Science and Technology
🟢 Lite — Quick Review (1h–1d)
Rapid summary for last-minute revision before your exam.
Science and Technology is a dynamic section of the RAS GK paper — covering India’s achievements in space, nuclear energy, information technology, and recent scientific discoveries.
Key Facts for RPSC RAS:
- Chandrayaan-3 (2023): India became the first country to land near the lunar south pole (23 August 2023). The Vikram lander and Pragyan rover successfully operated on the Moon.
- Aditya-L1 Solar Mission (2023): India’s first solar observatory at Lagrange Point 1 (L1), launched by PSLV.
- Gaganyaan Programme: India’s human spaceflight programme — targeting 2025 for first Indian astronaut (Gaganyaan-1).
- Digital India: India has over 800 million internet users — one of the world’s largest digital populations.
- Supercomputers: India has PARAM series — PARAM Siddhi (2020) ranked 63rd globally in TOP500 list.
- Semiconductors: India launched the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) — ₹76,000 crore incentive for chip manufacturing.
⚡ Exam tip: Chandrayaan-3 achievements, Gaganyaan timeline, India’s nuclear programme, and recent technology missions are high-yield topics.
🟡 Standard — Regular Study (2d–2mo)
Standard content for students with a few days to months.
India’s Space Programme — ISRO
1. Chandrayaan Programme
Chandrayaan-1 (2008):
- Launched: 22 October 2008 by PSLV
- Discovery: Confirmed presence of water molecules on the Moon (via Moon Impact Probe)
- Status: Lost contact with Earth in 2009 after 312 days
- Significance: First evidence of water on the Moon — changed scientific understanding
Chandrayaan-2 (2019):
- Launched: 22 July 2019 by GSLV Mk III
- Components: Orbiter, Vikram lander, Pragyan rover
- What happened: Vikram lander crashed on the lunar surface — orbiter is operational and continues to study the Moon
- Rover: Was to explore for water ice and conduct mineral surveys
Chandrayaan-3 (2023):
- Launched: 14 July 2023 by LVM3
- Landing: 23 August 2023 — successfully landed near lunar south pole
- Components: Vikram lander + Pragyan rover (no orbiter — Chandrayaan-2 orbiter relays data)
- Achievements:
- First country to soft-land near lunar south pole
- Demonstrated hover capability (lander moved laterally to find safe landing spot)
- Rover Pragyan traversed ~100 metres on lunar surface
- Propellant: Vikram lander carried a “thrilling” experiment — a probe that jumped on the Moon
- Countries that have soft-landed on Moon: USSR, USA, China, India (4th country to soft-land)
2. Aditya-L1 Mission (2023)
Launched: 2 September 2023 by PSLV Destination: Sun-Earth L1 Lagrange Point (~1.5 million km from Earth) Objective: Study the Sun’s corona, solar wind, and solar eruptions
Payloads:
- VELC (Visible Emission Line Coronagraph) — study corona
- SUIT (Solar Ultraviolet Imager) — UV imaging
- Solex — particle analysers
- MAG — magnetometers
Significance: India joins a small group of nations with a solar observatory (NASA, ESA)
3. Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) — MOM
Launched: 5 November 2013 by PSLV Arrived at Mars: 24 September 2014
- First attempt — successful! India became the first country to succeed on its first Mars mission
- First Asian country to reach Mars
- Cost: $74 million — cheapest Mars mission ever
- Status: Orbital mission — studying Mars atmosphere and surface
4. Gaganyaan Programme (Human Spaceflight)
Target: Launch Indian astronauts (Gagannauts) into space by 2025 Budget: ₹10,000 crore+ Astronauts selected: Group Captain Rakesh Sharma (not from this), Group Captain Rakesh Yadav (not yet) — actually: Rakesh Sharma was India’s first cosmonaut (1984, aboard Soviet Soyuz)
Current Gaganyaan astronauts (2024):
- Group Captain Rakesh Yadav, Wing Commander Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, Dr. Ajit — ISRO’s Gaganyaan crew
Development milestones:
- Test vehicle flight (TV-D1): October 2023 — Crew Escape System tested successfully
- 2024: Uncrewed Gaganyaan test flight planned
- 2025: First Indian in space aboard Indian rocket
5. Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV)
Launched: 2022 — first flight (SSLV-D1) — partially successful (satellite placed in wrong orbit) SSLV-D2 (2023): Successfully placed 3 satellites in precise orbit Advantage: Cheaper, faster turnaround than PSLV for small satellites
Nuclear Programme
India’s Nuclear Capability
Nuclear Tests:
- 1974 (Pokhran-I): First nuclear test — “Smiling Buddha”
- 1998 (Pokhran-II): Shakti tests — 5 underground nuclear tests; India declared itself a nuclear weapon state
- Tests conducted at: Pokhran range, Rajasthan (Thar Desert)
Nuclear Doctrine (2003):
- No-first-use (NFU) — India will not use nuclear weapons first
- Massive retaliation — if attacked with nuclear weapons, India will retaliate
- Civilian control — nuclear weapons under civilian government control
Nuclear Triad:
- Air: IAF Su-30 MKI and Mirage 2000 — capable of delivering nuclear bombs
- Land: Agni series missiles (Agni-I to Agni-V)
- Sea: INS Arihant — nuclear-powered submarine; K-15 SLP (submarine-launched ballistic missile)
Nuclear Power Programme
Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL):
- Operates nuclear power plants
- Kakrapar (Gujarat), Rawatbhata (Rajasthan) — major plants
- India’s largest nuclear power plant: Kudankulam (Tamil Nadu) (Russian collaboration)
Rajasthan’s role:
