Amidst the increasing resignations of scientists, ISRO issued a new memorandum taking strict action against resignations and VRS of employees associated with Gaganyaan and important missions.
Amid reports of more than 100 ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) scientists and engineers resigning or applying for voluntary retirement (VRS) in the last few months, the Department of Space has taken a major step. The department has issued a new memorandum to the major centers of ISRO. It has been directed that resignation or VRS requests of scientists and engineers working on Gaganyaan Mission and other projects of national importance should not be accepted under the normal procedure.
For which scientists and employees was the memorandum issued?
The main focus of this memorandum is Group ‘A’ scientific and technical employees. According to news agency PTI, the Department of Space has asked all major centers of ISRO that requests for resignation or voluntary retirement of such employees should not be approved in the normal manner. The memorandum states that in recent times, resignations and VRS applications from Group ‘A’ scientists and technical staff of ISRO have increased continuously. These also include many employees associated with the Gaganyaan mission and other important space projects. Due to this, there is a possibility of impacting the progress of projects of national importance.
Clear recommendation of the director will be necessary on every application.
The memorandum also clarifies that all resignations or requests for VRS of scientists and technical staff will not be approved directly. Every application from scientists, engineers or employees working below them will have to be sent to the Department of Space for final decision with the clear recommendation of the Director of the concerned centre.
Order sent to major centers including URSC and VSSC
This memorandum was issued at two major centers of ISRO, U.R. Rao Satellite Center (URSC), Bengaluru and Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram. It is believed that similar instructions will be implemented in other major ISRO centers also.
Decision taken after resignations of more than 100 scientists
The decision comes at a time when media reports claimed that over 100 scientists and engineers from various ISRO centers across the country have resigned or applied for VRS during the last one month. However, ISRO has not yet released the official number of these resignations.
News of departure of large number of scientists from URSC and VSSC
According to TOI report, Bengaluru-based U.R. More than 80 scientists from Rao Satellite Center (URSC) have left the organisation. The news of departure of about 20 scientists and engineers from Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram has come to light. After these reports, the discussion regarding continuous resignations of scientists intensified.
What did ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan say?
ISRO Chairman V Narayanan acknowledged that there have been incidents of scientists leaving the organisation, but said it is a normal part of any big institute. “Yes, many people leave the organisation, but it happens in every institute. The purpose of this memorandum is not just to retain employees, but also to ensure that there is no sudden negative impact on important missions like Gaganyaan and other important projects,” he said. Even if an employee leaves the organization, arrangements will be made for other people to take over his responsibility and ISRO is fully prepared to deal with this situation.
Full focus will be on missions of national importance
The main objective of this new decision of the Space Department is to ensure that the pace of Gaganyaan mission and other important space projects is not affected. For this, apart from the normal process of resignation or VRS cases of such scientists and engineers, a detailed review will be done and the final decision will be taken at the Space Department level.