Science and Technology in India: A Study Guide to Space, Defence, Institutions and Discoveries
A structured primer on Indian science and technology: ISRO's milestones, nuclear and defence programmes, major institutions, Indian scientists and discoveries, and the digital infrastructure behind modern India.
By DesiQuiz Editorial Team· Updated 6 Oct 2026· 5 min readScience and Technology quiz
Science and technology questions come in two kinds. Some are about India's own milestones — a satellite, a mission, an institution, an inventor. Others test general science that any quiz-taker should know. This guide covers the first kind in depth, with a short section at the end on how to handle the second.
Space: ISRO's journey
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was formed in 1969, building on the work of Vikram Sarabhai, the father of India's space programme. Its launch centre is at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1975 | Aryabhata, India's first satellite, launched with Soviet help |
| 1980 | Rohini satellite placed in orbit by India's own SLV-3 rocket |
| 2008 | Chandrayaan-1, India's first lunar probe, which helped confirm the presence of water molecules on the Moon |
| 2013–14 | Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) — India reached Mars orbit on its first attempt, becoming the first Asian country to do so |
| 2017 | 104 satellites launched in a single PSLV mission |
| 2023 | Chandrayaan-3 landed near the Moon's south polar region on 23 August (now celebrated as National Space Day); Aditya-L1, India's first solar observatory, launched in September |
Know the vehicle families: PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, the workhorse for smaller and polar-orbit payloads) and GSLV (for heavier, geostationary payloads). Gaganyaan is India's human spaceflight programme.
Nuclear programme
Homi J. Bhabha is the father of India's nuclear programme and founded the Atomic Energy Commission and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) at Trombay, Mumbai. India conducted its first nuclear test, Pokhran-I ("Smiling Buddha"), in 1974 and a series of tests, Pokhran-II ("Operation Shakti"), in May 1998. India follows a stated policy of "no first use".
Defence technology
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) develops India's weapons systems. Names to know: the Agni and Prithvi ballistic missiles, the Akash surface-to-air missile, the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile (developed with Russia), and the Tejas light combat aircraft. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the "Missile Man", led much of the missile programme before becoming the eleventh President.
Institutions and who founded what
- CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) — a network of national laboratories.
- IITs and IISc — the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, was established in the early twentieth century with support from Jamsetji Tata; the first IIT began at Kharagpur in 1951.
- ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) — biomedical research.
- BARC (nuclear), ISRO (space), DRDO (defence), NPCI (payments infrastructure).
- National Science Day (28 February) marks the discovery of the Raman effect; National Technology Day (11 May) marks the 1998 Pokhran tests.
Indian scientists and what they are known for
| Scientist | Contribution |
|---|---|
| C. V. Raman | Raman scattering; Nobel Prize in Physics (1930) |
| J. C. Bose | Showed plants respond to stimuli; the crescograph; early radio research |
| S. N. Bose | Bose–Einstein statistics; the term "boson" honours him |
| Meghnad Saha | The Saha ionisation equation in astrophysics |
| S. Chandrasekhar | The Chandrasekhar limit; Nobel Prize in Physics (1983) |
| Srinivasa Ramanujan | Number theory and infinite series |
| Homi Bhabha | Nuclear programme |
| Vikram Sarabhai | Space programme |
| M. S. Swaminathan | Green Revolution |
| Har Gobind Khorana | The genetic code; Nobel Prize in Medicine (1968) |
Ancient contributions
Indian thinkers developed the decimal place-value system and the concept of zero (Aryabhata, Brahmagupta), made early advances in astronomy and algebra, and produced foundational medical texts: Sushruta is associated with surgery and Charaka with medicine in the Ayurvedic tradition. Wootz steel from South India was prized internationally, and the game of chess evolved from the Indian chaturanga.
Health and biotechnology
India was declared polio-free by the WHO in 2014 and eradicated smallpox in 1977. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Indian-developed and Indian-manufactured vaccines (such as Covaxin and Covishield) were rolled out from 2021. Questions on biotechnology often ask about institutions such as the Department of Biotechnology.
Digital and information technology
- Aadhaar — the unique identity system run by the UIDAI, which was set up in 2009 and issued the first Aadhaar numbers in 2010.
- UPI (2016) for real-time payments, and the wider "India Stack" of digital public infrastructure.
- 5G services were launched in India in October 2022.
- Bengaluru is India's leading technology hub; IT services are one of the country's largest export earners.
General science: how to handle it
Quizzes in this category also include everyday science — states of matter, acids and bases, basic human biology, vitamins and their deficiency diseases, and units. For those, two habits help: learn pairs (Vitamin C — scurvy; Vitamin D — rickets; iodine — goitre) and learn units with their quantity (newton — force; joule — energy; watt — power; pascal — pressure).
Mix-ups to avoid
- Bose the physicist vs Bose the freedom fighter vs J. C. Bose the botanist.
- Pokhran-I (1974) vs Pokhran-II (1998) — "Smiling Buddha" versus "Operation Shakti".
- Chandrayaan vs Mangalyaan — the Moon versus Mars.
- PSLV vs GSLV — polar and light payloads versus geostationary and heavy ones.
- ISRO vs DRDO — civil space versus defence research.
- Aryabhata the mathematician (5th–6th century) vs Aryabhata the satellite (1975).
How to prepare
- Memorise the space table above by year; most ISRO questions reduce to "which came first".
- Pair every scientist with a single discovery and a prize or institution.
- Keep a short list of "firsts": first satellite, first lunar probe, first Mars mission, first solar observatory.
- For general science, spend ten minutes on the pairs and units list once a week.
Put it into practice
Try the Science and Technology quiz and build on this guide with our personalities guide.