerce, Karnataka, pointed to growing interest from global firms in setting up manufacturing bases in the state, including companies like Foxconn and Lam Research. “Assembly is happening, but we’re still trying to bring in deeper component-level manufacturing,” she said, underlining that the broader ecosystem remains incomplete despite recent gains.
The Bigger Picture
The discussion reflected India’s broader ambition to become a global hub for aerospace and defence manufacturing, in line with the Make in India initiative. However, the consensus among panelists was clear, India needs to invest not just in innovation, but in the infrastructure and skilled manpower that turns blueprints into products at scale.
As the global commercial space race accelerates, India’s next challenge may not be scientific, but industrial.
