Science and Technology — Key Developments
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Why Science and Technology GK Matters
This chapter covers the "current developments" flavour of General Awareness that SSC GD and RPF Constable papers frequently test — India's space programme, well-known inventions and inventors, basic scientific units, and general technology terms. Unlike the syllabus-based Physics, Chemistry and Biology chapters earlier in this book, this chapter deliberately focuses on applied and organisational knowledge: what ISRO does, what a mission's purpose is, who invented what. Questions in this area tend to be static and durable rather than tied to a specific news cycle, so the safest and highest-return preparation is to know the structure and purpose of major programmes rather than memorising exact recent dates or figures that change from year to year.
India's Space Programme — Organisational Structure
Department of Space and ISRO
India's space activities are administered by the Department of Space (DoS), which reports directly to the Prime Minister. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), headquartered in Bengaluru, is the primary research and implementation arm of the DoS and is responsible for designing, building and launching satellites and launch vehicles. ISRO was established in 1969, evolving from the earlier Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), which was set up in 1962 under the leadership of Dr Vikram Sarabhai, widely regarded as the father of the Indian space programme. Dr Sarabhai chose Thumba, near Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, as India's first rocket launching station because of its location close to the earth's magnetic equator.
Key ISRO Centres
| Centre | Location | Primary Function |
|---|---|---|
| Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala | Launch vehicle design and development |
| Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) | Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh | India's main satellite launch site (spaceport) |
| U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) | Bengaluru, Karnataka | Satellite design, integration and testing |
| Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) | Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru | Development of liquid and cryogenic rocket engines |
| National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) | Hyderabad, Telangana | Remote sensing data reception, processing and applications |
| ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) | Bengaluru, Karnataka | Satellite tracking and mission operations |
| Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) | Ahmedabad, Gujarat | Space and allied sciences research |
Launch Vehicles
- SLV and ASLV — India's early, now-retired satellite launch vehicles used through the 1980s to prove basic launch capability.
- PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) — ISRO's workhorse rocket, reliable for launching satellites into polar and sun-synchronous orbits; used for missions including Chandrayaan-1 and the Mars Orbiter Mission.
- GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) — designed to place heavier communication satellites into geostationary transfer orbit, using an indigenously developed cryogenic upper stage.
- GSLV Mark III / LVM3 — ISRO's heaviest-lift launch vehicle, used for the heavier Chandrayaan and Gaganyaan-related payloads.
- SSLV (Small Satellite Launch Vehicle) — a smaller, quick-turnaround rocket developed to launch small satellites commercially and cost-effectively.
Major Indian Space Missions
Chandrayaan Series — Lunar Exploration
Chandrayaan-1 was India's first mission to the Moon and is best known for helping confirm the presence of water molecules on the lunar surface, a discovery made using its Moon Impact Probe and onboard instruments. Chandrayaan-2 carried an orbiter, a lander (Vikram, named after Dr Vikram Sarabhai) and a rover (Pragyan); the orbiter continues to function and study the Moon even though the lander component did not achieve a soft landing as planned. Chandrayaan-3 was a follow-up mission focused specifically on demonstrating a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface near the Moon's south polar region, along with rover operations to study the lunar soil and mineral composition, making India one of the few nations to achieve a soft landing near the lunar south pole.
Mangalyaan — Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)
The Mars Orbiter Mission, popularly called Mangalyaan, made India the first country to successfully enter Mars orbit on its first attempt, and it did so at a notably lower cost than comparable missions by other space agencies. It was launched using the PSLV and carried instruments to study the Martian atmosphere, surface features and mineral composition. The mission demonstrated ISRO's capability in interplanetary travel and orbital insertion technology.
Gaganyaan — India's Human Spaceflight Programme
Gaganyaan is ISRO's programme to send Indian astronauts (referred to as "Vyomanauts") into low Earth orbit using an indigenously developed crew module and launch vehicle, marking India's entry into human spaceflight capability alongside a small group of nations. The programme includes uncrewed test flights, a crew escape system demonstration, and rigorous astronaut training before an eventual crewed mission. It represents a major step beyond satellite and probe missions into sustained human presence in space.
Aditya-L1 — Solar Mission
Aditya-L1 is India's first dedicated mission to study the Sun. It is placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrange Point 1 (L1), a location between the Earth and the Sun where a satellite can observe the Sun continuously without being eclipsed by the Earth or Moon. Its instruments study the solar corona, chromosphere, and solar wind, helping scientists understand space weather phenomena that can affect satellites and communication systems on Earth.
Other Notable Programmes
- INSAT and GSAT series — ISRO's long-running communication satellite programmes that support television broadcasting, telecommunication, weather forecasting and disaster warning.
- IRS series (Indian Remote Sensing satellites) — used for agriculture monitoring, forestry, urban planning, water resource management and disaster management.
