Several senior and experienced officials were among those who left. These reportedly include LVM-3 Project Director Victor Joseph from VSSC, the SpaDeX Project Director from URSC, and a young scientist who played an important role in Chandrayaan-3 mission.
Published: July 16, 2026, 11:31 AM IST
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Govt tightens ISRO exit rules after 100+ scientists linked to Gaganyaan, key missions quit in a year
India’s Department of Space has introduced stricter rules for scientists working on major Isro missions after a large number of employees reportedly resigned or opted for voluntary retirement in recent months, according to a report by The Times of India. An internal memo issued on July 14 aims to reduce exits from important projects such as the Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission and other key programmes. While the Department of Space has not officially revealed how many people have left, sources told TOI that the number is estimated to be between 100 and 120.
According to one source, around 80 scientists and engineers have resigned from the U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), while at least 20 have left the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). The source added that the total number could be close to 120, with more resignation requests still under review.
Another source told the newspaper that several senior and experienced officials were among those who left. These reportedly include LVM-3 Project Director Victor Joseph from VSSC, the SpaDeX Project Director from URSC, and a young scientist who played an important role in the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
ISRO Chairman V Narayanan confirmed that several scientists have left the space agency but said the organisation is equipped to handle the situation. Speaking to The Times of India, he said employee exits are common in every organisation and that the new rules are meant to ensure important missions are not affected by sudden resignations.
He added that if one scientist leaves, another will take over the responsibility, and ISRO is taking the necessary steps to keep its projects on track.
Although the reported departures make up only a small part of ISRO’s workforce of more than 14,600 employees, many of those who left were working at key centres. At the end of the last financial year, the U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) had 1,339 employees, while the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) had 4,577. Officials are particularly concerned because several of the departures involve scientists working on major national missions.
According to the internal memorandum, there has been a sharp rise in requests for voluntary retirement and resignations from Group ‘A’ scientific and technical staff, including those involved in the Gaganyaan mission and other important projects.
What are the changes made by govt?
According to the report, the new Department of Space memorandum says that resignation and voluntary retirement requests from Group ‘A’ scientific and technical staff working on the Gaganyaan mission and other important projects will no longer be approved through the usual administrative process.
Earlier, directors of different ISRO centres had the authority to accept such requests. Under the revised rules, however, that power has been taken away. Instead, every resignation or voluntary retirement application from scientists involved in key missions will be examined in detail and approved only by the Department of Space.
Why are scientists leaving ISRO?
Neither ISRO nor the Department of Space has officially explained the reasons behind the recent resignations. However, a WION report said the growing private space industry in India is believed to be one of the main reasons.
Since the government opened the space sector to private companies, many startups and aerospace firms have been hiring experienced ISRO scientists for senior and technical positions.
