Science & Technology — UP Police Constable Study Notes

Overview

Science & Technology is a high-scoring and frequently tested area in UP Police Constable exams, typically contributing 8–12 questions in the General Knowledge section. This topic covers India's achievements and developments in space exploration, defence technology, information technology, biotechnology and recent scientific breakthroughs. Questions are factual and current-affairs based, focusing on names of missions, organizations, scientists, recent launches and technological milestones from the past 18–24 months.

Success in this section requires regular reading of science-related current affairs, knowledge of key Indian organizations (ISRO, DRDO, CSIR, DBT), major missions and programmes, and awareness of India's technological self-reliance initiatives like Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence and Make in India in IT. Students must maintain a running list of recent launches, test-firings, discoveries and awards, as these form the bulk of exam questions.

The topic rewards systematic revision — create a timeline of major developments, memorize full forms of organizations and missions, and track India's global rankings in technology indices.

Key Concepts

• **ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation)** is India's national space agency responsible for satellite launches, planetary missions and space technology development. Headquarters in Bengaluru.

• **DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation)** develops indigenous defence technologies including missiles, radar systems, combat vehicles and electronic warfare systems.

• **India's space capability** includes polar satellite launch vehicles (PSLV), geosynchronous launch vehicles (GSLV), communication satellites (GSAT), navigation satellites (NavIC/IRNSS) and interplanetary missions.

• **Digital India** encompasses IT initiatives like Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, e-governance platforms, broadband expansion and digital literacy programmes aimed at transforming India into a digitally empowered society.

• **Biotechnology in India** focuses on vaccine development, genetically modified crops, biofuels, stem cell research and drug discovery through institutions like DBT and ICMR.

• **Indigenization in defence** under Atmanirbhar Bharat includes domestic manufacturing of fighter aircraft, missiles, submarines, tanks and small arms to reduce import dependency.

• **India's nuclear programme** is managed by DAE (Department of Atomic Energy) covering nuclear power generation, research reactors and applications in medicine and agriculture.

• **Recent technological trends** include artificial intelligence adoption, 5G rollout, quantum computing research, electric vehicle promotion and semiconductor manufacturing initiatives.

Key Facts

• **Gaganyaan** — India's first manned space mission planned to send three astronauts (Gagannauts) to low Earth orbit for 5–7 days. Launch target: 2025.

• **Chandrayaan-3** — Successfully landed on Moon's south pole on 23 August 2023, making India the fourth country to achieve soft landing and first near lunar south pole.

• **Aditya-L1** — India's first solar mission launched September 2023 to study the Sun's corona and solar winds from Lagrange point L1.

• **NISAR** — NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar mission for Earth observation, monitoring climate change, earthquakes and natural disasters. Launch: 2024.

• **BrahMos** — World's fastest operational supersonic cruise missile (Mach 2.8–3.0), jointly developed by India-Russia. Air, land and sea variants operational.

• **Agni series** — India's intermediate and intercontinental ballistic missiles. Agni-V has range over 5000 km, capable of reaching targets across Asia.

• **Tejas** — India's indigenous light combat aircraft developed by HAL. Tejas Mk1A inducted into IAF with improved avionics and weapons.

• **INS Vikrant** — India's first indigenous aircraft carrier commissioned in 2022, built at Cochin Shipyard, displacing 45000 tonnes.

• **UPI (Unified Payments Interface)** — Real-time payment system developed by NPCI, processing over 10 billion transactions monthly, adopted by multiple countries.

• **Aadhaar** — World's largest biometric identification system with over 1.3 billion enrolments, managed by UIDAI.

• **NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation)** — India's regional navigation satellite system with seven satellites providing positioning accuracy of 5–10 metres over Indian subcontinent.

• **Covaxin and Covishield** — Indigenous COVID-19 vaccines developed by Bharat Biotech (Covaxin) and manufactured by Serum Institute (Covishield under license from Oxford-AstraZeneca).

Recent Developments (2023–2024)

**Space:** Chandrayaan-3 lunar landing success (August 2023); Aditya-L1 solar mission launch (September 2023); XPoSat (X-ray Polarimeter Satellite) launch for black hole studies (January 2024); PSLV-C58 carrying XPoSat marked ISRO's 60th mission; Gaganyaan test vehicle abort mission successful.

**Defence:** Tejas Mk1A delivery to IAF commenced; Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher extended range variant tested; Akash-NG air defence missile inducted; INS Imphal (stealth destroyer) commissioned; Prachand light combat helicopter inducted; Zorawar light tank for mountain warfare under development.

**IT & Digital:** 5G rollout expanded to 400+ cities; India Stack (Aadhaar-UPI-DigiLocker) exported to several countries; Semiconductor Mission launched with incentives for chip manufacturing; UPI international expansion to UAE, Singapore, France; AI4Bharat initiative for Indian language AI models.

**Biotechnology:** India becomes vaccine hub supplying to 90+ countries; CAR-T cell therapy clinical trials for cancer treatment; Golden Rice (vitamin A enriched) field trials; Genome India Project sequencing 10000 Indian genomes completed.

**Others:** Hydrogen mission for green hydrogen production; National Quantum Mission with ₹6000 crore allocation; PM-eBus Sewa for electric bus deployment; India ranks among top 40 in Global Innovation Index 2023.

Common Mistakes

**Confusing ISRO missions:** Students mix up Chandrayaan (Moon), Mangalyaan (Mars), Gaganyaan (manned), Aditya (Sun). **Fix:** Create mission cards — Chandra=Moon, Mangal=Mars, Gagana=Sky/Space, Aditya=Sun.

**Wrong organization attribution:** Assigning missile development to ISRO instead of DRDO, or vaccine development to ICMR instead of Bharat Biotech. **Fix:** Remember ISRO=Space, DRDO=Defence, DBT=Biotech, ICMR=Medical Research.

**Outdated information:** Stating Chandrayaan-2 as successful landing (it crash-landed in 2019) or mentioning old mission dates. **Fix:** Always note the most recent mission status — Chandrayaan-3 succeeded where Chandrayaan-2 failed.

**Confusing missile types:** Mixing BrahMos (cruise missile) with Agni (ballistic missile) or Prithvi series capabilities. **Fix:** BrahMos=Fast cruise, flies low; Agni=Ballistic, goes high then descends; Prithvi=Short-range tactical.

**Digital India programme misidentification:** Treating Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker as separate initiatives rather than integrated Digital India components. **Fix:** Understand these as pillars of the larger Digital India framework launched 2015.

Quick Reference

• **ISRO HQ:** Bengaluru; DRDO HQ: New Delhi; CSIR HQ: New Delhi
• **Chandrayaan-3:** Moon south pole landing, 23 August 2023, Pragyan rover
• **BrahMos:** Supersonic cruise missile, Mach 2.8–3.0, India-Russia joint venture
• **Tejas:** Light Combat Aircraft, developed by HAL, Mk1A version in service
• **UPI:** Unified Payments Interface, developed by NPCI, 10+ billion monthly transactions
• **NavIC:** Indian GPS alternative, 7 satellites, 5–10m accuracy over India
• **Key scientists:** Dr. Vikram Sarabhai (ISRO founder), Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam (Missile Man), Dr. K Sivan (former ISRO chief), S Somanath (current ISRO chairman)