ISRO Chief Urges MeitY to Cut Electronics Imports, Boost Manufacturing

V Narayanan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), stated on Thursday that the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) ought to establish a plan to decrease electronics imports and encourage local manufacturing. He emphasized the necessity of reducing electronics imports to under 10% within the next five years, underlining that the electronics sector should support companies in local manufacturing.

"When you talk about a launch vehicle today, 90% of it consists of indigenous items, but 10% is still imported. Out of that 10%, 90% consists only of electronic parts,” the chairman said while speaking at the Nano Electronics Roadshow at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru on Thursday.

Reflecting on his time as director of ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Narayanan mentioned that out of 34 sensors utilized for tracking pressure, temperature, and hydrogen levels, only two were produced locally, while the other 32 were sourced from abroad. “I set a rule that after one year, no sensors would be approved for import. Today, I am happy to report that 32 of them have been indigenously developed and are ready for technology transfer,” he said, hoping that within the next 10 to 15 years, the import content of electronics in India should come down drastically. The ISRO chairman also highlighted the significance of nanotechnology in space applications, as no space missions can occur without it.