Why are top scientists quitting ISRO?

Govt takes charge

The worrying trend has prompted the Department of Space to instruct major ISRO centres to tighten the rules governing the resignation and voluntary retirement of scientists and engineers working in critical missions of national importance such as the Gaganyaan Mission.

Also read: Centre changes ISRO resignation rules amid exodus of experienced scientists

In a memorandum issued on Tuesday (July 14), the department directed these centres not to routinely accept resignation or voluntary retirement requests from Group 'A' scientific and technical personnel.

The memorandum said such requests from scientists and technical personnel, even at or below the rank of scientist and engineer, must now be sent to the Department of Space with "clear recommendations" from their directors for a final decision.

The ISRO centres which have received the memorandum include UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) and the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).

Booming private sector

Reports say more than 100 ISRO personnel have either resigned or taken voluntary retirement from the space agency across various centres over the past few months.

One of the key reasons behind the exit of top ISRO scientists is an expanding private market. The government’s move to open the space sector to private participation in 2020 has seen the emergence of private space start-ups like Skyroot Aerospace, Agnikul Cosmos, Pixxel, Bellatrix Aerospace, Dhruva Space, and Digantara. These companies, which develop rockets, satellites, propulsion systems, and space-based services, offer better pay, equity/stock options, faster growth, the opportunity to develop technology from scratch and an environment where the gap between planning and execution is minimal.

India’s 400-odd registered startups attract hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital.

Leadership roles, better pay

Besides its lucrative benefits, a jump to the private sector also allows scientists to assume leadership roles earlier in their lives.

Several former ISRO scientists have joined private space companies or founded their own and continue to expand an ecosystem that is always hungry for more talent.

Also read: ISRO’s PSLV failure: Who pays when rocket missions go wrong?

At ISRO, the scientists in contrast have government pay contracts which are significantly lower to what private companies have on offer.

Sluggish pace of missions

A slow pace of key missions is also attributed to the massive brain drain at the space agency.

High-profile missions such as Gaganyaan G1 test flight, SSLV-L1, GSLV-F17 and PSLV-N1 have missed their original deadlines.

Another concern is centralisation in decision-making. An India Today report quoting sources in the space agency said major technical and administrative decisions are now concentrated in the ISRO chairman’s office.

Besides factors such as pay and creative freedom, many scientists, as per a report in Outlook, have pointed to the “stifling weight of public sector bureaucracy,” and rigid hierarchical promotion structures behind the mass exits at the space agency.

Why exodus may hurt ISRO

The talent drain is likely to affect the space agency’s major missions which require continuity to be successful.

Also read: ISRO plans to send astronauts to Moon by 2040

With ISRO planning complex and ambitious missions like Gaganyaan, India’s first crewed human spaceflight mission, Chandrayaan-4, the Bharatiya Antariksh Station and Mangalyaan-2 Mars mission, the agency cannot afford to keep rotating heads and technical talents associated with these missions.

NASA, ESA examples

Senior officials reportedly have urged ISRO to try and emulate employment templates followed by space agencies such as NASA and European Space Agency, that allow permanent staff to work alongside contractual workers and project-based teams, say reports.

A more flexible model could help ISRO retain critical institutional expertise, they say.