More than 100 scientists have left ISRO in recent months: Is India’s premier space agency losing appeal?

India’s expanding private space sector is reshaping career options for aerospace professionals, with more than 100 scientists reportedly leaving ISRO in recent months. The trend raises concerns about talent retention, institutional reform and the future of India’s space ambitions, prompting a closer look at the agency’s ability to adapt to a rapidly evolving scientific ecosystem.

India felt proud when ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 landed near the south pole of the moon on August 23, 2023. It was a victory that captured the imagination of the world. Proudness for our ISRO scientists flows in our veins. It’s been less than three years, but now our story is completely different. It is no child’s play to dream of being a part of ISRO, let alone becoming a member. It is this dream that is nourished by millions of young minds. This is an institution etched in history. However, here we have a completely different script. The conversation has moved beyond spacecraft and scientist resignations.Less than three years after the Chandrayaan mission, more than 100 scientists have reportedly resigned from ISRO or sought voluntary retirement in just a few months. The government’s response was very swift. Scientists working on critical projects like Gaganyaan now need the space ministry’s approval to leave.The decision was made to slow exits. However, it goes some way to failing to answer the really important question: Why are some of India’s brightest scientific minds leaving one of the country’s most prestigious institutions?Because no organization loses talent overnight. When the future outside starts to look more exciting than the future inside, people will leave. This is the challenge faced by ISRO.

The real competition is no longer NASA. Just next door.

For decades, ISRO has enjoyed a luxury enjoyed by few employers, it had no real competition. If an aerospace engineer wants to build a rocket in India, there is only one destination. If a scientist dreams of designing a planetary mission, he has already made his choice. That era is over.The opening up of India’s aerospace sector in 2020 has rewritten the rules. Suddenly, ambitious engineers no longer had to wait decades to lead a project. They can join a startup, build a launch vehicle, own equity in the company, and see their idea become a reality in months instead of years.The irony intensified and became impossible to ignore. ISRO has spent decades creating India’s space ecosystem. The ecosystem is now fighting for the best talent.This is not a failure of India’s private aerospace industry. This proves that the industry is finally coming of age. The question is whether ISRO has matured.

Have scientists really given up on their mission?

Whenever the story of resignation comes up, salary becomes the protagonist. Although consistent, it may be for the wrong reason. It’s easy to blame the problem on wages.Scientists who join ISRO rarely expect to receive a corporate salary. They join because they want to solve a problem in the world that few people can solve.But goals alone won’t sustain a career forever. When promotions are slow, decisions take months, approvals pile up, and bureaucracy obscures innovation, even the most passionate professionals begin to take the difficult steps.These questions become even louder when private companies offer not only better pay but also greater autonomy.People rarely leave because they no longer believe in the mission. They leave because they no longer trust the system to enable them to do their best.

Every time you quit your job, your experience is lost.

Replacing scientists may sound simple. Recruit another employee, train them, assign tasks, and voila! But this is not the case. Real life works differently.The scientists who helped design the Chandrayaan landing sequence or spent years perfecting the propulsion system had knowledge that didn’t exist elsewhere, not in manuals, software or briefings.Scientific institutions don’t just employ people. They gain experience. Each resignation weakens this institutional memory. The damage is invisible at first. After a few years, it started to show.

Do restrictions really create loyalty?

The latest order from the Department of Aerospace and Space reflects the seriousness of the situation. But limiting resignations is a management response to cultural issues. Employees stay because they want to. It’s not that it’s difficult to leave.History is full of examples of organizations trying to solve retention problems through rules rather than reforms. Very few people succeed.Retention is earned. It cannot be legislated. ISRO may need to undergo its biggest transformation since its inception. India’s space ambitions have expanded dramatically. The country wants astronauts in orbit. It wants reusable rockets. It wants a space station. It hopes to gain a larger share of the global commercial launch market.All of this requires a resource far more valuable than a launch vehicle or satellite. talent.This means ISRO may have to rethink long-held assumptions about how government science organizations should operate.

These are uncomfortable questions. Ignoring them won’t make them go away.If India’s brightest scientists increasingly find their future outside the Indian Space Research Organization rather than within it, the country’s biggest space challenge won’t be reaching Mars or building a space station.It will retain the talent that has the ability to make these dreams possible. Because ultimately rockets don’t build themselves. People do.