ISRO exit rules tightened amid reports of 100 scientists quitting
The Centre has tightened rules governing voluntary retirement and resignation of scientists working on some of ISRO's most critical programmes, following reports that more than
The Centre has tightened rules governing voluntary retirement and resignation of scientists working on some of ISRO's most critical programmes, following reports that more than 100 personnel have left the space agency in recent months. In a memorandum issued on July 14, the Department of Space (DoS) directed major ISRO centres, including the UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) and the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), not to routinely approve resignation or voluntary retirement requests from Group 'A' scientific and technical personnel associated with the Gaganyaan mission and other "important missions/projects". Instead, such requests will require scrutiny by the Department of Space before a final decision is taken. "Of late, it is noticed that there has been spate of requests for voluntary retirement and resignation from Group 'A' Scientific/Technical personnel of ISRO including those associated with the prestigious Gaganyaan and other important missions/projects severely impacting the implementation of projects of national importance," as reported by NDTV. "In view of this, it has been decided that voluntary retirement and resignation requests from Scientific & Technical personnel associated with the Gaganyaan and other important Mission / Projects may not be accepted as a matter of routine," it added.
Under the new directive, all resignation and voluntary retirement requests from scientific and technical personnel, including those at and below the rank of scientist and engineer, must be forwarded to the Department of Space along with "clear recommendations" from the respective centre directors, who will no longer have the authority to routinely clear such requests. The decision marks a reversal of a 2020 administrative order that had empowered ISRO centre directors and heads to accept voluntary retirement and resignation requests from Group 'A' scientific and technical personnel up to the scientist/engineer-SG level. Apart from the UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) and the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), the directive has also been issued to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), the Space Applications Centre (SAC), the Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), and the Master Control Facility (MCF). The move comes amid reports that more than 100 personnel have left ISRO in recent months, with the URSC in Bengaluru and the VSSC in Thiruvananthapuram reportedly witnessing the highest number of departures.
The BriefWire