According to ISRO Chairman S. Somanath, the body needs to concentrate more on innovation in the coming years and less on production and delivery.

The Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Valiyamala, celebrated its 15th anniversary on Monday. Mr. Somanath challenged the ISRO and the IIST to change to keep up with the changes occurring in India's space environment.

Mr. Somanath remarked that ISRO's emphasis shifted to operationalization and production as time passed. Since ISRO was initially intended for R&D, he added that a move to this field is crucial. He claimed that ISRO was among the few organizations with tangible research results.

Today, a great deal of research has been done to improve products. However, there might be more effective ways to do research. Production-related tasks should be removed from the system, he advised.

Several space-tech businesses made their impact and increased in size, Mr. Somanath observed, thanks to carefully thought-out plans.

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Import dependence is still significant.

K. Radhakrishnan, the former head of ISRO, gave the eighth A.P.J. Abdul Kalam memorial lecture on 'Life lessons in leadership.' He claimed that India's reliance on imports remained high in technology.

Dr. Radhakrishnan, a current member of the Space Commission, stated that the nation needed to stop becoming 'technology reliant' and start becoming 'technology adequate.' He claimed that technology would be essential in shaping a civilization prepared for the future.

In attendance were IIST Chancellor B.N. Suresh, S. Unnikrishnan Nair, director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Center and IIST, Kuruvilla Joseph, director of the IIST, and Sam Dayala Dev, head of the ISRO Inertial Systems Unit.