23rd August 2023 was a historic day for India. For all the right reasons? Indeed for all the right reasons. This day marked a significant scientific accomplishment as India’s Chandrayaaan-3 moon rover successfully began exploring the lunar south pole after landing. This historic milestone has spotlighted ISRO’s exceptional cost-effectiveness and remarkable efficiency.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission, accomplished on a budget of merely Rs 615 crore, has underscored ISRO’s ability to achieve significant feats at a fraction of the cost compared to counterparts like NASA, the European Space Agency, and Russia’s Roscosmos. But what is the reason behind ISRO’s minimal spending?
ADVERTISEMENT
What is ISRO’s ‘Zero-based Budgeting’ strategy that turned out to be a huge success?
The space mission by ISRO was one of the most cost-effective missions of all time. It is thanks to the ‘Zero-based budgeting’ strategy that they opted for! In 1976, P. Sudarshan joined ISRO and focused on budgeting and strengthening industry ties. According to Moneycontrol, ISRO’s cost-effectiveness stems from two strategies: their strict use of zero-based budgeting and reliance on domestic suppliers.
Zero-based budgeting means they don’t build on the previous year’s budget; they start a new each year. P. Sudarshan clarified this method helped them meticulously manage budgets across the board. He said as we quote,
“That was a technique or principle adopted by us to keep the budgets very tightly controlled. It applied to everything — general budget, the project budgets, program budgets, budgets for facilities, etc.”
He described it as a core approach to maintaining tight control over expenditures.
Sanctions imposed after 1974 strengthened the process of procuring supplies from domestic players
Upon joining ISRO as the Chairman of Technology Transfer and Industry Cooperation as well as the Budget Director, Sudarshan encountered a scenario where the agency had only introduced a single satellite and hadn’t initiated any rocket launches. Back in 1976, the Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-3) was still in the development stages and would eventually launch in 1979.
ADVERTISEMENT
Complicating the technology landscape were the sanctions imposed by various countries post India’s inaugural nuclear test, the Smiling Buddha (also known as Pokhran 1), conducted in 1974.
The drive to source supplies from domestic entities stemmed from these sanctions, explained Sudharshan which eventually shaped ISRO’s path toward self-reliance.
Sanctions made ISRO self-reliant and its space mission cost-effective
Emphasizing the roleplay of sanctions Sudarshan said, as we quote,
“We were concentrating on the Indian industry because we were getting no cooperation from anywhere in the world. Seven countries put sanctions on us. The sanctions were because of our sister organisation, which exploded the nuclear bomb.”
These sanctions were one of the biggest reasons that helped India achieve and execute cost-effective space missions. He said as we quote,
“This helped our budgets because Indian companies were far cheaper compared to international ones.”
Sudarshan further added as we quote,
“We allowed the industries, who partnered with us to export with some conditions. We also gave them opportunities. We did market research for them which was very important for industries.”
All of this helped ISRO and strengthened its Zero-based Budgeting strategy making it achieve great feats. The success of Chandrayaan-3 is thanks to such strategies.
ADVERTISEMENT
Here’s what ISRO Chairman said about Chandrayaan-3 budget
Current ISRO chairman, S Somanath, while celebrating Chandrayaan’s successful touchdown said,
“No one in the world can do it like we do.”
As per Reuters report he said,
“I won’t disclose all secrets, otherwise everyone else (can) become cost effective”
What are your thoughts on this Zero-based budgeting strategy? Do share your thoughts via the comments below.
Also read: 11 Indian Companies Behind The Successful Launch Of ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 Mission
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
