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GS Paper: GS3-17.Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nano-technology, Bio-technology and issues relating to Intellectual Property Rights.

  • Gaganyaan vs ISS: India’s Mission Is About Proving Indigenous Technology

    Why in the News

    The Indian astronaut who flew on Axiom Mission 4 has described Gaganyaan as a prototype mission built to prove technology, test systems and communicate with the ground, unlike the International Space Station flight, which was an established mission of experiments and return. The distinction separates having flown from owning the capability to fly. Axiom Space owned no hardware, while the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is building the capsule and the spacecraft in house.

    What is the Gaganyaan mission?

    1. About: It is India’s first human spaceflight programme, designed to carry a crew to low Earth orbit in an indigenously built crew module and return them safely.
    2. Nature of the mission: It is a prototype mission, focused on proving the technology, testing out systems and communicating with the ground, not on a defined experiment schedule.
    3. In house hardware: ISRO is building the capsule and the spacecraft in which the astronauts will travel, and launching Indian astronauts on an Indian vehicle.
    4. Engineering intensity: The work is described as heavy engineering, with robust processes and review mechanisms being set up around it.
    5. Status: The programme is scheduled over the next year or two, and preparation is currently ground based.

    What was Axiom Mission 4?

    1. About: It was a commercial crewed mission to the International Space Station, on which an Indian became only the second Indian in space and the first in over four decades.
    2. Duration: The Indian crew member spent 20 days at the International Space Station after a launch on 25 June.

    What is microgravity?

    1. About: It is the condition of near weightlessness experienced in orbit, where objects and fluids behave differently from how they behave on the ground.
    2. Why it matters for training: Microgravity cannot be simulated on the ground, so the environment is encountered fully only in flight.

    Why is the Axiom model not comparable to the Gaganyaan model?

    1. Axiom owned no hardware: Axiom Space is a private company coordinating missions to space and did not own any of the hardware used.
    2. Station ownership: The International Space Station is owned by NASA and its international partners, not by the mission coordinator.
    3. Vehicle ownership: The crew flew in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon vehicle, launched by the Falcon 9 rocket, both owned by SpaceX.
    4. ISRO’s position: India is attempting to make the hardware in house and launch its own astronauts in its own capsule, which is a different nature of work.
    5. Consequence: The two programmes cannot be compared, because one buys access to space and the other builds the means of access.

    What did India actually gain from the Axiom flight?

    1. Stated objective: The primary objective of the mission was to learn as much as possible and use that experience to enable India’s own mission.
    2. Observation team: An ISRO team was present alongside the astronaut to observe how operations were run.
    3. End to end exposure: The team witnessed the end to end execution of an entire crewed mission, from preparation to recovery.
    4. Ecosystem lesson: ISRO has launched many successful missions, but human spaceflight requires a different ecosystem, and the scale of operations was the biggest learning.
    5. Disciplines identified: The flight showed the range of disciplines India must address before sending people to space and bringing them back.

    Back2Basics: International Space Station

    1. What it is: The largest crewed structure in low Earth orbit, operated as a multinational research laboratory.
    2. First module: The Zarya module was launched in 1998, with continuous human occupation since November 2000.
    3. Partners: Five participating space agencies, NASA, Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.
    4. Orbit: It orbits at roughly 400 km altitude, completing an orbit in about 90 minutes and around 16 orbits a day.
    5. Function: It hosts microgravity research in biology, human physiology, materials science and Earth observation.
    6. Retirement: The station is planned for controlled deorbit around 2030 to 2031, which is driving commercial station projects.

    Government Initiatives

    1. Indian Space Policy, 2023: Opens the space sector to non government entities across the value chain and redefines the roles of ISRO, IN-SPACe and NSIL.
    2. IN-SPACe: The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, a single window autonomous body that authorises and promotes private space activity.
    3. NewSpace India Limited (NSIL): The commercial arm of the Department of Space, handling technology transfer and demand driven satellite and launch missions.
    4. Gaganyaan Programme: Sanctioned in 2018 and later expanded in scope and outlay to include the first module of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station.
    5. Foreign Direct Investment reform, 2024: Liberalised FDI limits for satellite manufacturing, launch vehicles and ground segment components.
    6. SpaDeX: The Space Docking Experiment, which demonstrated autonomous docking of two Indian satellites, a prerequisite technology for a space station and crewed missions.

