On July 14, India’s Chandrayaan-3 moon mission successfully launched. However, the victory is bittersweet because the engineers responsible for the mission’s success have not been paid.

Since early 2022, the engineers employed by the Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) have faced a bleak financial condition. Despite this, the mobile launch pad and other critical equipment were completed ahead of schedule in December 2022.

Read more : India launches the Chandrayaan-3 lander toward the moon’s south pole.

HEC, a public sector venture under the Ministry of Heavy Industries, has come under fire for failing to pay its employees’ salaries for an extended period of time. As early as May, it was revealed that over 2,700 workers and 450 executives had gone 14 months without compensation.

Since then, the situation has exacerbated, with even business officers going a complete year without pay. Regular staff have gone without pay for eight to nine months. This dilemma has had a significant negative influence on the morale and financial well-being of those who played critical roles in India’s ambitious space project.

Despite receiving INR 1,500 crore in orders from important clients such as the Indian Space Research Organization, the Ministry of Defence, Railways, Coal India, and the steel sector, HEC’s progress has been impeded by a serious lack of cash.

For the past two and a half years, the appointment of a Chief Managing Director (CMD), a critical post within the corporation, has also been delayed.

HEC has frequently requested a much-needed working capital injection of INR 1,000 crore from the Ministry of Heavy Industries, only to be told that the Union government is unable to provide any financial support.

While India celebrates its tremendous successes in space exploration, it is critical to recognize and solve the difficulties that the engineers behind these missions have experienced.