07 July 2022

07 JULY 2022 – MAINS QUESTIONS→ DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS:

Q1. Examine the contributions of contemporary Indian scientists to space technology. (250 words)

• Paper & Topic: GS III → Science and Technology related topics
• Model Answer:
• Introduction:
• India owes much of its space success to the current generation of excellent space scientists who

are relentlessly pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the field of space technology,

bringing laurels to the Indian space technology arena and establishing India as one of the world’s

space powerhouses.

• Body:
• In this regard, the following points demonstrate the contributions of contemporary Indian

scientists in the realm of space technology:

• Jayant Vishnu Narlikar is an astrophysicist from India. Narlikar believes in steady-state

cosmology.

• He co-developed the conformal gravity theory, sometimes known as the Hoyle–Narlikar theory,

alongside Sir Fred Hoyle.

• It combines Albert Einstein’s Relativity Theory and Mach’s Principle.
• It is proposed that a particle’s inertial mass is a function of all other particles’ masses multiplied

by a coupling constant that is a function of cosmic epoch.

• The gravitational constant G drops dramatically with time in cosmologies based on this idea.
• The Mars Orbiter Spacecraft, India’s first interplanetary mission, was successfully launched on

board PSLV-C25 on November 5, 2013.

• With its achievement, India became one of only four countries in the world to dispatch a space

mission to Mars.

• The Mars Orbiter Mission’s primary goal is to demonstrate India’s technological capability to

enter Martian orbit and to use domestic scientific instruments to investigate Mars’ surface

features, morphology, minerals, and atmosphere.

• Thanu Padmanabhan is an Indian theoretical physicist and cosmologist whose research interests

include Gravitation, Universe Structure Formation, and Quantum Gravity.

• In these fields, he has written over 260 papers and reviews in international publications, as well

as ten books. Many of his contributions have had a considerable impact in the field, particularly those relating to the study and modelling of dark energy in the cosmos and the interpretation of

gravity as an emergent phenomena.

• National Natural Resource Management System and Remote Sensing: With 11 satellites

currently in orbit, India’s Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS) System is one of the world’s largest

constellations of remote sensing satellites. It uses space-based imagery to provide inputs for

natural resource management and numerous development projects across the country. Thirteen

remote sensing satellites have been launched and operationalized in the recent decade.

• Ritu Karidhal, called the “Rocket Woman of India,” was the Mission Director of the

Chandrayaan-2 mission and was honoured for her leadership role in one of India’s most ambitious

lunar endeavours.

• She was in charge of planning and executing the craft’s onward autonomy system, which

managed the satellite’s functions in space independently and responded to faults accordingly.

• On January 5, 2014, the indigenous cryogenic stage was successfully tested in flight aboard the

GSLV-D5 aircraft.

• The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) is capable of launching 2 tonne

communication satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), and India is one of only six

countries in the world to demonstrate this capacity using complicated cryogenic technology.

• It was a clear demonstration of Indian scientists’ abilities to work on difficult space technologies.
• Suresh Byrana Nagappa is an aerospace scientist from India. From 2003 until 2007, he was the

Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram.

• He is well-known for his work on Indian launch vehicles and the Space Capsule Recovery

Experiments (SRE).

• Dr. Suresh was also the founding Director of the Thiruvananthapuram-based Indian Institute of

Space Science and Technology (IIST).

• Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan was part of a team that developed a technology that is now on

NASA’s New Horizon mission, which is exploring Pluto.

• It is NASA’s most distant space mission to date.
• She is in charge of developing the algorithm and chip that will bring data from Pluto, whose

existence as a planet has been called into question.

• The chip on board the spacecraft captures signals and delivers them back to the three-billion

mile-away space station.

• Conclusion:
• Many people have contributed to the expansion of scientific contemplation in modern India,

particularly in the field of space technology, where modern Indians are constantly raising the bar

in terms of rapid advancements in space technology as well as the development of a space-based

technology ecosystem in India, which will aid the country’s overall scientific growth.

