Latest news with #HAL
United News of India
41 minutes ago
- Business
- United News of India
HAL gets SSLV tech in Rs 511 crore deal
Bengaluru, June 20 (UNI) In a landmark move to bolster India's commercial space ambitions, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has formally transferred the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) technology to aerospace and defence major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) under a Rs 511 crore agreement through a competitive bidding process. The deal marks the first time an Indian industry entity has been entrusted with the complete end-to-end production and commercialisation of a launch vehicle — a development hailed by Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) Chairman Dr Pawan Goenka as a "pivotal moment" in India's space sector reforms. The transfer agreement, signed between HAL, ISRO, NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), and IN-SPACe, includes extensive handholding and training of HAL personnel by ISRO teams at both ISRO and HAL facilities. The roadmap envisages the realisation and launch of two SSLV missions over the next two years. "This is not merely a technology handover — it is a declaration that India is ready to democratise space access. HAL's successful bid reflects a high level of technical preparedness and capacity to absorb complex launch vehicle technology," Dr Goenka said. The SSLV, developed by ISRO, is a cost-effective launch vehicle designed to carry payloads of up to 500 kg into low-Earth orbit. It is particularly aimed at catering to the growing demand for small satellite launches, both domestically and globally. HAL emerged as the top bidder among three shortlisted contenders. The other two bids were led by Alpha Design Technologies (in consortium with Agnikul Cosmos and Walchand Industries Ltd) and Bharat Dynamics Ltd (in consortium with Skyroot Aerospace, Keltron and BHEL). The selection followed a rigorous eligibility and evaluation process conducted by IN-SPACe. According to Dr Rajeev Jyoti, Director (Technical Directorate), IN-SPACe, "All three bids were technically competent. HAL's proposal stood out in its comprehensiveness and readiness. ISRO will provide rigorous handholding to ensure seamless transition and mission success." NSIL Chairman and MD Radhakrishnan Durairaj said India could see up to a dozen SSLV launches annually in the near future. 'This is a major leap for Indian industry in realising indigenous launch vehicles for global clientele,' he noted. HAL CMD D K Sunil expressed confidence that the partnership with ISRO and IN-SPACe would lead to the establishment of a robust ecosystem for SSLV production and services. "This opportunity will enable HAL to fully own and operate SSLV launches, meeting global launch-on-demand requirements," he said. The development underscores the government's push to privatise and expand the space sector through public-private partnerships, targeting a projected $44 billion space economy by 2033. The SSLV transfer follows HAL's ongoing partnership with L&T for Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) manufacturing and comes amid increased activity in India's launch sector, including the emergence of private players like Skyroot Aerospace and Agnikul Cosmos. "This handover is a demonstration of intent — to make India not just a launchpad, but a global hub for small satellite launches," the government said in a statement. UNI BDN RN
The Hindu
an hour ago
- Business
- The Hindu
HAL outbids Adani-backed firm to bag transfer of technology of SSLV from ISRO
In a significant milestone, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was on Friday declared the winner of the bid for the transfer of technology of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), the ISRO's rocket to place satellites up to 500 kg in low-earth orbit, edging out two consortia, including one led by a defence manufacturer backed by the Adani Group. Fighter jet manufacturer HAL was the standalone bidder for the coveted contract to build the ISRO-designed rocket and was pitted against the two consortia -- one led by Alpha Design Technologies, backed by the Adani Group, and the other led by Hyderabad-based Bharat Dynamics Limited. HAL presented the winning bid of ₹511 crore to emerge as the sole manufacturer of the SSLV after the completion of the process of transfer of technology that is expected to take place over the next two years. "Under this technology-transfer agreement, HAL will have the capability to independently build, own and commercialise SSLV launches," Pawan Kumar Goenka, chairman, Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (INSPACe), told a press conference here. HAL will be the third company to build rockets after space sector start-ups Skyroot Aerospace and Agnikul Cosmos. Mr. Goenka said nine companies had evinced interest in the transfer of technology of the SSLV, of which three were rejected. Of the remaining six, three chose not to apply. "The SSLV technology transfer marks a pivotal moment in India's transformative commercial space segment, as this is one of the first instances of a space agency transferring complete launch vehicle technology to a company," he said. Mr. Goenka said the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will handhold HAL and assist it in building two prototype rockets over the next two years. After that, the state-owned company is expected to independently produce six to 10 SSLVs every year, depending on the demand. "HAL will be free to improve on the design and select its own vendors from the third rocket after the two-year period," Mr. Goenka said. The SSLV was developed by the ISRO to launch small satellites into low-earth orbit at a shorter notice, a capability required by the defence forces in times of emergencies. "This collaboration marks a significant step towards strengthening India's commercial satellite-launch capabilities and more specifically, in enabling Indian industry in realising this SSLV," Radhakrishnan Durairaj, Chairman and Managing Director of New Space India Limited (NSIL), said. The move is part of efforts to allow the ISRO to focus more on research and hive off the routine activities of launching satellites, using proven launch vehicles to the industry. "We are looking forward to working closely under the ISRO and IN-SPACe's guidance to progress in phases and realise the end objectives. We are confident of steering a cohesive ecosystem that enables more small satellite launches from India's ports," D K Sunil, Chairman and Managing Director of HAL, said. The technology-transfer agreement will be signed among HAL, NSIL, ISRO and IN-SPACe. The agreement encompasses extensive training and handholding of HAL personnel by ISRO teams, both at ISRO and HAL facilities, for the realisation and launch of two SSLVs in the next two years.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business
