Overview
- The Department of Space issued an internal memorandum dated July 14 that stops ISRO centres from routinely approving resignations and voluntary retirements for Group ‘A’ scientific and technical staff on mission‑critical projects.
- Multiple news reports and ISRO sources say roughly 100–120 scientists have left or sought to leave in recent months, with departures concentrated at URSC and VSSC and including senior staff named in coverage such as Victor Joseph and Aditya Rallapalli.
- Officials and former staff point to the rapid growth of India’s private space sector and its higher pay and faster career paths as the main draw for experienced ISRO scientists, with roughly 400 startups operating in the field.
- ISRO leadership says projects remain manageable, that responsibilities are being reassigned, and that recruitment for more than 1,050 posts is under way to fill gaps created by the exits.
- Experts warn the memo protects near‑term mission continuity but may not fix underlying pay and career‑structure issues that have driven long‑running attrition at ISRO, which official records show included about 700 resignations from 2012 to 2024.