New Delhi, June 20 -- Almost three years since its first demonstrator mission launch, a Rs.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 Promotio...