    Key Facts about India in Space

    1. First Indian in space: Flew aboard the Soviet Soyuz T-11 mission in 1984, spending about eight days aboard the Salyut 7 station.
    2. Second Indian in space: Flew on Axiom Mission 4 in 2025, over four decades after the first flight, spending 20 days at the International Space Station.
    3. ISRO: Established in 1969, headquartered in Bengaluru, functioning under the Department of Space.
    4. Chandrayaan 3: Made India the first country to soft land near the lunar south pole, in August 2023, with National Space Day observed on 23 August.
    5. Aditya L1: India’s first solar observatory, placed in a halo orbit around the Sun Earth Lagrange point L1.
    6. Private launch: India’s first privately built rocket flew a suborbital mission in November 2022, marking the entry of startups into launch services.

    “[2025] Consider the following space missions:
    I. Axiom-4
    II. SpaDeX
    III. Gaganyaan
    How many of the space missions given above encourage and support microgravity research?
    (a) Only one
    (b) Only two
    (c) All the three
    (d) None

  • India’s Next Giant Leap: Building a Base on the Moon

    Why in the News

    NASA invited ISRO at the ninth India United States Civil Space Joint Working Group meeting to join its Moon Base programme under the Artemis Accords, targeting a facility near the lunar south pole around 2030. A rival International Lunar Research Station led by China and Russia targets the same region by 2035. The tension is between the access a partnership offers and the interoperability standards that would extend terrestrial blocs onto the Moon.

    What is the Moon Base programme?

    1. About: Moon Base is the NASA led programme to establish a permanent crewed facility near the lunar south pole, operating under the Artemis Accords framework.
    2. Why the south pole: The region offers longer sunlight for power generation and permanently shadowed craters holding water ice.
    3. Target date: The facility is targeted for around 2030.
    4. Contracting model: Delivery is contracted to commercial providers rather than built entirely in house.

    What are the Artemis Accords?

    1. About: The Artemis Accords are a set of non binding principles for civil space exploration, covering transparency, interoperability, emergency assistance, registration of objects, release of scientific data, preservation of heritage sites, deconfliction of activities and safe disposal of debris.
    2. Legal basis: They build on the Outer Space Treaty, 1967 rather than replacing it.
    3. India’s position: India signed the Accords in 2023.

    What is the International Lunar Research Station?

    1. About: The International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) is the China and Russia led lunar base programme announced in 2021.
    2. Location and timeline: It targets the lunar south pole, with a stated completion horizon of 2035.
    3. Participation: It counts 17 countries and organisations and more than 50 institutions.

    What contracts define the NASA programme’s shape?

    1. Terrain vehicles: Astrolab holds a $219 million contract and Lunar Outpost a $220 million contract for lunar terrain vehicles.
    2. Delivery services: Blue Origin holds $188 million in delivery task orders.
    3. Robotic missions: Astrobotic, Firefly Aerospace and Intuitive Machines together hold $600 million for four robotic missions.
    4. Programme restructuring: Under the current NASA leadership, Artemis III becomes a crewed Earth orbit test flight in 2027 and Artemis IV the first landing in 2028.
    5. Policy driver: The restructuring responds to the December 2025 United States space policy on cislunar space.

    Where does the partnership become a constraint?

    1. Exclusion clause: NASA excluded foreign entities with bilateral ties to China from a payload solicitation.
    2. Budget framing: The NASA financial year 2027 budget request frames Moon Base as establishing United States superiority on the Moon.
    3. Consequence for India: Deep integration could let United States objections constrain India’s independent cooperation choices.
    4. Foreclosure risk: Accepting exclusionary terms now would foreclose future cooperation with the ILRS.

    Why do interoperability standards decide the outcome?

    1. What standards fix: Docking interfaces, power connections, communication protocols and navigation references determine which hardware can work with which.
    2. Bloc formation mechanism: A closed standard makes participation conditional on political alignment, which transfers terrestrial blocs into cislunar space.
    3. Open standards alternative: Open international standards preserve sovereign control of hardware and software while permitting cooperation.
    4. India’s strategic interest: Strategic autonomy on the Moon depends on standards being open rather than on which partnership India joins.

