Science and Technology: Space, Defence, IT, Biotech and New Tech

Space technology

• ISRO was founded in 1969 (Vikram Sarabhai). The Department of Space dates from 1972.
• Satellites: Aryabhata (1975) was the first. Rohini was the first launched by an Indian rocket (SLV-3, 1980).
• Launch vehicles:

Vehicle	Use
PSLV	Workhorse; polar and sun-synchronous orbits; Chandrayaan-1, Mangalyaan, a record 104 satellites (2017)
GSLV Mk II	Geosynchronous transfer orbit; indigenous cryogenic stage
LVM3 (GSLV Mk III)	Heavy lift; Chandrayaan-2 and 3, OneWeb; the human-rated version is for Gaganyaan
SSLV	Small satellites; launch on demand
Next Generation Launch Vehicle	Under development, partly reusable

• Planetary and science missions:
  • Chandrayaan-1 (2008) found water molecules on the Moon.
  • Mangalyaan / MOM (2013): India was the first to reach Mars orbit on its first attempt.
  • Chandrayaan-3 landed near the south pole on 23 August 2023 (now National Space Day). The rover was Pragyan; the landing site is called Shiv Shakti point.
  • Aditya-L1 (2023) studies the Sun from L1.
  • XPoSat (2024) studies X-ray polarimetry.
  • SpaDeX (December 2024 – January 2025) made India the fourth country to dock two satellites in space.
  • NISAR (NASA–ISRO radar satellite) was launched in July 2025.
  • Upcoming: Gaganyaan (crewed flight after uncrewed tests), the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (first module about 2028) and Chandrayaan-4 (sample return).
• Shubhanshu Shukla flew on Axiom-4 (2025) and was the first Indian on the ISS.
• Applications:
  • NavIC for navigation;
  • GAGAN for aviation;
  • remote sensing (Cartosat, Resourcesat, RISAT);
  • weather (INSAT/GSAT);
  • disaster warning;
  • Bhuvan geoportal.
• Reforms:
  • the Space Policy 2023;
  • IN-SPACe (regulator and promoter of private firms);
  • NSIL (commercial arm);
  • FDI liberalised (2024);
  • private launches by Skyroot (Vikram-S, 2022) and Agnikul (2024).

Defence technology

• DRDO (1958). The Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (1983) was led by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.
• Missiles:
  • Prithvi: surface-to-surface, short range;
  • Agni series: Agni-V, more than 5,000 km, with MIRV in 2024 (Mission Divyastra);
  • Akash: surface-to-air;
  • Nag: anti-tank;
  • Trishul;
  • BrahMos: India–Russia supersonic cruise missile;
  • K-series: submarine-launched;
  • Astra: air-to-air.
• Nuclear triad: land (Agni), air (fighter aircraft) and sea (INS Arihant, the first SSBN, 2016).
• Platforms:
  • Tejas light combat aircraft;
  • INS Vikrant (indigenous aircraft carrier, 2022);
  • Arjun tank;
  • Pinaka rockets;
  • the Prachand light combat helicopter;
  • S-400 air defence (from Russia);
  • Rafale jets.
• Policies:
  • Atmanirbharta: positive indigenisation lists;
  • DAP 2020;
  • defence corridors in UP and Tamil Nadu;
  • iDEX for start-ups.
• Defence exports reached a record of about ₹23,600 crore in 2024–25.
• Operation Sindoor (May 2025) showed precision strike and air-defence capability, including indigenous systems such as Akash.

IT, computing and emerging tech

• Digital public infrastructure: Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, ONDC, Co-WIN and Account Aggregators.
• India AI Mission (2024):
  • about ₹10,370 crore;
  • subsidised GPU compute;
  • indigenous foundation models;
  • the IndiaAI Safety Institute;
  • the AI Impact Summit hosted in New Delhi (February 2026).
• Semiconductors:
  • the India Semiconductor Mission (2021);
  • a fab at Dholera (Tata–PSMC);
  • assembly and testing units: Micron at Sanand, and others;
  • the first "Made in India" chips (2025).
• Quantum: the National Quantum Mission (2023, ₹6,003 crore). Supercomputers: the National Supercomputing Mission (PARAM).
• Telecom: 5G (2022); the Bharat 6G vision; the Telecommunications Act 2023.
• Cyber: the DPDP Act 2023 (data protection), CERT-In and the IT Rules 2021. Also see the internal security unit.
• Robotics and drones: the Drone Rules 2021, PLI for drones, and Namo Drone Didi.
• Blockchain, IoT and nanotechnology (Nano Mission, 2007), with applications in medicine, water filters and nano-urea.

Biotechnology

• Department of Biotechnology (1986). The BioE3 policy (2024) covers the bio-economy and biomanufacturing.
• GM crops:
  • Bt cotton is the only GM crop approved for cultivation (2002).
  • GM mustard (DMH-11) received conditional environmental release (2022); the case is in court.
  • The regulator is the GEAC (under the Environment Ministry).
• Genome editing:
  • SDN-1 and SDN-2 gene-edited plants are exempt from GM rules (2022).
  • India released two genome-edited rice varieties in 2025.
• Health biotechnology:
  • vaccines (India is the "pharmacy of the world");
  • CAR-T cell therapy (NexCARTX19, India's first, 2023);
  • Genome India (10,000 genomes sequenced, 2024);
  • stem cells;
  • gene therapy for haemophilia trials.

Intellectual property rights

• Laws:
  • the Patents Act 1970 (amended 2005 for TRIPS);
  • Section 3(d) bars patents on minor changes to known substances ("evergreening"); upheld in Novartis v. Union of India (2013);
  • compulsory licensing (Natco v. Bayer, 2012);
  • the Copyright Act 1957;
  • the Trade Marks Act 1999;
  • the Geographical Indications Act 1999.
• TKDL (Traditional Knowledge Digital Library) stops biopiracy, as in the turmeric and neem patent cases.
• The National IPR Policy dates from 2016.
• GI tags from Bihar: Madhubani painting, Bhagalpuri silk, Shahi litchi, Katarni rice, Magahi paan, Mithila makhana.
• GI tags from Jharkhand: Sohrai–Khovar painting.

Indian scientists to know

Scientist	Contribution
C. V. Raman	Raman effect (Nobel 1930); 28 February is National Science Day
S. N. Bose	Bose–Einstein statistics; "bosons"
Homi J. Bhabha	Nuclear programme; three-stage plan
Vikram Sarabhai	Father of the space programme
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam	Missiles, SLV-3
S. Chandrasekhar	Chandrasekhar limit (Nobel 1983)
Har Gobind Khorana	Genetic code (Nobel 1968)
M. S. Swaminathan	Green Revolution
Vashishtha Narayan Singh	Mathematician from Bhojpur, Bihar; challenged parts of Einstein's theory of relativity
Aryabhata	Ancient mathematician-astronomer, associated with Kusumapura (Patna)

Exam tip: In UPSC, S&T questions follow the news. For each development (mission, missile, technology), write down what it is, who made it, why it matters and the India angle. BPSC and JPSC ask the same through simpler "which mission or which vehicle" questions.