As I recall, ISRO has always been a high flier (literally), though not being able to hire the quality of talent that invariably gets picked up by blue chips in India or universities abroad may take its toll. I think ISRO will pull through and continue to do India proud. Organizations like ISRO, BARC, TIFR, etc. are bastions of scientific expertise in India and will continue to be.
Though NASA projects such as this one seem like pointless splurges, they may pave the way the world evolves technologically. Imagine the discovery of molecules that have either improve health, energy or manufacturing. Besides, if Mars once had life (based on this recent finding), we may learn how that life perished, and how we can avoid that from happening to our own beloved planet.
