Govt tightens ISRO exit rules as over 100 scientists resign

New Delhi, July 16 -- The Department of Space (DoS) has tightened rules governing resignations and voluntary retirement at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), directing major centres not to routinely accept exit requests from scientists and engineers working on critical national missions, including the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme. The move follows reports that more than 100 scientists have resigned from the space agency in recent months, prompting the government to centralise approval of such requests amid concerns over the impact on projects of national importance.

An internal memorandum dated July 14, issued to major ISRO centres including the U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) in Bengaluru and the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram, said there had been a "spate of requests" for resignation and voluntary retirement from Group 'A' scientific and technical personnel.

"It is noticed that there has been a spate of requests for voluntary retirement and resignation from Group 'A' scientific/technical personnel including those associated with prestigious Gaganyaan and other important missions/projects, severely impacting implementation of projects of national importance," the memorandum said.

Under the revised procedure, resignation and voluntary retirement requests from scientists and engineers associated with Gaganyaan and other important missions will no longer be accepted as a matter of routine. Instead, ISRO centre directors must forward all such cases to the Department of Space, along with their recommendations, for a final decision. The directive effectively rolls back an administrative change introduced in November 2020, which had allowed ISRO centre directors to approve resignations and voluntary retirement applications for scientists up to the Scientist/Engineer-SG level.

The latest order comes amid reports that between 100 and 120 scientists have resigned from ISRO in recent months, although the Department of Space has not officially confirmed the figure. According to reports citing ISRO sources, nearly 80 scientists have left the URSC, while around 20 departures have been reported from the VSSC. Officials also indicated that additional resignation requests are still under consideration, suggesting the total number could rise further.

Among those reported to have left are senior scientists linked to some of India's most significant space programmes. They include LVM3 Project Director Victor Joseph, the SpaDeX Project Director from URSC, and Aditya Rallapalli, a Chandrayaan-3 scientist who led the simulation team that generated nearly 25 terabytes of mission data through more than one lakh simulations to validate the spacecraft's lunar landing sequence.

ISRO Chairman V Narayanan acknowledged the resignations but said the organisation was prepared to manage the transition.

"Yes, a lot of people go, but that's part of every organisation. The move isn't only to retain, but also to ensure that important projects don't suffer all of a sudden. If someone is still going, someone else will take responsibility. We're taking care of it," he said.

Although the reported departures account for only a small portion of ISRO's workforce of more than 14,600 employees, officials are understood to be concerned about the loss of experienced personnel attached to flagship programmes such as Gaganyaan, Chandrayaan and SpaDeX. Replacing specialised expertise built over years of mission work is seen as a greater challenge than filling vacant posts.

Official data show around 700 employees resigned from ISRO between 2012 and 2024. The organisation is also recruiting for more than 1,050 scientific, technical and administrative posts and has undertaken cadre restructuring to regularise hundreds of project positions.

Responding to questions on the memorandum, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said the decision was purely administrative.

"No, that is because... that is for administrative reasons so that the decision can be taken at a much mature level," Singh told reporters. He added that ISRO has a large workforce where "many have gone, many have come" and said there was "no controversy" surrounding the decision.

Referring to Gaganyaan, Singh said ISRO's work continues through institutional continuity. Even after retirement, former scientists continue contributing to important projects, ensuring that India's human spaceflight mission and other future programmes remain on course.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.