- Cartosat and RISAT series — high-resolution earth observation and radar imaging satellites used for mapping and surveillance applications.
- NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) — India's own regional satellite navigation system, developed to reduce dependence on foreign systems like GPS for positioning services over India and the surrounding region.
- Antrix Corporation and NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) — the commercial arms of India's space sector that market ISRO's launch services and manage the transfer of technology to Indian industry.
- IN-SPACe — the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, a single-window agency set up to encourage and regulate participation of private companies and start-ups in India's space sector.
Units of Measurement — General Science GK
| Quantity | SI Unit |
|---|---|
| Length | Metre (m) |
| Mass | Kilogram (kg) |
| Time | Second (s) |
| Electric Current | Ampere (A) |
| Temperature | Kelvin (K) |
| Amount of Substance | Mole (mol) |
| Luminous Intensity | Candela (cd) |
| Force | Newton (N) |
| Work / Energy | Joule (J) |
| Power | Watt (W) |
| Pressure | Pascal (Pa) |
| Frequency | Hertz (Hz) |
| Electric Charge | Coulomb (C) |
| Electric Potential | Volt (V) |
| Electrical Resistance | Ohm |
| Radioactivity | Becquerel (Bq) |
The International System of Units, abbreviated SI (from the French Système International d'Unités), is the modern form of the metric system and the world's most widely used system of measurement. It was adopted internationally in 1960 by the General Conference on Weights and Measures.
Major Inventions and Inventors
| Invention | Inventor / Scientist |
|---|---|
| Telephone | Alexander Graham Bell |
| Light Bulb (practical incandescent) | Thomas Alva Edison |
| Theory of Relativity | Albert Einstein |
| Laws of Motion and Universal Gravitation | Sir Isaac Newton |
| Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection | Charles Darwin |
| Radioactivity | Henri Becquerel; further studied by Marie and Pierre Curie |
| X-rays | Wilhelm Röntgen |
| Periodic Table (early modern form) | Dmitri Mendeleev |
| Radio | Guglielmo Marconi (with independent early work by Jagadish Chandra Bose) |
| Telegraph | Samuel Morse |
| Steam Engine (improved practical version) | James Watt |
| Vaccination (smallpox) | Edward Jenner |
| Penicillin | Alexander Fleming |
| DNA Double Helix Structure | James Watson and Francis Crick (building on Rosalind Franklin's X-ray data) |
| World Wide Web | Tim Berners-Lee |
| Airplane (powered, controlled flight) | Wright Brothers (Orville and Wilbur Wright) |
| Printing Press (movable type) | Johannes Gutenberg |
| Dynamite | Alfred Nobel |
| Wireless Communication (early Indian contribution) | Jagadish Chandra Bose, pioneer in radio wave and microwave optics research |
| Raman Effect | C. V. Raman, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930 for this discovery on the scattering of light |
Indian Scientists and Their Contributions
- Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam — known as the "Missile Man of India," played a central role in India's missile and space programmes before becoming the 11th President of India.
- Dr Homi J. Bhabha — the father of India's nuclear programme, founder of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and the institution now known as the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
- Dr Vikram Sarabhai — founder of ISRO and architect of India's space programme.
- Dr C. V. Raman — first Asian to win a Nobel Prize in a science category, for the discovery of the Raman Effect.
- Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose — pioneer in plant physiology and radio science, demonstrated that plants have life responses similar to animals.
- Srinivasa Ramanujan — self-taught mathematical genius who made extraordinary contributions to number theory and infinite series despite having no formal advanced training.
- Dr M. S. Swaminathan — the principal architect of India's Green Revolution, which transformed India's food grain production through high-yielding variety seeds.
Basic Computer, Internet and Technology Terms
Since a full chapter of this book covers Computer Awareness separately, this section adds only the additional technology-general-knowledge vocabulary that overlaps with the Science and Technology theme.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) — the branch of computer science concerned with building systems that can perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as recognising patterns or making decisions.
- Machine Learning — a subset of AI where systems improve their performance on a task through exposure to data rather than being explicitly programmed for every rule.
- Internet of Things (IoT) — a network of physical devices embedded with sensors and software that allows them to collect and exchange data over the internet.
- Cloud Computing — the delivery of computing services (storage, processing, software) over the internet rather than from a local computer or server.
- 5G — the fifth generation of mobile network technology, designed to offer significantly higher data speeds and lower latency than earlier generations.
- Biotechnology — the use of living organisms or biological systems to develop products and technologies, spanning agriculture, medicine and industry.
- Nanotechnology — the science and engineering of materials and devices at extremely small (nanometre) scales, used in fields ranging from medicine to electronics.