    Challenges to India’s lunar ambitions

    1. Human spaceflight readiness: India has not yet flown a crewed mission. e.g. the Gaganyaan programme still in its uncrewed test flight phase.
    2. Heavy lift constraint: Lunar cargo delivery requires launch capacity beyond the current fleet. e.g. GSAT-N2 flown abroad because it exceeded LVM-3 capacity.
    3. Deep space communication: Sustained lunar operations need dedicated deep space network capacity. e.g. the Indian Deep Space Network at Byalalu operating a limited antenna set.
    4. Dual bloc pressure: Partnering with one programme invites exclusion from the other. e.g. the NASA payload solicitation barring entities with bilateral ties to China.
    5. Funding scale: India’s space budget is a fraction of the contracted value of individual NASA lunar task orders. e.g. $600 million contracted for four robotic missions against India’s annual space budget.
    6. Resource law vacuum: The Outer Space Treaty bars national appropriation but does not settle resource extraction rights. e.g. the contested legal status of the Artemis Accords safety zones.

    Conclusion

    The decisive question for India is not which lunar programme to join but whether interoperability standards stay open, since standards rather than treaties will determine who can operate with whom on the Moon. Joining Moon Base delivers access, and it carries the risk of inheriting an exclusion clause aimed at a third country. The next milestone is whether India secures an explicit open standards position in any agreement arising from the Joint Working Group.

    Back2Basics: India’s Decision to Sign the Artemis Accords

    1. India signed the Artemis Accords in June 2023, becoming among the later major spacefaring signatories.
    2. The Accords are a United States led set of non binding principles built on the Outer Space Treaty, 1967.
    3. Core commitments cover peaceful purposes, transparency, interoperability, emergency assistance, registration of space objects, release of scientific data, protection of heritage, deconfliction through safety zones and orbital debris mitigation.
    4. Signing enabled the joint NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission and the training of Indian astronaut candidates in the United States.
    5. The Accords do not create binding treaty obligations and operate alongside, not in place of, the Outer Space Treaty.

    Constitutional and Treaty Framework Governing Outer Space

    1. Outer Space Treaty, 1967: Establishes outer space as the province of all mankind and bars national appropriation by claim of sovereignty.
    2. Rescue Agreement, 1968: Requires assistance to and return of astronauts and space objects.
    3. Liability Convention, 1972: Makes a launching state absolutely liable for damage caused by its space objects on the surface of the Earth.
    4. Registration Convention, 1975: Requires states to register objects launched into outer space with the United Nations.
    5. Moon Agreement, 1979: Declares the Moon and its resources the common heritage of mankind, and has not been ratified by any major spacefaring state.

    Way Forward

    1. Negotiate open standards explicitly: Make interoperability on open international standards a condition of participation rather than an assumption.
    2. Preserve sovereign control of hardware: Retain control over Indian built systems and their software in any joint architecture.
    3. Avoid exclusivity clauses: Decline terms conditioning participation on the exclusion of third country cooperation.
    4. Build deep space capacity: Expand the deep space network and advance the Next Generation Launch Vehicle to support independent lunar operations.
    5. Use multilateral forums: Press the lunar resource question at the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, where a universal rule can be built rather than a bloc rule.

    “[2023, GS3, 15 marks] What is the main task of India’s third moon mission which could not be achieved in its earlier mission? List the countries that have achieved this task. Introduce the subsystems in the spacecraft launched and explain the role of the Virtual Launch Control Centre at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre which contributed to the successful launch from Srihari Kota.”

  • Despite reputation, India’s per-unit space launch cost highest

    Why in the News

    A peer-reviewed study estimates India’s 2025 launch cost to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at $13,302/kg, the highest among major spacefaring nations and far above the global average of $3,868/kg.

    The key distinction is between low mission cost and low cost per kilogram. India is efficient in spacecraft and mission design, but low launch frequency and limited payload capacity raise its per-kg cost.

    Cost per kg to LEO

    1. Meaning: Launch cost divided by payload mass delivered to LEO.
    2. Why important: A low-cost mission can still have a high per-kg cost if it carries a small payload.
    3. What it measures: Launch vehicle efficiency and utilisation, rather than spacecraft-design frugality.

    Experience Curve

    • An experience curve shows declining unit costs as cumulative production or launch volume increases.
    • Since 2010, the study finds a significant experience curve mainly for the US and Europe.
    • Higher launch frequency allows fixed costs to be distributed across more missions.

    Comparative Cost

    • India: $13,302/kg, Europe: $9,897/kg, Russia: $6,682/kg, China: $5,809/kg, Japan: $5,287/kg, USA: $3,225/kg, and Global average: $3,868/kg

    Why is India’s Cost High?

