Amid spate of resignations at ISRO, Govt places curbs on quitters

As India's national space agency, ISRO is witnessing a high number of resignations and voluntary retirement requests from its scientific and technical talent. The government has imposed an additional layer of scrutiny to prevent the easy exit of its workforce. An internal memo issued by the Indian Government's Department of Space on 14thJuly(Tuesday) mentions that

voluntary retirement and resignation requests from Scientific & Technical personnel associated with the Gaganyaan and other important Mission or Projects may not be accepted as a matter of routine. This move would potentially make it harder for those seeking an exit from ISRO.

"Of late, it is noticed that there has been a 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," the memo reveals. It also mentions that the exit of scientific and technical talent is severely impacting the implementation of projects of national importance.

The Indian Government has set an ambitious roadmap for the Government-run ISRO: the Gaganyaan Human Spaceflight programme to send Indian astronauts to space and return them safely; a series of Chandrayaan robotic lunar exploration missions; design, development, and launch of an Indian Space Station by the year 2035; crewed moon landing by the year 2040.

The Department of Space, under which ISRO operates, has directed ISRO's Centre Directors/Heads of Units not to accept any requests for voluntary retirement or resignation from Scientific and Technical personnel of Group 'A' associated with the Gaganyaan or other important Mission / Project till its realisation. "Any such requests received from Scientific/Technical personnel, even of and below the rank of Scientist/EngineerSG, may be sent to the Department with clear recommendations of the Directors of Centres/Heads of Units for final decision," reads the internal memo. Typically, ISRO employees classified internally as Scientist/EngineerSG are mid or senior-level scientists with around two decades of experience or more. They head a technical team or manage major systems related to space missions and mentor junior scientists.

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Recent exits from ISRO and the possible reasons behind them

This author has learned that there have been many recent resignations or voluntary retirement requests from senior officials at ISRO's UR Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru. In late 2025, a top ISRO official associated with the LVM3 rocket programme had tendered voluntary retirement and quit. Officials say that some of these exits are linked to "internal issues" and "work-related matters" which are widely known among the ISRO fraternity. There have also been junior-level and mid-level exits of those working at the ISRO spaceport Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

Speaking to this author on the condition of anonymity, a former ISRO official pointed out that ISRO scientists find rewarding opportunities in the emerging private space ecosystem in India. In fact, it is the Indian Government which runs ISRO, which is also actively promoting the private firms and startups to do more in the sector. Therefore, talent flowing towards that side is on expected lines.

However, another official cautioned that ISRO and the larger Department of Space must look into the reasons behind the exits and undertake remedial measures, rather than trying to curb them by issuing orders.

ISRO Chief Dr V Narayanan did not respond to this author's queries about the internal memo and the possible reasons behind the exodus of ISRO's workforce.

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ISRO's Human Resource shortage

While the recent internal memo has brought the talent exodus to light, it must be recalled that ISRO has been understaffed for quite a long period. Moreover, the recruitment has not been commensurate with the exits. Indian Parliament data from February 2026 shows that ISRO has a sanctioned strength of 14,108 staff in the Science and Technology domain, of which only 12,472 are in position. The Government says it is undertaking efforts to fill 1,636 vacant posts (about 11.5% shortage from sanctioned strength).

In the Admin domain, ISRO has a sanctioned strength of 4,034 staff. However, only 3,057 are in position. The Government says it is undertaking efforts to fill the 977 vacant posts (about 24% shortage from the sanctioned strength).

Impact of recent ISRO mission failures and halted launch activity

Between May 2025 and January 2026, ISRO suffered failures of two PSLV missions. Both PSLV-C61 and PSLV-C62 encountered mid-flight issues in the third stage of the rocket, which led to the loss of the rocket and the satellite. Following the January 2026 failure, there has been a complete halt of launch activity by ISRO. To date, the agency has attempted only one mission in 2026, which is the failed PSLV-C62. Thereafter, there has been prolonged uncertainty about ISRO's next launch mission and how the leadership would steer the organisation back to its routine pace of activity.

With the Government entity IN-SPACE offering to sell ISRO's rocket technology to private firms, questions remain about what the Indian Government envisions for ISRO. Though ISRO has mentioned that it would accomplish 13 rocket launches between April 2026 and March 2027, the fact that the agency has not even accomplished a single launch in this period is a matter of serious concern for the agency's rank and file.