- Business Standard
HAL outbids Adani-backed firm to bag transfer of tech of SSLV from Isro
In a significant milestone, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was on Friday declared the winner of the bid for the transfer of technology of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), the Isro's rocket to place satellites up to 500 kg in low-earth orbit, edging out two consortia, including one led by a defence manufacturer backed by the Adani Group. Fighter jet manufacturer HAL was the standalone bidder for the coveted contract to build the Isro-designed rocket and was pitted against the two consortia -- one led by Alpha Design Technologies, backed by the Adani Group, and the other led by Hyderabad-based Bharat Dynamics Limited. HAL presented the winning bid of Rs 511 crore to emerge as the sole manufacturer of the SSLV after the completion of the process of transfer of technology that is expected to take place over the next two years. "Under this technology-transfer agreement, HAL will have the capability to independently build, own and commercialise SSLV launches," Pawan Kumar Goenka, chairman, Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (INSPACe), told a press conference here. HAL will be the third company to build rockets after space sector start-ups Skyroot Aerospace and Agnikul Cosmos. Goenka said nine companies had evinced interest in the transfer of technology of the SSLV, of which three were rejected. Of the remaining six, three chose not to apply. "The SSLV technology transfer marks a pivotal moment in India's transformative commercial space segment, as this is one of the first instances of a space agency transferring complete launch vehicle technology to a company," he said. Goenka said the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) will handhold HAL and assist it in building two prototype rockets over the next two years. After that, the state-owned company is expected to independently produce six to 10 SSLVs every year, depending on the demand. "HAL will be free to improve on the design and select its own vendors from the third rocket after the two-year period," Goenka said. The SSLV was developed by the Isro to launch small satellites into low-earth orbit at a shorter notice, a capability required by the defence forces in times of emergencies. "This collaboration marks a significant step towards strengthening India's commercial satellite-launch capabilities and more specifically, in enabling Indian industry in realising this SSLV," Radhakrishnan Durairaj, Chairman and Managing Director of New Space India Limited (NSIL), said. The move is part of efforts to allow the Isro to focus more on research and hive off the routine activities of launching satellites, using proven launch vehicles to the industry. "We are looking forward to working closely under the Isro and IN-SPACe's guidance to progress in phases and realise the end objectives. We are confident of steering a cohesive ecosystem that enables more small satellite launches from India's ports," D K Sunil, Chairman and Managing Director of HAL, said. The technology-transfer agreement will be signed among HAL, NSIL, Isro and IN-SPACe. The agreement encompasses extensive training and handholding of HAL personnel by Isro teams, both at Isro and HAL facilities, for the realisation and launch of two SSLVs in the next two years.
Mint
an hour ago
- Business
- Mint
Questions raised as HAL outbids Adani Defence, Bharat Dynamics in Isro's ‘privatisation' attempt
New Delhi: Almost three years since its first demonstrator mission launch, a ₹511-crore contract to privatize Indian Space Research Organisation's (Isro) small satellite launch vehicle (SSLV) was awarded toHindustan Aeronautics Ltd by the government's nodal space agency on Friday. However, considering that HAL is a public sector undertaking overseen by the defence ministry, analysts, observers and proxy advisory firms are questioning the efficacy of the announcement, insisting it does not truly qualify as 'privatization' of the government-built rocket. The contract will see HAL take full ownership of the rocket that Isro built and first launched in August 2022. Pawan Kumar Goenka, chairman of Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (In-Space), said the project is 'not just a manufacturing contract—HAL will do end-to-end manufacturing, supply chain procurement, winning orders from clients, (and ) launching and maintaining the rocket in the long run". Isro will handhold HAL through the making and validation of the small rocket for two years. Beyond this period, Goenka said HAL can onboard Isro as an advisor on a commercial contract basis. As of 20 June, the Union government holds a 71% stake in HAL. Also read | Hindustan Aeronautics: Here's all you need to know before investing 'The bid from HAL was carefully selected by In-Space, Isro, and NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL) through two bidding rounds. The first round saw the participation of nine companies, from which six were shortlisted. In the second round, three of the bidders dropped out, leaving HAL, and two consortiums—led by Alpha Design Technologies and Bharat Dynamics—as the finalists," Goenka said. Alpha Design is owned by Adani Defence Systems and Technologies Ltd. Neither HAL, NSIL or In-Space disclosed the cost of making the small rockets. Radhakrishnan Durairaj, chairman and managing director of NSIL, which is Isro's commercial space operations division, said the information 'would allude to SSLV's competitiveness on a global scale" and thus could not be disclosed. Industry stakeholders said the decision may not bode well for Isro's privatisation in the long run. Shriram Subramanian, founder and managing director of proxy advisory firm InGovern Research, said the move is 'strange, seeing that the contract was delivered to HAL without validating the firm's capability of delivering space projects as per timelines". Also read | How ISRO's 100th mission reflects its original startup spirit One hand to the other HAL, in partnership with Larsen and Toubro Ltd, was previously awarded an ₹860-crore contract to manufacture five units of Isro's larger rocket variant—the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)—in September 2022. The initial timeline to deliver the first of the five PSLVs was two years. 