Overview
- The Department of Space issued an internal memorandum dated July 14 that reverses a 2020 delegation and requires centres to send voluntary-retirement and resignation requests for Group 'A' scientific and technical staff on core missions to DoS for final approval.
- Multiple media reports and ISRO sources place recent departures at roughly 100–120 scientists and engineers, with large numbers reported from URSC and VSSC and several named senior staff among those who left.
- Reported exits include mission-critical roles tied to Gaganyaan, the LVM-3 project and Chandrayaan-3 simulations, raising concern that years of project-specific knowledge could be lost even as vacancies are recruitable.
- ISRO says it can manage transitions and is recruiting for about 1,050 posts while the DoS move is intended to protect continuity; critics argue that pay, career pathways and work culture must be fixed to stop further losses.
- The broader context is rapid private-sector growth since 2020 and the 2023 Indian Space Policy, which has created well-funded startups that are offering higher pay and faster career moves that are pulling experienced ISRO staff into industry roles.