RE your update: Would you like to argue for the closure of ISRO, or the expansion? You make a case for both, and it seems the argument should start from one pre

RE your update: Would you like to argue for the closure of ISRO, or the expansion? You make a case for both, and it seems the argument should start from one premise or the other. It should be expanded, because many basic (as in, not first-order profit driven) science exploration fields will never get attention from industrial interests. These are advanced by government and academic actors. A more robust ISRO also jump-starts opening India as a consumer of incredibly complex technology solutions. And, per the Indian imperative, these solutions may look very, very different from Amero-European parallels. It feels obvious that this then fosters new demand for STEM work and manufacturing in India. There is no reason ISRO cannot be grown in the shape of, and compete with, private space exploration. NASA can't easily shift like that because it is so entrenched and intertwined in US legislative interests, but ISRO is an upstart still.