- Rawatbhata Atomic Power Station (Rajasthan) — India’s first nuclear power plant (1969)
- Rajasthan is home to significant thorium deposits — India is working on Thorium-based reactors (Advanced Heavy Water Reactor — AHWR)
Information Technology and Digital Initiatives
1. Digital India
Launched: 1 July 2015 Objective: Transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy
Key programmes:
- BharatNet: Optical fibre connecting all gram panchayats — over 2 lakh gram panchayats connected
- BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money): UPI-based payments app
- Digilocker: Cloud storage for official documents
- e-Hospital: Online hospital management system
- UMANG app: Single app for all government services
2. IT Industry in India
- IT-BPM sector revenue: ~$250 billion (2024)
- Software exporters: Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL Technologies — major global firms
- India’s position: 3rd largest startup ecosystem globally (after USA, China)
- Tech unicorns: 100+ unicorns (startups valued at $1 billion+)
3. Semiconductors and Chip Manufacturing
India Semiconductor Mission (ISM):
- Launched: 2021-22 with ₹76,000 crore incentive
- Objective: Establish India as a global semiconductor hub
Key projects:
- Micron (USA): Setting up chip assembly and test facility in Sanand, Gujarat
- Tower Semiconductor (Israel): Partnership with India for fab (fabrication plant)
- CG Power (India): Setting up chip manufacturing
Why semiconductors matter:
- Critical for electronics, defence, automotive, IT
- Global chip shortage (2021) highlighted dependency on Taiwan, South Korea
- India aims to capture 10% of global chip market by 2030
🔴 Extended — Deep Study (3mo+)
Comprehensive coverage for students on a longer study timeline.
Other Important Technologies
1. Missile Technology — Agni Series
| Missile | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Agni-I | 700-1,000 km | Short-range |
| Agni-II | 2,000+ km | Medium-range |
| Agni-III | 3,000+ km | Intermediate-range |
| Agni-IV | 4,000 km | Road-mobile, MIRV capable |
| Agni-V | 5,000+ km | ICBM class; can reach Beijing, Shanghai |
| Agni-P | 1,000-2,000 km | New generation (2024 test) |
Other missiles:
- BrahMos: Supersonic cruise missile (jointly developed with Russia); range 300-500 km; fastest supersonic missile in the world
- BrahMos-NG: Naval variant
- Shaurya: Surface-to-surface hypersonic missile (canister launched)
- Prithvi: Short-range ballistic missile; air, sea, and land variants
2. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Emerging Tech
India’s National AI Strategy (2018):
- #AIforAll — approach to inclusive AI development
- NITI Aayog’s AI portal: responsible AI
- AIRAWAT — India’s AI research compute infrastructure
Key initiatives:
- DIETY (Digital India: Emerging Technologies): Cloud computing, AI, IoT
- National Data and Analytics Platform: Government data access
3. UPI and Digital Payments — Global Leadership
UPI (Unified Payments Interface):
- Developed by NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) — backed by RBI
- Real-time payments: 24x7, instant settlement
- Global adoption: UPI is now accepted in Bhutan, Nepal, Singapore, UAE, Mauritius, Sri Lanka
Digital Rupee (e₹):
- CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) — launched by RBI in 2022
- Currently in pilot phase for wholesale and retail segments
4. Renewable Energy
India’s Renewable Energy Targets:
- 500 GW of non-fossil fuel energy capacity by 2030
- 50% of installed electricity capacity from renewable sources by 2030
- Net Zero by 2070 — committed at COP26 (Glasgow, 2021)
Major Renewable Projects:
- Bhadla Solar Park (Rajasthan): One of the world’s largest solar parks (2,245 MW)
- Mahanadi Coalfields: not in Rajasthan
- Wind energy: Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra — leading states
Rajasthan Solar Policy:
- Rajasthan has India’s largest solar capacity (as of 2024)
- Bhadla Solar Park (Jodhpur district) — 2,245 MW
- Bhadla Phase 4 being expanded further
5. Biotechnology and Health Technology
Biotechnology:
- DBT (Department of Biotechnology) — apex body
- BIRAC ( Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council) — startup support
- i- CREATE (International Center for Education, Research, and Training in Agricultural Biotechnology): Ahmedabad
COVID-19 Vaccine Achievement:
- Covaxin (Bharat Biotech + ICMR) — India’s first indigenous COVID vaccine
- World’s largest vaccination programme — over 2 billion doses administered
- India supplied vaccines to 100+ countries under “Vaccine Maitri”
Practice Questions for RPSC RAS
- What is Chandrayaan-3? Why was its landing near the lunar south pole significant?
- Describe India’s nuclear doctrine. What is the no-first-use policy?
- What is the Gaganyaan programme? What are its key milestones?
- What is the India Semiconductor Mission? Why is chip manufacturing important for India?
- What are India’s renewable energy targets? Which state has the largest solar park?
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Confusing Chandrayaan-2 with Chandrayaan-3 — Chandrayaan-2’s lander crashed; Chandrayaan-3 succeeded.
- Forgetting India’s Mars mission was successful on first attempt — Mangalyaan was India’s first Mars mission.
- Confusing Pokhran-I (1974) with Pokhran-II (1998) — different test series with different political contexts.
Content adapted based on your selected roadmap duration. Switch tiers using the selector above.