Nuclear and Defence-Adjacent Science
India's nuclear programme is administered by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), which also reports to the Prime Minister. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai is India's premier nuclear research facility. India's civil nuclear power plants are operated by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), while nuclear power contributes a modest but steadily growing share of the country's electricity generation, supplementing thermal, hydro and renewable sources. India conducted its first nuclear test, code-named "Smiling Buddha," in 1974 at Pokhran, Rajasthan, and a further set of tests in 1998 under Pokhran-II, after which India declared itself a nuclear weapons state.
Health, Medicine and Applied Science GK
- Vaccination and Immunisation — programmes such as India's Universal Immunisation Programme protect children against preventable diseases like polio, measles, diphtheria and tuberculosis.
- Blood Groups — the ABO system (A, B, AB, O) combined with the Rh factor (positive or negative) determines blood group compatibility for transfusion; O-negative is often called the universal donor type, and AB-positive the universal recipient type.
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) — India's largest chain of publicly funded research and development organisations, covering fields from chemical science to biotechnology.
- Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) — the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research.
- Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) — India's premier agency for defence research, covered in more detail in the Defence chapter of this book.
Landmark Global Science and Technology Milestones
A handful of globally significant, well-established science milestones recur across competitive exams because they mark turning points in how humans understand or use technology. Candidates should know the achievement and the rough era, without needing to memorise exact dates.
- Human Genome Project — an international scientific research effort that successfully mapped the complete set of genes (the genome) in human DNA, completed in the early 2000s, opening new frontiers in genetics and personalised medicine.
- Large Hadron Collider (LHC) — the world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator, operated by CERN near Geneva, used to study fundamental particles including the Higgs boson, sometimes called the "God particle."
- International Space Station (ISS) — a habitable space station in low Earth orbit, jointly operated by space agencies including NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA and CSA, serving as a microgravity research laboratory.
- Hubble Space Telescope — a space-based observatory that has provided some of the most detailed images of distant galaxies and deep space since its launch, transforming modern astronomy.
- CRISPR Gene Editing — a precise gene-editing technology that allows scientists to alter DNA sequences, with wide-ranging potential applications in treating genetic diseases and improving crops.
Physics and Chemistry — Additional Applied GK
- Richter Scale — used to measure the magnitude (energy released) of an earthquake.
- Decibel — the unit used to measure the intensity or loudness of sound.
- Barometer — an instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure, useful in weather forecasting.
- Hygrometer — an instrument used to measure humidity in the air.
- Anemometer — an instrument used to measure wind speed.
- Seismograph — an instrument used to record the intensity, duration and direction of earthquakes.
- pH Scale — a scale from 0 to 14 used to indicate how acidic or alkaline a solution is; 7 is neutral, below 7 is acidic, above 7 is alkaline.
- Renewable Energy — energy from sources that replenish naturally, such as solar, wind, hydro and biomass power; India has significantly expanded its installed renewable energy capacity as part of its climate commitments.
- International Solar Alliance (ISA) — an India-led international coalition of solar-resource-rich countries, headquartered in Gurugram, aimed at promoting solar energy adoption worldwide.
Digital India and Technology Policy
The Digital India programme (covered in more detail in the Government Schemes chapter) is closely linked to India's technology narrative — it emphasises building digital infrastructure, delivering government services electronically, and expanding digital literacy. Related technology platforms often tested in General Awareness include the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a real-time payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) that allows instant money transfer between bank accounts through mobile phones, and Aadhaar, the world's largest biometric identity programme, administered by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which assigns a unique 12-digit number to Indian residents based on demographic and biometric data.
Space Race Context — India Among the World's Space Powers
India is counted among a select group of nations with independent, full-cycle space capability — the ability to design satellites, build launch vehicles, and operate a launch site domestically. This capability places India alongside the United States, Russia, China, the European Space Agency member states, and Japan as a major spacefaring power. What distinguishes India's programme, and what exam-setters often highlight, is its emphasis on cost-effective engineering: missions like Mangalyaan and Chandrayaan were executed at a fraction of the cost of comparable Western missions, a point of considerable national pride and a recurring theme in General Awareness questions about India's achievements.
Quick Revision Points
- ISRO is headquartered in Bengaluru; its main launch site is the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.
- Chandrayaan-1 confirmed water on the Moon; Chandrayaan-3 achieved a soft landing near the lunar south pole.
- Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission) made India the first nation to reach Mars orbit in its very first attempt.
- Aditya-L1 studies the Sun from the L1 Lagrange point; Gaganyaan is India's human spaceflight programme.
- NavIC is India's own regional satellite navigation system.
- The SI system has seven base units: metre, kilogram, second, ampere, kelvin, mole and candela.
- C. V. Raman won India's first Nobel Prize in a science field for the Raman Effect.
- Homi Bhabha is the father of India's nuclear programme; Vikram Sarabhai is the father of India's space programme.