‘IITians Don’t Want To Join’: Ex ISRO Chief’s Old Video Viral As Doctors Question ‘Bond Bias’

Last Updated:June 10, 2025, 19:53 is

S Somanath, in an old interview, said IITians pull out of ISRO recruitments after discovering salary structure.

The controversy surrounding compulsory service bonds in India was revived as some doctors questioned why medical graduates must serve government bonds but engineering graduates from government engineering colleges and top-ranked institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology do not. The issue was amplified after former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief S Somanath’s old interview went viral.

Somanath stated in a 2023 interview that ISRO was having challenges attracting talent from elite engineering colleges. As reported by Financial Express, he mentioned a notable number of IIT students pulled out of ISRO recruitment presentations after they discovered the salary structure. Somanath added that several IIT graduates prioritised jobs in the private sector or jobs abroad, which left organisations like ISRO starved of engineer graduates from such top institutes.

Medical professionals like Dr Deepak Krishnamurthy and Dr G Rajesh expressed their concerns over the alleged ‘bond bias’. According to the news report, the doctors suggested that those graduating from IITs should also be made to contribute to the public sector. Dr Krishnamurthy, in his X post, said he wonders why just the doctors have bonds to work for the government. “Enforce them on IITians also to work for ISRO, DRDO etc,” he suggested.

Dr Rajesh, tagging the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), wrote, “Let them go to the US, no issues. But we doctors have a bond, up to 10 years in certain states after doing MBBS or MD or super speciality. Why are these guys exempted? You spend much more money on them!”

Social media users, too, chimed in with many users advocating for mandatory government service for graduates of publicly funded institutions like IITs and IIMs. One of the users wrote, “Government spends over ₹ 11000 crore on IITs from taxpayers’ money,” and added that students from government-funded institutions should be told to mandatorily work in the public sector for “specific years”.

However, some argued that ISRO and other organisations should offer better pay to the graduates. “Why can’t ISRO offer competitive salary to IITians,” questioned one user and another, echoing similar sentiments, penned, “It seems only politicians and bureaucrats deserve government money NOT the professionals.”

Someone else claimed he was offered an ISRO internship when he was in his final year which “required relocation, opting out of placements, gave zero stipend, and didn’t guarantee a job afterwards”. He argued such an offer was “borderline exploitative” and added a minimal stipend could resolve the issue.

However, the issue, according to a Business Today report, extends beyond ISRO. Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, reportedly, raised concerns about India’s inability to retain top talent in defence R&D. He said there was a need for improved incentives, better pay, and a more robust work environment to attract and retain skilled professionals in the defence sector.

Buzz Staff

A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on what’s creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture.

A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on what’s creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture.

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