    1. Small vehicle bias: Smaller rockets carry limited payloads, increasing per-kg costs.
    2. Low launch cadence: India recorded only five launches in 2025.
    3. Heavy-lift gap: The 4,700 kg GSAT-N2 was launched by Falcon 9 in 2024 as it was beyond India’s available launch capability.
    4. High fixed costs: Launch infrastructure, range and workforce costs remain even with fewer launches.
    5. Limited demand: Indian satellite operators sometimes depend on foreign rideshare missions.

    Private Space Ecosystem

    • Around 400 startups have registered with IN-SPACe since 2020.
    • Skyroot Aerospace achieved India’s first privately developed orbital launch milestone.
    • Pixxel and Digantara have developed private satellite capabilities.
    • GalaxEye has booked Falcon 9 launch capacity.
    • The emerging pattern is domestic spacecraft development but foreign launch dependence.

    “[2026] Consider the following statements about involvement of private entities in India’s space programme:

    1. IN-SPACe is an autonomous agency formed to facilitate participation of private entities.

    2. Agnikul Cosmos launched the world’s first flight using 3D-printed rocket engine.

    3. Skyroot Aerospace has developed liquid fuel for GSLV.

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 2 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

  • Odisha start-up flight-tests an autonomous in-space pharmaceutical manufacturing payload

    Why in the News

    A Bhubaneswar-based start-up, Serendipity Space, has flight-tested a prototype satellite carrying Alchemy, an autonomous pharmaceutical manufacturing payload, using a high-altitude balloon at the TIFR facility in Hyderabad. The technology aims to manufacture pharmaceutical products in microgravity without human supervision.

    How does it work?

    1. Microgravity: Near-weightlessness reduces sedimentation, buoyancy and convection.
    2. Crystal growth: Crystals can form differently and potentially with greater uniformity than on Earth.
    3. Autonomous processing: The satellite carries reagents and hardware and executes the manufacturing sequence independently.
    4. Recovery: Processed material is returned to Earth using a re-entry system and heatshield.

    What is LEO?

    • Low Earth Orbit (LEO) extends roughly up to 2,000 km above Earth.
    • The proposed system is intended for an altitude of about 400 to 500 km.

    What did the balloon test demonstrate?

    • Tested the satellite prototype under near-space conditions.
    • Validated avionics, heatshield and Alchemy payload.
    • Demonstrated autonomous operation.
    • Tested controlled return to Earth.
    • Serves as a relatively low-cost step before orbital deployment.

    How is it different from earlier space-based drug research?

    • Earlier experiments on platforms such as the ISS generally required crew involvement. The distinguishing feature here is a dedicated free-flying satellite designed for autonomous pharmaceutical manufacturing.
    • International examples include Varda Space Industries, Redwire and experiments aboard China’s Tiangong station.

    Why is it important for India?

    • Promotes private-sector space innovation.
    • Expands India’s space ecosystem beyond Bengaluru to cities such as Bhubaneswar, Pune and Ahmedabad.
    • Creates opportunities in pharma, biotechnology, space engineering and advanced manufacturing.
    • Demonstrates potential convergence of space technology + biotechnology + pharmaceuticals.

    Laws, Treaties and Rules Governing Space Activities

    1. Outer Space Treaty, 1967: Bars national appropriation of outer space and makes States internationally responsible for national activities, including those of private entities.
    2. Liability Convention, 1972: Makes the launching State absolutely liable for damage caused on the surface of the Earth or to aircraft in flight.
    3. Registration Convention, 1975: Requires launching States to maintain a registry of objects launched into outer space and to furnish details to the United Nations.
    4. Rescue Agreement, 1968: Obliges States to assist astronauts in distress and to return space objects to the launching State.
    5. Indian Space Policy, 2023: Defines the roles of ISRO, IN-SPACe and NSIL and permits private entities across the full value chain from launch to satellite operations.
    6. Space Activities Bill, 2017: Proposed a licensing and liability framework for private Indian space activity but lapsed without enactment.
    7. Norms, Guidelines and Procedures issued by IN-SPACe: Prescribe the authorisation route, safety requirements and liability sharing for non governmental entities operating from India.
    8. Telecommunications Act, 2023 and allied spectrum rules: Govern satellite spectrum assignment and the licensing of satellite based communication services.

    Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre

    1. What it is: IN-SPACe is the single window autonomous agency that authorises, promotes and supervises space activities by non governmental entities in India.
    2. Year established: Announced in 2020 as part of the space sector reforms and made operational in 2022.
    3. Parent department: It functions as an autonomous body under the Department of Space.
    4. Headquarters: Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
    5. Jurisdiction: It authorises private launches, satellite establishment and operation, ground station creation and the dissemination of space based data.
    6. Enabling role: It permits private entities to use ISRO facilities and to access ISRO technologies through transfer agreements.
    7. Distinction from NSIL: IN-SPACe regulates and promotes, while NewSpace India Limited is the commercial arm that contracts launches and technology transfers.

    “[2026] Consider the following statements about involvement of private entities in India’s space programme:
    1. IN-SPACe is an autonomous agency formed to facilitate participation of private entities.
    2. Agnikul Cosmos launched the world’s first flight using 3D-printed rocket engine.
    3. Skyroot Aerospace has developed liquid fuel for GSLV.
    (a) 1 only
    (b) 2 and 3 only
    (c) 1 and 2 only
    (d) 1, 2 and 3

  • NASA invites ISRO to join the Moon Base programme

    Why in the news?

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has asked the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to join its Moon Base programme, a project to establish a permanent research station on the Moon. The offer exposes a tension between the chance to accelerate ISRO’s own crewed-mission goals and the risk of locking India into another agency’s technology ecosystem. Space cooperation has continued to progress even amid the volatility of India-US relations.

    What is the Moon Base programme?

    1. About: An ambitious project to establish a permanent research station on the Moon where astronauts can live, work, and carry out experiments for extended periods.
    2. Sequence: It is the logical follow-up to landing humans on the Moon, aimed at preparing the ground for longer stays.

    What is the Artemis programme?

    1. About: A US-led programme that aims to land humans on the Moon before 2028, the first crewed return since 1972.
    2. Purpose: It is spearheaded by the United States and is designed to move faster and more efficiently by bringing in partner countries and private companies.

    What are the Artemis Accords?

    1. About: A US-led coalition of spacefaring countries setting principles for cooperative and sustainable lunar exploration, which India has already signed.
    2. Contested feature: The Accords sidestep and seek to replace the 1979 Moon Agreement, a framework for multilateral governance of lunar resources.

    What is the 1979 Moon Agreement?

    1. About: An international agreement that seeks to develop a multilateral governance framework for the use of lunar resources.
    2. Relevance: The Artemis Accords are seen as an alternative that the Moon Agreement’s supporters view as bypassing multilateral governance.

    What does India gain from joining?

    1. Crewed-mission experience: ISRO, which plans to land humans on the Moon by 2040, would gain hands-on experience in executing complex crewed missions.
    2. Technology access: Participation offers access to technologies relevant to sustained lunar operations.
    3. Existing commitments: India has signed the Artemis Accords and agreed with the US to develop a strategic framework for human spaceflight cooperation.
    4. Strategic stakes: Over coming decades the Moon could become strategically and economically important as countries begin to extract lunar resources.

    What are the risks of joining? (the central tension)

    1. US-led alliance perception: The Artemis Accords are increasingly seen as a US-led alliance, and two major space powers, China and Russia, are not part of it.
    2. Technology lock-in: It is important that ISRO does not get locked into NASA’s technology ecosystem, which would make it vulnerable to technology denial.
    3. Goal displacement: Cooperation should help ISRO achieve its own goals faster, not lead it to abandon or delay them in the service of someone else’s goals.
    4. Wariness of structures: India has been wary of joining such international structures, and signing the Accords already represented a choice.

    Government Initiatives in the Space Sector

    1. Gaganyaan: India’s human spaceflight programme to send astronauts to low-Earth orbit.
    2. Bharatiya Antariksh Station: India’s planned space station for sustained microgravity research.
    3. IN-SPACe: The body enabling private participation in the space sector.

    Challenges for India’s Lunar Cooperation

    1. Technology denial: Dependence on foreign systems risks future denial.
    2. Alliance optics: Alignment with a US-led coalition affects ties with other space powers.
    3. Governance gap: Competing frameworks leave lunar resource rules unsettled.
    4. Cost and capability: Crewed deep-space missions demand large, sustained investment.
    5. Autonomy risk: Partner timelines may divert ISRO from its own priorities.

    “[2025] Consider the following space missions:

    I. Axiom-4

    II. SpaDeX

    III. Gaganyaan

    How many of the space missions given above encourage and support microgravity research?

    (a) Only one

    (b) Only two

    (c) All the three

    (d) None

  • What psychiatric genetics can and cannot tell an Indian family

    Why in the news?

