IITians are beyond the reach of ISRO - isn't it painful

The question is not whether India can afford to pay its scientists more, but whether it has the intent to pay.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call India’s space ventures—led by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)—a story of courage, dreams, and incredible success against all odds. It began quietly with the launch of Aryabhata in 1975, but grew louder with each successful ISRO mission.

From Mangalyaan reaching Mars orbit on its very first attempt to Chandrayaan-3 softly touching down on the Moon, ISRO has consistently captured the imagination of millions. One of its most remarkable achievements has been placing India among the world’s leading space powers—while operating on a fraction of NASA’s budget.

Yet, despite its prestigious reputation and exciting work on cutting-edge projects, ISRO struggles to attract bright minds from institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). The issue isn’t a lack of ambition or vision, but rather a systemic failure to reward talent with appropriate compensation.

A 2023 statement by former ISRO Chairperson S Somanath has recently resurfaced and gone viral. In the video, he revealed a troubling incident about the reluctance of IIT graduates to join the space agency, recalling how 60 per cent of candidates walked out of a recruitment drive after hearing the salary being offered.

When patriotism Meets the Salary Cap

Many of the bright minds are driven by a desire to work on projects that serve the nation. But patriotism, however noble, cannot alone sustain the motivation of most smart engineers. The other crucial ingredient is money, which plays an important role in encouraging them to join prestigious organisations.

This is especially true for students from middle-class backgrounds who complete their education through loans—particularly in a society where their worth is judged by the ‘package’ they receive upon placement.

The core issue is the colonial-era mindset where government officials' salaries are capped at levels equivalent to or below that of a Cabinet Secretary, regardless of market standards, the nature of their work, their integrity, achievements, or even global recognition. Whether an official performs their duties with honesty or indulges in corruption, the salary remains the same.

Most bureaucrats are content with this arrangement, as it’s no secret that many have access to alternative sources of income and wealth. However, an ISRO scientist, also a part of this arrangement, relies solely on their salary. For them, this salary cap becomes a serious concern, given high salaries offered in the private sector.

An entry-level ISRO scientist on an average earns about Rs 10 lakh annually. Even the ISRO chairman, who is the organisation's highest-ranking official, earns roughly around Rs 30 lakh a year. In stark contrast, an IIT alumnus working in the private sector, whether in Bengaluru or Berlin, can easily make that amount within a few years, with far better growth prospects, bonuses, and flexibility.

There is no doubt that ISRO’s work cannot be measured purely in monetary terms, and the pride of working for the organisation is immense. At the same time, however, the reality remains that financial compensation is an important priority.

The salary gap is not just a financial issue, it has far deeper implications. It sends a message that the system doesn’t value scientific expertise at an appropriate level in the country. A lot of IITians while preparing for JEE exam dream of working on impactful projects like space exploration, national defence, Artificial Intelligence, or building secure government digital infrastructure like public cloud systems.

But many of them change their dreams over the course of their degree, once they realise the reality—lower pay, limited career progression, and bureaucratic red tape—forcing them to look for opportunities in the private sector.

More Than Just an ISRO Problem

The brain drain results are not just a loss for ISRO but for India’s broader scientific ecosystem as well. The consequences go far beyond one institution to affect the whole country.

Technology today plays a major role in national sovereignty, economic growth, and even military readiness. After the Pahalgam terror attack in 2024, Indian defence-linked websites faced cyberattacks by Pakistani-affiliated groups, signalling that even wars are now fought as much in code as on borders. Now, a new battleground includes AI models, satellite communication, quantum encryption, and autonomous systems.

And yet, India continues to pay its scientists low salaries just to ensure their salary doesn’t get over the bureaucrats, while others, both friends and rivals, are investing heavily in talent.

India’s compensation policies for public-sector talent remain rooted in colonial-era mindset, where the Cabinet Secretary's salary acts as the ceiling for all government roles. The principle that all government servants must be treated equally in pay regardless of market standards for the work, is neither wise nor meritocratic.

Meanwhile, private players have no such problem. Microsoft and Google pay engineers handsomely, offering not just salaries but creative freedom, and fast-paced environments. Even Indian private space startups, backed by investors, offer engineers pay that government organisations cannot match.

As a result, bright students from elite institutes choose the private sector over government organisations despite their inclination to work for a bigger cause.

India is not the only nation that has grappled with brain drain. China also saw a flood of top students emigrate but it responded with a clear plan.

China's “Thousand Talents Program” didn’t just appeal to patriotism — it backed it with hard cash and institutional support. Scientists returning to China receive bonuses of up to $150,000, research grants as high as $800,000, housing support, and startup capital. These packages often exceed the compensation of senior bureaucrats in China, thus not letting the recommendations of the Pay Commission cap the scientific ambitions of the country.

The impact is clear. According to the China Statistical Bureau, the return rate of international students rose from 14 per cent in 2002 to 82 per cent in 2019. It transformed its brain drain into a brain gain and used it to turbocharge its ambitions in quantum computing, space exploration, and 6G research.

India, to its credit, has tried schemes like the Ramanujan Fellowship and VAJRA, that aim to attract global talent to Indian labs. But there are some real roadblocks: Funding is often limited, efforts are fragmented across different schemes without a unified direction, and there is no certainty about long term career paths.

Unlike China, where talent strategy is coordinated and driven by the state’s strategic goals, these fellowships suffer from being scattered, reactive, and timid.

The Future of Innovation Lies in Reform

If India truly wishes to retain its brightest minds, and not merely celebrate them when they win awards abroad, it must act now. It must delink the salaries of scientists from the bureaucratic pay scales and grant organisations like ISRO, DRDO, and BARC the freedom to offer independent, competitive compensation.

Establishing mission-linked incentives such as performance bonuses, research grants, and allowances for housing, child education, and relocation will help bridge the existing financial gaps.

Organisations like ISRO have proven their qualities through decades of relentless hardwork, and it is high time that we place trust in them and give them the independence to ensure that the nation reaches new heights.

Even Kautilya's Arthashastra advocated steep, hierarchical pay for government officials to ensure loyalty, performance, and to deter corruption. Kautilya recommended that high talent must be rewarded with appropriate compensation, along with moral recognition, something only possible when responsible government organisations are given a certain degree of autonomy.

In parallel, India should actively build talent return schemes that provide global Indian scientists with financial and professional reasons to come back, and more importantly, to stay. Just as China invested strategically, India must establish a central National Technology & Science Talent Authority that can oversee recruitment, pay, and career progression for scientists and engineers.

India is at an inflection point. Whether it leads the world in quantum technologies, AI, robotics, or interplanetary missions will depend on its ability to make tough decisions which aim towards moving beyond colonial-era mindsets and embrace the reality of competing with global market forces, instead of turning a blind eye to them.

Organisations like ISRO have already proven what Indian innovation can achieve on a shoestring budget. Now, imagine what it could do if they were empowered to attract and retain the best minds in the country. The question is not whether India can afford to pay its scientists more, but whether it has the intent to pay.