Explainer: Why is India making it harder for ISRO scientists to resign?

Tightening rules on voluntary retirement and resignations, the Department of Space (DoS) recently issued a directive to all the major space research centres of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The government’s action came amid reports that more than 100 senior scientists and engineers left the agency in recent months.

The memorandum, issued on July 14, was signed by SR Rajashekar, Joint Secretary (Personnel), Department of Space.

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“Of late, it is noticed that there has been spate of requests for voluntary retirement and resignation from Group ‘A’ Scientific/Technical personnel of ISRO including those associated with the prestigious Gaganyaan and other important missions/projects severely impacting the implementation of projects of national importance,” it read.

The memorandum was issued to major centres such as the UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) and the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). They have been told not to routinely accept resignation or voluntary retirement requests from Group ‘A’ scientific and technical personnel that are linked to Gaganyaan and other “important missions”.

“In view of this, it has been decided that voluntary retirement and resignation requests from Scientific & Technical personnel associated with the Gaganyaan and other important Mission/Projects may not be accepted as a matter of routine,” it added.

The centres have been informed that all the requests received from scientific or technical personnel, including the ones from of and below the rank of scientist and engineer, needs to be sent to the Department of Space with “clear recommendations” of their directors to take a final decision on the matter.

With this order, the government has reportedly decided to reverse the major administrative change from 2020 that earlier allowed ISRO centre directors as well as heads to accept voluntary retirement and resignation requests from Group A scientific and technical personnel up to scientist/engineer-SG level.

Among the centres that have received the directive include the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), ISRO Telemetry, the Space Applications Centre (SAC), Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC).

Why this decision now?

The latest directive from the Department of Space came amid reports that more than 100 personnel have left the Indian space agency in recent months, with maximum resignations witnessed at the URSC in Bengaluru and the VSSC in Thiruvananthapuram.

According to NDTV, some of the big names that have left include senior scientist Victor Joseph T, who was working as the project director of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III Project at the VSSC.

He is believed to have left in February after serving for nearly 13 months as the head of the LVM3 project. The launch vehicle is all set to be used during the high-stakes Gaganyaan mission.

A few of the scientists, who have parted ways with ISRO, are believed to have joined space startups – a sector that has witnessed significant boom, especially since the government opened it for private players in 2020 as well as launched the Indian Space Policy in 2023.

So far, the country has nearly 400 registered space start-ups that have received investments worth around $500 million. Some of the leading names include Agnikul Cosmos and Pixxel.

ISRO chairman reacts to recent resignations

Reacting to the recent departures, ISRO Chairman V Narayanan told The Times of India, “Yes, a lot of people go, but that’s part of every organisation”.

He added, “The move isn’t only to retain people but also to ensure that important projects don’t suffer all of a sudden. But if someone is still going, someone else will take responsibility. We’re taking care of it”.

Notably, the government has further initiated steps to strengthen the space agency’s workforce.

Officials said that recruitment is underway to fill nearly 1,050 vacancies across the organisation.