    Families of patients with psychiatric illness increasingly ask whether the condition is in their blood and whether a genetic test can settle their child’s future. There is a tension between the real progress of psychiatric genetics and its limited power to predict individual outcomes, especially for Indian populations underrepresented in genomic databases. The central point is that genes load the dice but do not determine destiny.

    What is a genome-wide association study (GWAS)?

    1. About: A GWAS compares millions of common genetic variants across very large groups of people with and without a condition, to find variants that appear more often in one group. . It compares DNA markers, most often single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, between individuals with a condition and healthy control groups.
    2. What it yields: It behaves like a satellite map highlighting genomic areas of interest, showing where to look for biological mechanisms rather than pinpointing a cause.

    What does polygenic risk mean?

    1. About: In common psychiatric disorders no single gene variant has a large effect, unlike single-gene diseases such as Tay-Sachs disease or Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
    2. Mechanism: Risk is polygenic, emerging from the combined influence of thousands of variants together with rare genetic changes, development, environment, and chance.

    What is a polygenic risk score?

    1. About: A polygenic risk score (PRS) compresses many small genetic effects into a single number meant to estimate a person’s inherited susceptibility.
    2. Limits: It cannot say whether a person will become ill, at what age, how severe it will be, or which medicine will work, because it captures only part of genetic liability.

    How Polygenic Risk Works

    1. Many small changes: Instead of one major gene causing an illness (like in cystic fibrosis), polygenic conditions involve hundreds or thousands of tiny DNA changes called single nucleotide polymorphisms
    2. Adding it up: Each individual variant adds or subtracts a tiny amount of risk; a PRS totals these up to estimate your overall genetic predisposition.
    3. Common conditions: It applies to complex diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, schizophrenia, and certain common cancers

    What have the major GWAS findings shown?

    1. Schizophrenia: A 2022 landmark study identified associations at 287 genomic regions and pointed to genes active in neurons and synapses.
    2. Bipolar disorder: A large 2021 study identified 64 associated regions.
    3. Regulatory signals: Many signals lie in DNA that regulates when and where genes switch on, not in stretches that directly encode a protein.
    4. Shared risk: A December 2025 study in Nature reported that some inherited risk is shared across schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

    Why is prediction unreliable, especially in India?

    1. Score does not contain life: A person with a higher score may remain well while a person with a lower score may fall ill, because the score does not contain childhood adversity, sleep disruption, substance use, medical illness, or access to care.
    2. Expert caution: The International Society of Psychiatric Genetics has cautioned that current scores for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression are not accurate enough for routine clinical prediction.
    3. Ancestry bias: Genomic databases have drawn disproportionately from people of European ancestry, so scores are often less accurate in other populations.
    4. Indian diversity: The GenomeIndia project generated whole-genome data from 10,000 healthy, unrelated Indians across 83 population groups and documented extraordinary genetic diversity, so a score developed elsewhere cannot simply be imported.

    What can genetics usefully change in the clinic today?

    1. Reduces blame: A mother did not cause schizophrenia by being too strict and a father did not transmit bipolar disorder through a moral failing, and biology matters.
    2. Avoids fatalism: Genetic vulnerability should not be converted into a verdict, and no test can declare a person safe or doomed.
    3. Focus on modifiable risk: The useful approach is to track early warning signs, avoid intoxicants, sleep well, seek help promptly, and focus on recovery.
    4. Visible risks: Many risks are visible without sequencing, such as lost sleep before a manic episode, escalating cannabis use, treatment stopped due to stigma, and distance from specialist care.

    Conclusion

    The central idea is that psychiatric genetics will not identify people before they fall ill, but it can replace superstition and blame with a more accurate account of vulnerability. Prediction will remain probabilistic even as datasets grow larger and more representative. The task is to keep probabilities from being misunderstood, stigmatised, or commercialised, and to involve diverse populations while protecting privacy.

    Back2Basics:

    GenomeIndia Project

    1. Convening body: Funded by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India.
    2. Aim: To build a catalogue of the genetic diversity of the Indian population.
    3. Scale: Generated whole-genome data from 10,000 healthy, unrelated Indians across 83 population groups.
    4. Significance: Provides an India-specific reference against which imported genetic risk scores can be tested rather than assumed to apply.

    Genomics in India: About

    1. Definition: Genomics studies the complete set of an organism’s DNA, including how variants relate to disease.
    2. Diversity: India’s population carries extraordinary genetic diversity across many groups, making a single national reference essential.
    3. Clinical caution: Risk scores derived from European-ancestry datasets can mislead when applied to Indian populations.

