p class="bodytext">The office memorandum issued by the Department of Space (DoS) in response to the mass resignation of scientists and engineers from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) leaves many questions unanswered.
While the Centre underplayed the order’s significance, ISRO has taken an opaque position on the matter.
The chairman offered no clarity on how many people left, what led them to take such a step, or what measures the space agency plans to take in addressing this trend..According to the memo, voluntary retirement and requests for resignation from scientists and technical staff associated with Gaganyaan and other "important" missions may no longer be routinely accepted.
Since "important" missions are left undefined, this restriction could apply to all projects undertaken by DoS institutions.
The memo revokes a previous order that empowered institution directors and unit heads to approve these requests.
It instead centralises all decisions at the ISRO headquarters.
ISRO has not denied reports of 100-120 scientists and technical staff leaving the department over the past year.
This coincides with the rise of a private sector boasting over 400 startups.
Skyroot Aerospace’s successful launch of Vikram-1, India’s first privately developed space vehicle, underscores....
