New Delhi: In a major move, the Government of India has imposed stricter rules governing the resignation and voluntary retirement of scientists and engineers employed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
On July 14, the Department of Space issued a memorandum to major ISRO centres, directing them to tighten the rules governing the resignation and voluntary retirement of scientists and engineers involved in critical national missions, including the Gaganyaan Mission.
The memorandum instructed ISRO centres not to routinely accept resignation or voluntary retirement requests from Group 'A' scientific and technical personnel.
The move comes amid reports that more than 100 ISRO personnel have resigned from various centres across the country.
"Of late, it has been noticed that there has been a 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," the memorandum stated.
"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 missions/projects may not be accepted as a matter of routine," it added.
Under the new guidelines, resignation and voluntary retirement requests from scientific and technical personnel—even those at or below the rank of Scientist/Engineer—must be forwarded to the Department of Space along with the recommendations of the respective centre directors for a final decision.
The memorandum has been sent to major ISRO establishments, including the U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) and the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).