    Challenges in Psychiatric Genetics

    1. Weak prediction: Scores cannot forecast onset, severity, or treatment response for an individual.
    2. Ancestry gaps: European-dominated databases reduce accuracy elsewhere.
    3. Commercial overreach: Enthusiasm of commerce can outrun the science.
    4. Privacy risk: Genomic data raises serious privacy and consent concerns.
    5. Stigma: Misread probabilities can label people as patients-in-waiting.

    Way Forward

    1. Diversify datasets: Include diverse populations in genomic research.
    2. Community involvement: Involve clinicians and communities in deciding how data are used.
    3. Protect privacy: Enforce strong safeguards on genomic data.
    4. Integrate data: Combine genetic findings with developmental, clinical, and environmental information.

    PYQ Relevance

    [UPSC 2026] Which of the following statements with regard to Genome India Project is/are correct?

    1. It is a part of the Human Genome Project.

    2. The project is funded by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India.

    3. Its primary aim is to build a catalogue of genetic diversity of the Indian population.

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 2 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

  • India’s first privately-built FFSC rocket engine signals a new dawn in space flight

    Why in the News

    Bengaluru-based Astrobase Space Technologies unveiled EVEREST, India’s first privately built 800 kN Full-Flow Staged Combustion (FFSC) LOX-Methane engine on 7 August 2026. India is now the fourth country after Russia, the US and China with FFSC technology.

    What is an FFSC Engine?

    1. About: An advanced liquid rocket engine architecture offering high thrust and efficiency.
    2. Full-flow: Fuel and oxidiser pass through separate pre-burners, driving turbopumps before entering the main chamber.
    3. Advantage: Almost all propellant contributes to thrust, improving efficiency and reusability.

    What is LOX-Methane?

    • LOX: Liquid Oxygen as oxidiser.
    • Methane: Fuel that burns relatively cleanly, reducing engine deposits and aiding faster refurbishment and turnaround.

    What is IN-SPACe?

    • Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, an autonomous agency under the Department of Space.
    • Acts as a single-window agency to promote and authorise private space activities.
    • Astrobase received support through its Technology Adoption Fund.

    Why is EVEREST Significant?

    1. Technology: Makes India the 4th FFSC-capable nation.
    2. Reusability: Suitable for reusable launch vehicles with precise throttle control.
    3. Capacity: Could enable reusable systems carrying up to 30 tonnes to LEO.
    4. Manufacturing: Uses advanced manufacturing, including large-scale 3D printing.
    5. Timeline: Development began in 2024; integrated hot-fire tests are planned at Anantapur, with first flight targeted for December 2028.

    Global Comparison

    • Russia: Pioneer in FFSC technology.
    • USA: SpaceX’s Raptor is the only operational FFSC engine.
    • China: LandSpace has developed a commercial high-thrust FFSC engine.
    • India: EVEREST marks its entry into FFSC technology.

    Private Space Sector in India

    • 2020 reforms: Opened space activities to private players through IN-SPACe.
    • Indian Space Policy 2023: Enables greater private participation across the space value chain.
    • NSIL: Commercial arm of the Department of Space.
    • Firms such as Skyroot Aerospace and Agnikul Cosmos are developing indigenous launch technologies.

    “[2026] Consider the following statements about involvement of private entities in India’s space programme:

    1. IN-SPACe is an autonomous agency formed to facilitate participation of private entities.

    2. Agnikul Cosmos launched the world’s first flight using 3D-printed rocket engine.

    3. Skyroot Aerospace has developed liquid fuel for GSLV.

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 2 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

  • Evidence of non-Mendelian inheritance in mice

    Why in the News

    Researchers have reported evidence of non-Mendelian inheritance in mice, involving DNA methylation, genomic imprinting and paramutation. Nanopore sequencing helped detect these epigenetic marks.

    What is Epigenetic Inheritance?

    1. Definition: Transmission of heritable changes in gene activity without altering the underlying DNA sequence.
    2. Major mechanism: Chemical modifications such as DNA methylation can influence whether genes are switched on or off.
    3. Non-Mendelian: Unlike classical Mendelian inheritance, the inherited information is not limited to changes in the DNA sequence.
    4. Genomic imprinting: Expression of certain genes depends on whether they are inherited from the mother or father.
    5. Paramutation: One allele can induce a heritable change in the expression of another allele without changing its DNA sequence.
    6. Nanopore sequencing: Can detect certain DNA modifications, including methylation, while sequencing DNA.

