Brain drain tests ISRO’s mettle

INDIA’s space sector is hitting the headlines for both right and wrong reasons. The good news is that an Indian private space company, Skyroot, has executed the first end-to-end private space mission. The company, founded by two former engineers of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has achieved a remarkable feat by demonstrating the success of its rocket, Vikram-1, on its maiden flight. It hopes to fly an upgraded version of the rocket, Vikram-2, next year, aiming to enter the multi-billion-dollar market for launching satellites into low Earth orbit.

The bad news concerns ISRO, which is experiencing an exodus of top scientists and engineers. As per reports, dozens of senior scientists working with the UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and other key units of the national space agency have either resigned or taken premature retirement. Many of them were working on flagship programmes such as Gaganyaan (human spaceflight), Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) and the Bharatiya Antariksh Station.

The situation has become so alarming that the Department of Space has decided to clamp down on the exodus, directing that those associated with critical missions would not be allowed to leave ISRO till the completion of the projects.

On the face of it, the launch of India’s first private rocket and the brain drain from ISRO seem unrelated. Actually, they are interlinked.

The most apparent reason for the spate of resignations in ISRO units is the rise of private sector space companies in the past few years. This is a direct consequence of the government’s decision to allow private firms to build rockets and satellites, and also launch them. Before this policy was rolled out, ISRO had a monopoly on launching rockets from Indian soil. The government not only opened up the space sector to private players but also directed ISRO to allow the use of its facilities to private companies. All this created an ideal situation in which private companies poached ISRO’s engineering talent, offering them attractive packages and challenging projects.

Such movement of talent from public institutions to the private sector is not new to ISRO, nor is it restricted to the space sector. The much-celebrated private space sector in the US stands on the shoulders of human resources developed and nurtured by NASA. In the formative years of the information technology industry, private firms hired their R&D teams from public sector companies like the Electronics Corporation of India Limited and the Computer Maintenance Corporation. It has also happened with niche public sector companies like the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). An ISRO-like situation is also prevailing in the laboratories of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) following the opening up of defence and aerospace production to the private sector.

Our scientific agencies, be it ISRO or DRDO, need to look deeper into the reasons for the situation they are facing today. In March 2026, a parliamentary committee which looked into the functioning of the Department of Space was told that various ISRO units had over 2,800 vacancies against the sanctioned strength of about 18,000 posts. Almost 500 posts are vacant in VSSC, a facility engaged in critical projects like NGLV. On the one hand, private companies are poaching experienced scientists, and on the other, ISRO projects are not getting funding from the government.

For instance, the Cabinet approved the NGLV project in 2024 with a timeline of 96 months for the development of the rocket — from facility commissioning to the launch. The first developmental test flight was targeted within 84 months from the date of approval. But the project remained on paper for many months after approval as no provision was made for it in the 2024-25 Budget. In revised estimates, a token allocation of Rs 3 crore was made, of which ISRO could spend Rs 85 lakh. In the 2025-26 Budget, Rs 158 crore was provided initially but slashed to Rs 39.76 crore in the revised estimates. Against this revised estimate, ISRO incurred an expenditure of Rs 7.93 crore till January 31, 2026. The delay in funding, coupled with a lack of adequate staff, could adversely affect the timelines of such critical projects.

Under-utilisation of funds, reduction in budgetary allocations, delays in filling vacancies and the entry of the private sector are all contributing to a serious situation in ISRO. On top of this, there have been a series of failures involving the workhorse rocket, PSLV, and massive delays in challenging missions like Gaganyaan. The centralisation of decision-making and growing bureaucratic as well as political interference also do not augur well for the functioning of a large mission-oriented scientific agency. The net result is low morale and general disenchantment in the scientific workforce.

All this should be a matter of concern for the political leadership, policymakers and the space agency. Simply asking scientists not to resign and issuing a diktat is not an adequate response. The Central Government, which pushed for the entry of the private sector, and ISRO, which facilitated it, should have anticipated the fallout of this approach on the national programme and taken proactive measures to address it. The ISRO leadership should also take measures to boost the scientists’ morale, which has been affected by mission failures and delays.

In the long run, the agency will have to think of innovative mechanisms – like permitting scientists to engage with the private sector for a limited period while retaining their jobs at ISRO, allowing them to float their own companies in non-critical areas, besides the revision of pay structures, promotion policies and incentives.

The government, on its part, should restore the autonomy of scientific institutions and stop using them for political gains. The space market is growing globally, and there is enough room for both national agencies and private companies to explore this potential. Brain drain can well be converted into “brain circulation.”