Higher pay, faster growth: Why more than 100 scientists left ISRO in recent months | Today’s news
India’s space program has long been associated with significant achievements – from the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the moon to ambitious plans for human spaceflight. But even as the country’s space ambitions continue to expand, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) faces a different kind of challenge: holding on to its seasoned scientists.
According to a report from NDTVmore than 100 scientists have either resigned or taken voluntary retirement from Isro in the last few months. The development has prompted the Department of Space (DoS) to tighten rules for the resignation of scientists working on some of India’s most important space missions.
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Space Department moves to retain scientists
The India today The report said the space ministry had issued a new directive curbing resignations and voluntary retirement of scientists associated with flagship programs like Gaganyaan.
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Scientists are leaving ISRO mainly because of higher salaries, stock options and faster career growth offered by the expanding private space industry, along with organizational problems and delays in ISRO missions.
The government has tightened exit rules, requiring all resignations and voluntary retirement requests from scientists involved in critical missions to receive permission from the space ministry.
The rise of the private space sector since the 2020s has created competitive job opportunities that are attracting ISRO scientists away from government roles and offering them better pay and working conditions.
Experts suggest that ISRO could benefit from adopting a NASA-like hybrid employment model that combines permanent employees with contractors to increase flexibility and retain critical expertise.
While the resignations could pose temporary setbacks to critical missions due to the loss of experienced personnel, officials say ISRO is prepared to handle these transitions without jeopardizing mission progress.
The decision underscores the government’s efforts to retain specialized talent at a time when several high-profile missions are in the pipeline. It also brought renewed attention to a key question: why did scientists decide to leave Isro when India’s space sector is growing faster than ever?
The private space industry offers new opportunities
According to an India Today report, industry experts and senior Isro officials attribute the departures to several factors, including the rapid growth of India’s private space ecosystem, organizational problems and delays in mission execution.
Since 2020, when the space sector was opened up to private participation, companies such as Skyroot Aerospace, Agnikul Cosmos, Pixxel, Bellatrix Aerospace, Dhruva Space and Digantara have emerged as major players developing rockets, satellites, propulsion systems and space technologies.
For many scientists, the attraction is straightforward. The report notes that private firms often offer higher salaries, stock options, more flexibility and faster career progression than traditional government organizations. Scientists are also able to take on leadership responsibilities earlier in their careers and work in environments where projects move quickly from concept to implementation.
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This trend has been boosted by ex-Isro veterans who, according to the report, have founded or mentored aerospace startups, creating career opportunities that barely existed a few years ago.
Mission delays and organizational issues
An India Today report said the departures also came at a time when several major Isro missions experienced delays.
Projects including Gaganyaan G1 test flight, SSLV-L1, GSLV-F17 and industrially produced PSLV-N1 have exceeded their announced schedules.
The report further said that the PSLV’s twin failures earlier this year delayed the start of operations, with the agency yet to release a detailed assessment of the failure.
He also cited several current and former officials, who spoke privately, who said technical and administrative decision-making was becoming increasingly centralized within the chairman’s office, resulting in slower approvals and reduced operational flexibility.
Experts propose changes to the employment model
According to a report in India Today, senior officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, believe that Isro could consider hiring practices to be followed by agencies such as NASA and the European Space Agency.
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These organizations use a hybrid workforce that combines permanent employees, contractors, and project employees. According to the report, many space policy experts believe that such a model would provide greater flexibility while allowing Isro to retain important institutional expertise.
The report added that it could allow the agency to focus more on areas such as mission design, systems engineering, human spaceflight, deep space exploration and advanced research, including reusable launch vehicles and nuclear propulsion.
Why the government tightened the exit rules
An India Today report said the space ministry’s July 14 memorandum reflected concerns that the increasing number of departures could affect nationally important programmes.
Scientists working on Gaganyaan and other flagship missions will no longer be able to exit routine approvals. Instead, every resignation and request for voluntary retirement will require permission from the Department of Space.
While the scientists who left represent only a small fraction of Isro’s workforce of more than 14,600 employees, the report said many of them have years of specialized expertise gained through missions like Chandrayaan-3, SpaDeX and Gaganyaan. According to her, replacing such experience is much more difficult than simply recruiting new graduates.
According to the report, the changing work environment reflects the evolution of the Indian space sector itself. For decades, Isro has been the primary destination for budding aerospace engineers. Today, however, the rapidly expanding private space industry offers alternative career paths with competitive pay, faster growth and opportunities to work on cutting-edge technologies – leaving Isro challenged not only to attract talent but also to retain it.