'We are on track with the engineering efforts, and results from the PSLV contract will be seen very soon," said Barenya Senapati, director of finance at HAL, fielding questions on the company's space contract execution capability during Friday's announcement. 'Our air force engineering division is separate from our new space business, so the two work very differently and are not interconnected," Senapati said, without disclosing when the first PSLV will be delivered. The SSLV award may compound pressure on HAL at a time when the public sector undertaking has been in the firing line of the Indian Air Force itself in terms of its failure to deliver its contract of indigenous 'Tejas' combat aircrafts. 'In a way, this is a good thing for the other private startups," said Narayan Prasad Nagendra, space industry consultant and chief operating officer of Dutch space supply chain firm, Satsearch. 'HAL's contract is essentially a representation of a government contract shifting funds from one hand to another without specifically achieving anything. If at all, given HAL's current track record in space, this will make way for private startups such as Skyroot Aerospace and Agnikul Cosmos to win more clients and take a market lead," he added. Also read | Space tourism: Can Isro beat Blue Origin? On the flipside, others said the move may have come out of necessity. Chaitanya Giri, space fellow at global think-tank Observer Research Foundation, said that 'since the other two final bids for the SSLV were through consortia, In-Space and Isro were really left with only one choice to execute a clean, simple contract for the SSLV". However, Giri added that 'the move to award the contract to HAL cannot strictly be called privatization—it is better to be referred to as commercialization by bringing a legacy Indian industry name into the nascent field". 'It also shows that the Indian government is not yet fully confident in India's private space firms, which could be another reason behind HAL winning the small rocket contract," Giri added. In-Space's Goenka, however, said HAL winning the contract 'was not a subjective decision". 'HAL was the highest bidder, and also cleared In-Space and Isro's technical evaluation process in terms of its capability under all parameters, thereby emerging with the contract as per the official process," he said.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Business
- Time of India
HAL bags Rs 511 crore deal to acquire ISRO's SSLV rocket tech
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has emerged as the winning bidder for the transfer of Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) small satellite launch vehicle (SSLV) technology, marking one of the most significant technology transfers from the space agency to a commercial entity. The deal is worth Rs 511 crore. Under the agreement, HAL will independently build, own, and operate SSLV rockets, with ISRO providing training and handholding for two missions over the next two years, the space regulator and promoter, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), announced on Friday. Among the three bidders, the public sector undertaking (PSU) HAL's standalone bid beat the Adani-backed Alpha Design Technologies consortium, comprising Agnikul Cosmos and Walchand Industries. The second consortium was led by Bharat Dynamics along with Skyroot Aerospace, Keltron, and BHEL to win the ₹511-crore tender. 'This is one of the first instances of a space agency transferring complete launch vehicle technology to a company. Under this transfer agreement, HAL will have the capability to independently build, own, and commercialise SSLV launches,' said Pawan Goenka, Chairman, IN-SPACe. HAL aims to manufacture 6-8 SSLV rockets per year, depending on demand, and is expected to generate about $6.5 million in revenue per launch. SSLV is a three-stage, solid-propulsion rocket by ISRO to launch small satellites of about 500 kg into a 500 km orbit. It's designed to be cost-effective and flexible, offering launch-on-demand capabilities with reduced turnaround times. 'The system is multidisciplinary in nature and will require rigorous training of HAL personnel at both ISRO and HAL sites,' said Rajeev Jyoti, director, technical directorate at IN-SPACe. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories IN-SPACe added that a rigorous eligibility and evaluation framework was followed. 'The process, which continued for several months, culminated in the financial bid evaluation, where HAL emerged as the highest bidder to acquire and operationalise SSLV technology ,' it said in a statement. The SSLV technology transfer will be formalised through an agreement involving HAL, ISRO, NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL) and IN-SPACe. HAL's director finance Barenya Senapati said winning the bid was in line with HAL's larger goal of entering the space sector in a bigger way than it has been doing in the past. He added that the new portfolio will not affect its current operations. HAL and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) are already jointly building ISRO's trusted Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLV) rockets under a contract with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL). The contract for five PSLV rockets is worth Rs 860 crore, that is, each PSLV rocket costs approximately Rs 172 crore to build. Following the announcement of the winning bid, shares of HAL settled 1.18% higher at Rs 4,960 on Friday.
