India's Space Ministry tightens ISRO exit rules

The Department of Space has significantly tightened rules for scientists seeking to resign from India's premier space agency, citing a wave of departures that threatens critical national missions including the Gaganyaan human spaceflight program. An internal memorandum issued on July 14, 2026, centralizes approval for all resignation and voluntary retirement requests from key scientific personnel, reversing a policy that had granted that authority to individual center directors.

The move follows reports that between 100 and 120 scientists and engineers have resigned from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in recent months. Sources indicate that approximately 80 personnel left the U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) and at least 20 departed from the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), two of the agency's most strategically important facilities. The resignations reportedly include senior figures such as LVM3 Project Director Victor Joseph from VSSC, the SpaDeX Project Director from URSC, and a key young scientist involved in the Chandrayaan-3 mission.

In the memorandum, the Department of Space stated that the recent increase in resignation requests has severely impacted...