95 pc components used in rockets in India domestically sourced: ISRO chief

New Delhi: About 95 per cent of components used in rockets in the country have been sourced from India, ISRO Chairperson S Somanath said on Tuesday. Speaking at the 82nd Foundation Day of CSIR, Somanath highlighted that ISRO's expertise spans the entire space domain, with all technical work, including rocket and satellite development and space applications, being carried out in-house.

He said approximately 95 per cent of the materials, devices and systems used in Indian Space Research Organisation's rockets are domestically sourced, with only 5 per cent coming from abroad, primarily high-end electronic components. "This achievement is a result of collaborations with various Indian laboratories, including national labs, defence labs, and CSIR labs, focusing on material indigenisation, technology capabilities, and research," he said. Somanath also highlighted significant achievements in electronics indigenisation, including the design and manufacture of critical components such as processors for rockets and main computer chips, both made in India.

"Additionally, ISRO has developed essential components, such as electromechanical actuators, DC power supply systems, battery systems, and solar cells within the country," he said. At the Foundation Day of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar awards were also distributed to 12 young scientists.

Immunologist Dipyaman Ganguli of CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata; microbiologist Ashwani Kumar of CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh; biologist Maddika Subba Reddy of the Hyderabad-based Centre for DNA Fingerprinting Diagnostics; Akkattu T Biju of Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru; and Debabrata Maiti of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay are among the awardees. While Ganguli has been awarded in the field of medical sciences, Kumar and Reddy have received the award for their contribution to biological sciences. At the event, Principal Scientific Advisor Ajay Sood said there is a rationalisation of the awards to truly make it national and to make the selection process transparent. "From the next year, there will be Vigyan Yuva Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar awards and these awards will not be seven as it is now but will number 25 and these again are meant for yuva scientists, technologists and of course the innovators in almost 12 fields and there is another one which we call others to see any other field that has not been listed," he said.