NEW DELHI- At least 20 top Indian defense scientists have quit their jobs in the last six months, local media reported on Sunday.

According to The Times of India, 20 top scientists of the Defense Research and Development Organization have left the organization since July and have forayed into sectors like the information technology.

"In the last six months, I have signed about 20 resignations of top scientists. We are losing scientists from our labs and IT sector is picking them up. There were no such en masse resignations in the last two years," Vijaykumar Saraswath, the scientific adviser to Indian Defense Minister A. K. Antony, was quoted as saying.

To retain the bright scientists, he said, "we need to have good Human Resource policies, which are now in place."

However, a large number of young non-resident Indian science graduates are approaching Defense Research and Development Organization for work.

"Also, there are a lot of youngsters from our own universities who have shown interest in pursuing research. We are looking forward to recruiting youngsters," Saraswat said.