Q2. Examine Indian scientists’ recent advances in developing indigenous

weapon systems. (250 words)• Paper & Topic: GS III → Science and Technology related topics

• Model Answer:
• Introduction:
• India’s strategy to defence industrialization shifted from license-based manufacture to production

based on indigenous design as a result of its reliance on the Soviet Union. The government began

pumping money into R&D in the mid-1980s to allow the DRDO to take on high-profile projects.

• Body:
• Defense and weapon system indigenization:
• Indigenisation is the ability to create and produce any type of defence equipment within a country

for the dual purposes of achieving self-sufficiency and minimising import dependency. Over the

years, India’s defence R&D and industry, mostly the government and public sector, has invented

and manufactured a number of indigenous platforms and weapons systems.

• Indian scientists’ recent successes in the development of indigenous military systems

include:

• The DRDO successfully tested its first indigenously produced heavy duty drone, the Rustom 2,

an autonomous armed combat vehicle modelled after the US Predator drone, in 2016.

• Anti-tank missile of the third generation, with a range of 4-8 kilometres. HELINA (Helicopter

Launched NAG) is the air-to-surface version of the NAG that Dhruv Helicopters have

incorporated. Muntra, India’s first unmanned tank, was designed by the DRDO to detect mines

and operate in locations where nuclear or biological/chemical weapons constitute a threat.

• The INS Arihant, India’s first nuclear ballistic missile submarine, was co-developed and

operationalized by DRDO, completing India’s nuclear triad and allowing it to fire nuclear

warheads from land, air, and sea.

• The DRDO has announced the construction of EMISAT, an electronic intelligence satellite to be

launched by ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation). EMISAT, which weighs around 436 kg

and is built on ISRO’s Indian Mini Satellite-2 (IMS-2) bus platform, is designed to measure the

electromagnetic spectrum.

• India’s first anti-satellite system (ASAT) was created by the DRDO, making India the fourth

country in the world to have this capability. India successfully tested its first ASAT capable of

destroying satellites in low earth orbit, which is a significant achievement.

• The LCA (Navy) Flight Test Team successfully accomplished a textbook arrested landing at the

SBTF after several years of flight testing and four phases of dedicated testing.

• The Self-Reliance Index (SRI), which is defined as the ratio of indigenous content in defence

procurements to total defence procurement spending in a fiscal year, is at an all-time low of 0.3.

• Let’s look at the obstacles to weapon system indigenization:
• • India’s logistics expenses rise as a result of its infrastructure shortfall, lowering the country’s cost

competitiveness and efficiency.

• Inadequate institutional capacity and capability to carry out various strategies targeted at defence

indigenisation to their logical end.

• Land acquisition issues limit new entrants into the defence manufacturing and production

industries.

• The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (C&AG) highlighted Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd

(HAL90 )’s percent import dependency for ‘raw materials and purchased out products’ for the

development of indigenous aircraft in a 2011 report to Parliament.

• The CAG study also indicated that not all of the DRDO’s technology were appropriate for

military use. In the last 15 years, the three services have rejected 70% of the items developed at

the ARDE Pune, costing Rs 320 crore, because they did not fulfil their standards and

requirements.

• Way forward:
• Preference given to the ‘Buy (Indian)’, ‘Buy & Make (Indian)’, and ‘Make’ acquisition categories

over the ‘Buy (Global)’ category, thereby favouring Indian industry in procurement.

• Former DRDO chief V.K. Saraswat has proposed the formation of a Defence Technology

Commission, as well as a larger role for DRDO in selecting manufacturing partners for its

products.

• The committee, chaired by P. Rama Rao, proposed that the DRDO be reformed into a leaner

organisation and that a commercial arm be established to make it a profitable enterprise, as well

as reducing project completion delays.

• Conclusion:
• Indigenization in defence is also important for national security. It preserves technological

expertise while encouraging spin-off technologies and innovation, which frequently result from

1. With a self-sufficient and self-reliant defence sector, India’s strategic capability will grow,

putting it among the top global powers.