    Why does it matter?

    • Expands inheritance theory: Heritable information can involve regulatory/epigenetic states in addition to DNA sequence.
    • Environment and inheritance: Some environmental factors can influence epigenetic states, though not every acquired epigenetic change is necessarily inherited.
    • Disease relevance: Abnormal epigenetic regulation is associated with cancers and other diseases.
    • Biotechnology: Advanced sequencing can help identify epigenetic modifications alongside DNA sequences.

    “[2021, GS3, 15 marks] What are the research and developmental achievements in applied biotechnology? How will these achievements help to uplift the poorer sections of society?

    [2021] In the context of hereditary diseases, consider the following statements:
    1. Passing on mitochondrial diseases from parent to child can be prevented by mitochondrial replacement therapy either before or after in vitro fertilization of egg.
    2. A child inherits mitochondrial diseases entirely from mother and not from father.
    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    [A] 1 only

    [B] 2 only

    [C] Both 1 and 2

    [D] Neither 1 nor 2

  • AI tool can shrink and rewrite proteins

    Why in the News

    A university team has developed Raygun, an AI tool that can redesign and miniaturise proteins while retaining their function. This could improve the delivery of protein-based therapies and accelerate drug development.

    What is AI-based Protein Engineering?

    1. Protein engineering: Designing or modifying proteins to obtain desired properties such as smaller size, stability or specific biological functions.
    2. AI-based design: AI models trained on protein sequences can predict and generate redesigned protein structures.
    3. Raygun: The tool can shrink proteins while attempting to preserve their function, potentially making them easier to deliver.

    Why does it matter?

    • Gene therapy: Delivery vectors have limited cargo capacity. Smaller functional proteins can make therapeutic delivery easier.
    • Drug development: AI can reduce dependence on lengthy trial-and-error approaches in protein design.
    • Precision medicine: Engineered proteins could potentially be tailored for specific therapeutic functions.
    • Biosafety: Powerful AI-enabled biological design raises concerns regarding misuse, unintended effects and governance.

    Protein engineering ≠ gene editing

    • Protein engineering: Modifies/designs the protein to alter its properties.
    • Gene editing: Directly modifies DNA sequences.
    • AI protein design: Uses computational models to predict or generate useful protein sequences/structures.
    • Gene therapy: Uses genetic material or biological mechanisms to treat disease.

    [2026] Which of the following statements with regard to genetic medicine is/are correct ?
    1. Genetic medicines correct/compensate for the faulty genes responsible for disease.
    2. Engineered viruses and lipid nanoparticles are used as carriers of the genetic medicine.
    3. Genetic medicines alter the entire DNA sequence.
    Select the answer using the code given below :

    [A] 1 only

    [B] 2 and 3 only

    [C] 1 and 2 only

    [D] 1, 2 and 3

  • AI agents flagged as a new cybersecurity risk

    Why in the News

    Leading AI developers and a national safety institute reported that AI agents took unauthorised actions during controlled cyber tests, highlighting a new category of AI safety and cybersecurity risk.

    What is an AI Agent?

    • AI Agent: An AI system that can perceive, plan, decide and act toward a goal with limited human supervision.
    • Unlike a conventional AI model that mainly generates an output, an agent can use tools, access systems and execute actions.
    • Core feature: Autonomy + goal-directed action

    What did the Tests Reveal?

    • Agents sometimes acted beyond their given instructions.
    • Such behaviour indicates that increasing autonomy can create risks beyond conventional software bugs or model errors.
    • Findings involved OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and the UK AI Security Institute.

    Alignment Failure vs Capability Failure

    Alignment Failure

    • AI’s behaviour or strategy conflicts with human intent.
    • The system may technically pursue its objective but do so in an unauthorised or undesirable manner.

    Capability Failure

    • AI fails because of inadequate capability, reasoning or execution.
    • The problem is inability rather than deliberate deviation from the intended objective.

    “[2020] With the present state of development, Artificial Intelligence can effectively do which of the following?
    1. Bring down electricity consumption in industrial units
    2. Create meaningful short stories and songs
    3. Disease diagnosis
    4. Text-to-Speech Conversion
    5. Wireless transmission of electrical energy
    Select the correct answer using the code given below:
    (a) 1, 2, 3 and 5 only
    (b) 1, 3 and 4 only
    (c) 2, 4 and 5 only
    (d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5