India's space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has firmly established its technical prowess with the successful launch of a heavyweight telecommunications satellite for an American client. This mission, executed on December 25, 2025, using the powerful Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (formerly GSLV Mark 3), placed a satellite weighing over six tonnes into low earth orbit (LEO). While this cements ISRO's role as a global, low-cost provider of high-end launch services, a significant internal challenge is emerging that could threaten its future strategic aims: the retention of its highly skilled workforce.
The Dual Success and Looming Challenge
The commercial launch is a testament to the success of India's government-funded space programme, which blends scientific exploration, strategic objectives, and commercial ventures. However, the landscape within India is rapidly changing. Since the government opened the space sector to private investment in 2020, approximately 400 domestic startups have entered the fray. These companies are working on everything from rockets and satellites to propulsion systems and navigation aids, a development that promises to catapult the Indian space market forward.
This private sector boom, while welcome for the economy, presents a direct threat to ISRO's human resource capital. Engineers and scientists who have done pioneering work at the state agency are now prime targets for poaching by these well-funded private entities. Without a proactive and innovative talent retention policy, ISRO risks a debilitating brain drain.
The Remuneration Gap and Strategic Imperative
One perspective suggests that ISRO's talent development could be viewed as a positive externality for the nation, fostering a thriving private space market. Under this logic, the agency could focus on hiring and training young engineers, ultimately benefiting the private sector and national efficiency. While this may work for junior-level staff, ISRO critically needs to retain its deep expertise and leadership for its own complex, long-term missions.
The core of the retention problem lies in compensation. Currently, ISRO scientists' pay scales are aligned with civil service salaries, with only two classes earning more than the Union cabinet secretary. Despite this, their total remuneration is puny compared to the potential wealth from stock options offered by private businesses to star performers. Unlike senior civil servants, ISRO scientists do not wield direct policy-making power, making lucrative private offers even more attractive.
Beyond Pay: A Strategic Necessity
The need to retain top talent is not merely an HR issue; it is fundamental to India's strategic autonomy in space. ISRO is not just a commercial launch service provider; it is a premier research and development organization. Its work ensures national security, advances space science, and must now also contend with new-age challenges like the militarization of space, exemplified by systems like Elon Musk's Starlink, which provided Ukraine a tactical advantage.
Developing protective measures for satellites, including defensive gear and evasive manoeuvrability, requires sustained, in-house expertise. In this high-stakes environment, losing seasoned scientists and project leaders could slow down critical strategic programmes.
Therefore, revamping ISRO's remuneration structure to competitively reward vital roles is an urgent necessity. Given the agency's critical importance to national security and technological sovereignty, investing in its human capital is non-negotiable. This same logic of competitive pay for strategic talent applies equally to India's public-sector defence enterprises. For ISRO to continue its trajectory of success and safeguard India's interests in the final frontier, keeping its best minds on board is the mission that matters most.
