Ranked among the top five nations, India’s advancements in the space technology sector are now in global domain. The country has demonstrated — by the regular space missions undertaken including the Moon Mission – it is playing a leading role by launching satellites for the SAARC nations. India is also offering its space facilities to other nations. Anushka Singh explores.
In the field of science and technology, India has made strides and advances like none other. In the near future also, India’s focus on the two leading pillars of growth and development is clear and strong. India has always been a frontrunner in science and technology and is all set to lead the world in the future as well.
The National Technology Day, celebrated every year on 11 May, commemorates the post-Independence achievements of India’s science and technology sector. The celebration was started by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to honour Indian scientists, engineers and technologists who worked for India’s scientific and technological advancement. In 2023, India marked 25 years of celebrating the day.
On the first National Technology Day, observed on 11 May 1998, there were three major achievements of India’s leading science and technology experts – the first test flight of Hansa-3, India’s indigenously built aircraft; successful test firing of missile Trishul; and, the day of Operation Shakti i.e. Pokhran-II nuclear tests that demonstrated India’s capability to build fission and thermonuclear weapons and sealed India’s status as a nuclear power.
It was owing to these stellar achievements that the-then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee added ‘Jai Vigyan’ to Lal Bahadur Shastri’s slogan of ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’. A strong focus on science and technology has always been integral to India’s growth story. A key driver for economic growth, this field has brought laurels to the nation and is a promising sector determining India’s leadership in the years to come.
Innovation hub
On 11 May 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called out India’s Innovation Renaissance and how India’s sustained focus to strengthen the technology and innovation ecosystem in the country is transforming India into a global innovation hub.
The theme for this year was ‘School to Startups – Igniting Young Minds to Innovate’ to encourage and promote inventions from the youth to support start-ups with a special focus on the highly-competitive and latest-emerging field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Technology.
India’s Global Innovation Index Rank has jumped from the 81st position to the 40th position where the youth of the country are setting up their own digital ventures and start-ups.
A special programme was also introduced for multiple projects – with an inflow of Rs 5,800 crore for development and enhancement in the technology sector – as per the vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ through strengthening scientific institutions in the country.
India is also setting up a Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) – a multidisciplinary mega-science project that requires expertise from a variety of fields such as laser, vacuum, optics, computer, physics, etc. – as part of the worldwide network.
LIGO-India will be one of the foremost science and technology initiatives of the 21st century as it will nurture brand new and cutting-edge research opportunities.
Leading scientific research
Indian scientists are in demand in research and development centres around the world. In the Alper Dodger (AD) Scientific Index 2023, 52 Indian scientists ranked in the top two per cent in the world. In the top two per cent scientists’ list, India ranks at number 21. In the overall ranking, scientists from 216 countries were listed and 50,245 Indian scientists were on the list.
In the field of scientific research, India is one of the top five nations for space exploration. India’s advancements in the space technology sector are widely known, globally recognised and demonstrated by the regular space missions undertaken including the Moon Mission. India is playing a leading role by launching satellites for the SAARC nations. India is also offering its space facilities to other nations.
India is one of the most desired destinations for investment for technology transactions – it stands at the third position globally. There has been a sharp increase in investment in science and technology in recent years with an increasing number of foreign and multi-national companies establishing research and development centres in India.
The Gross Expenditure on R & D (GERD) in India has been steadily rising over the years. Several policies introduced by the government are encouraging research and development by both private and public sector entities. Other policies and schemes are tapping on the human resource and enabling more advanced research, cementing India’s position as a science and technology hub.
India’s research segment is fast growing. Today, the nation is the top exporter of IT (Information Technology) products worldwide. In smart materials, high-specification machine processes and biofuels, India ranks second globally.
India is also aggressively pushing for patents and new rules are encouraging more education institutes to file for patents. In the domain of number of peer-reviewed science and engineering publications, India ranks third.
Space explorations
India’s space sector is fast growing and very promising. There are more opportunities for investment and research now than ever before. Established in 1969, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the country’s first satellite Aryabhata in 1975. The list of India’s and ISRO’s successful missions since inception is endless.
India’s first interplanetary mission to planet Mars – Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) – was launched on board PSLV-C25 on 5 November 2013. With this, ISRO became the fourth space agency in the world to send a spacecraft into the Martian orbit successfully.
The Mangalyaan spacecraft successfully entered Mars orbit on 23 September 2014. India’s space technological edge was established when MOM, designed for a mission life of six months, completed seven years in the orbit.
India was the first nation to successfully execute the complex Mars mission in the first attempt itself. The Mars mission cemented India’s position in the space exploration sector.
Another important mission as part of the Indian space programme is the Gaganyaan – India’s first manned space mission. The Gaganyaan project envisions launching a three-member crew into an orbit of 400 km for a three-day mission and return to Earth successfully. It will be a demonstration of human spaceflight capability.
This project is being developed indigenously with in house experts and technologies. In a mission like this, human safety is the most important factor. So, new technologies based on engineering systems, human centric systems, etc., are being developed to ensure this. Just recently, the first batch of crew recovery team of Mission Gaganyaan completed Phase-1 of training at Indian Navy’s Water Survival Training Facility in Kochi.
Future missions include Aditya L1 – the first space-based Indian mission to study the Sun; NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) – a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) observatory being jointly developed by NASA and ISRO to understand changes in Earth’s ecosystems, ice mass, vegetation biomass, sea level rise, ground water and natural hazards; Chandrayaan-3 – a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 to demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface.
Prime Minister Modi has said that India considers technology as a tool of the nation’s progress, not a means to assert its dominance. India’s leadership in scientific research and technology and the intention to use these for the upliftment of society and human welfare is unique.
India is a peace-loving nation and has historically used technology for empowerment. In the future too, India intends to use it for upgrading human life, removing imbalance and promoting social justice – true mark of a global leader.
Anushka Singh works with DraftCraft International as a Media Researcher and writes mostly on issues affecting the Fourth Estate. She likes reading contrarian literature and analysing sources of news.