ISRO resignations: Govt tightens exit rules for Gaganyaan and other critical projects after 100+ reported departures

The Department of Space (DoS) has tightened rules governing voluntary retirement and resignations of scientists associated with ISRO's flagship missions, including Gaganyaan, following a recent wave of departures, as per a TOI report. In an internal memorandum dated July 14, the department directed that resignation and voluntary retirement requests from scientists working on critical national missions should no longer be accepted routinely.

Although the DoS has not disclosed the number of exits, multiple ISRO sources told TOI that between 100 and 120 scientists have resigned, prompting the intervention.

Over 100 scientists left ISRO

According to sources, around 80 scientists resigned from the U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), while at least 20 left the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). The total number of departures is estimated at up to 120, with additional cases reportedly under evaluation.


The resignations are said to include senior personnel such as LVM-3 project director Victor Joseph from VSSC, the SpaDeX project director from URSC and Aditya Rallapalli, Chandrayaan-3's project manager for simulations.

Rallapalli led the team that generated nearly 25 terabytes of data through more than one lakh tests, an exercise considered crucial to validating the Moon landing sequence during the Chandrayaan-3 mission.

ISRO chief says projects will continue

ISRO Chairman V Narayanan acknowledged the resignations but said the organisation was equipped to manage the situation, TOI reported.

He said employee departures were part of every organisation and that the memorandum was intended not only to retain talent but also to ensure that important projects were not affected suddenly. He added that responsibilities would be reassigned if scientists chose to leave.

DoS reverses 2020 orders

The July 14 memorandum states that requests for resignation and voluntary retirement from Group A scientific and technical personnel associated with Gaganyaan and other key missions have increased and are affecting the implementation of projects of national importance.

Under the new directive, directors of ISRO centres have been instructed not to approve such requests until the concerned projects are completed. Instead, all applications must be forwarded to the Department of Space along with the director's recommendations for a final decision.

The move reverses a 2020 administrative order that had authorised ISRO centre directors and heads of units to accept resignation and voluntary retirement requests from Group A scientific and technical personnel up to the Scientist/Engineer-SG level.

Attrition has been a recurring challenge

Staff attrition is not a new issue for ISRO. Between 2004 and 2007, nearly half of the agency's new recruits reportedly resigned. Official data also shows that around 700 employees left the organisation between 2012 and 2024, as per TOI's report.

According to ISRO's 2025-26 annual report, recruitment for around 1,050 scientific, technical and administrative posts is at an advanced stage. A cadre review approved last year has also regularised 466 project posts and created about 460 higher-grade positions.

However, the latest DoS directive indicates that replacing experienced scientists involved in strategically important missions is considerably more challenging than filling vacant positions.

(With inputs from TOI)