Will ISRO’s resignation affect Gaganyaan and other missions? Here’s why former scientists are divided | Today’s news
Union Minister of State (Independent Representative) for Science and Technology Dr. Responding to reports of mass resignations at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Jitendra Singh said there was “no controversy” surrounding the matter.
On Thursday, according to India Today , he said, “Many have left, many have come,” but the agency continues to hire new talent even as some employees leave. “ISRO has a very large workforce. As people leave, many also join,” the minister was quoted as saying.
Quick answers to key questions
•5 QUESTIONS
The recent resignations at ISRO, involving more than 100 scientists, have been attributed to various factors, including better opportunities in the private sector and the normal attrition rate in a large organization.
In response to the wave of resignations, the Indian government has tightened rules governing the voluntary retirement and resignation of scientists associated with critical missions like Gaganyaan, requiring greater scrutiny of such requests.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh said the Gagan mission will not be stopped by these resignations as ISRO maintains continuity through a capable team and involvement of former scientists.
Many former ISRO scientists are said to be leaving for the private sector due to expanding opportunities, better salaries and a chance to contribute to innovative projects after 2020, when the space sector opens up to private players.
The tightening of exit rules aims to prevent disruption of critical projects at ISRO and ensure that ongoing missions, particularly the Gaganyaan mission, remain unaffected by sudden exits of key personnel.
Read also | Center tightens exit rules as over 100 ISRO scientists to quit, take early retirement
Singh’s statement came after sources told the Times of India that at least 100 scientists had resigned from ISRO’s flagship programmes. The report claimed that the departures included key personnel such as LVM-3 project director Victor Joseph of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC).
“The director of the Spadex project has left the UR Rao Satellite Center (URSC). A very bright young person who was part of Chandrayaan-3 has also quit,” the source said.
Following the incident, the space ministry issued a memorandum to ISRO headquarters for tightening rules governing resignation and voluntary retirement of scientists and engineers working in critical missions of national importance such as the Gaganyaan mission.
Read also | ISRO exit rules tightened amid reports of termination of 100 scientists
Responding to a question about this ISRO memo, Singh said it was “for administrative reasons” and not due to any other factor.
“No, it’s because… it’s for administrative reasons so that the decision can be taken at a much more advanced level,” the Union Minister of State for Science and Technology told reporters, according to NDTV.
Will resignation affect Gaganyaan and other ISRO missions?
When asked about India’s future space missions, Union Minister Jitendra Singh reportedly recalled what former space agency chairman Dr Somanath S had remarked.
Singh was quoted by NDTV as saying, “In one of the very early meetings about 10 years ago, he (Somanath) said, sending a man up is easier, getting him back is just as difficult. And so, you know, this crew module thing started.”
“Now Somanath is out of the picture. It doesn’t mean the Gagan mission has stopped. It’s not happening. Also, in ISRO, they work in continuity. Even retirees and ex-scientists are a big part of the projects. So it’s a different kind of work culture there,” Singh added.
Read also | Isro increases satellite band rate by 20% after 10 years.
Meanwhile, former ISRO scientist Sandeep Ojha explained the structure of the project in an interview with ANI and said, “There is a hierarchy that includes project managers and deputy project managers. There is also an administrative track leading to roles like division head, group director, deputy director and director…,” he said.
“Yes, if someone leaves a role they have been deeply involved in, it can certainly be a setback – albeit a temporary one. It can slow things down a bit, especially when a 20- or 25-year-old veteran leaves… While the team is capable enough to bridge the gap, a temporary setback is inevitable…,” Ojha said.
Are scientists leaving ISRO centers normal?
The latest mass resignation at ISRO centers has sparked a debate about what drives scientists to leave their jobs there.
While the minister reportedly claimed that such moves are normal in an organization the size of ISRO, some have argued that the exodus may be due to better opportunities and salaries in the private sector.
ISRO Chairman V Narayana told the Times of India that the space organization is ready to deal with the departures.
Read also | ISRO is looking for civilian astronauts for Gaganyaan, a manned space mission
“Yes, a lot of people are walking, but that is part of every organization. This move (memorandum) is not just for maintenance, but also to ensure that important projects don’t suffer suddenly. But if someone is still walking, someone else will take responsibility. We will take care of it,” he was quoted as saying.
Former ISRO scientist Sandeep Ojha told ANI, “People are resigning – often because the private sector is expanding and offering alternative job opportunities.”
However, former ISRO scientist Radha Krishna Kavuluru believed otherwise. Sharing his opinion, he wrote on X, “Though there is so much noise around the recent surge in ISRO resignations, for once I think the numbers are very normal.”
He explained that the documented attrition rate in the Indian IT and manufacturing industry is 15 percent.
“The widely reported URSC-ISRO resignation of 1,330 personnel is 100 at an attrition rate of 7 percent, half of Indian standards,” he added.
Read also | ISRO is conducting a ground test of the SSLV third stage at Sriharikota
Kavuluru, who identifies himself as a former ISRO scientist, said, “This is a sign of an industry forming and making a fluid transition. We are all feeling the heat because we have a lot of respect for the kind of work ISRO is doing, and the industry didn’t exist before.”
“For example, when the IT sector was booming and the competition for talent was rampant, the attrition rate in the IT industry was around 25-30%,” X wrote in the post, adding, “So resignations are completely understandable statistical possibilities.”
“Statistically, you can’t expect 10,000 people to work a lifetime at ISRO when the industry is now giving you a chance to build for the country,” Kavuluru said.
He asked, “If ISRO’s talent does not emerge, then who will build and de-risk building India’s space industry?”
Read also | ISRO’s Space Missions 2025: From Upcoming Launches to Plan – Everything You Need to Know
Kavuluru also said, “I left ISRO a while ago and was replaced in the system quite effectively by new young talent. The process and the system will automatically take care of the resignations.”
He clarified that the numbers he gave were from media reports and the rest was his personal opinion.
Other people on X he said the problems “today are not salaries, but the work environment and our restrictive bureaucratic mindset, which is a bigger obstacle than salaries”.
