The Department of Space (DoS) has tightened exit rules for scientists working on India’s most important space missions after a spate of resignations from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Under a July 14 memorandum, scientists and engineers associated with Gaganyaan and other major programmes will no longer be allowed to leave through voluntary retirement or resignation as a matter of routine. Instead, every such request must be referred to the Department of Space for a final decision. The move follows the departure of around 100 scientists in recent months from some of ISRO’s most strategically important centres.

The memorandum leaves little doubt about the government’s concern. It says there has been a “spate of requests for voluntary retirement and resignation” from Group ‘A’ scientific and technical personnel, including those associated with “prestigious Gaganyaan and other important missions/projects”, which is “severely impacting implementation of projects of national importance.”