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Subject: Science and Technology

  • Antibiotic-resistant infections: Risks, costs

    Why in the News

    Infections caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria are more likely to kill hospitalised patients in India and cost more to treat than infections caused by drug susceptible strains. A surveillance study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) records higher mortality, longer hospital stays and higher antibiotic costs where the bacteria resist carbapenems, the broad spectrum antibiotics doctors hold in reserve for serious infections. The study links laboratory resistance results to what then happened to the patient, which Indian resistance surveillance had not previously done at this scale. Most of the severe infections it recorded began inside the hospital rather than in the community. The tension it sets up is between the search for the next antibiotic and the routine work of preventing infection in the first place.

    What is antimicrobial resistance?

    1. Bacteria survive the drugs meant to kill them: Resistant bacteria continue to grow and reproduce in the presence of antibiotics designed to stop them. Treatment narrows to whatever the organism still responds to.
    2. Resistance spreads sideways, not only down generations: Resistant bacteria pass resistance genes to their offspring. They also transfer those genes to unrelated bacteria through the exchange of DNA.
    3. Carbapenem resistance closes the reserve line: Carbapenems are held back for serious infections where other antibiotics have already failed. Resistance to them leaves few effective options behind.

    What did the ICMR surveillance study cover?

    1. Scale and period: The ICMR antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance network studied 159,336 hospitalised patients across 20 tertiary care hospitals between April 2022 and April 2025.
    2. Two of the four bacteria tracked: Escherichia coli causes urinary tract infections. Klebsiella pneumoniae triggers both urinary and lung infections.
    3. The other two: Acinetobacter baumannii causes ventilator associated pneumonia, bloodstream infections, wound and surgical site infections, urinary tract infections and sometimes meningitis. Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes bloodstream, eye and ear infections.
    4. Resistance was the majority finding: Almost 61.1 percent of the patients studied carried infections resistant to carbapenem antibiotics.

    How much does carbapenem resistance raise the risk of death?

    1. Escherichia coli: 24.4 percent of patients with carbapenem resistant infections died, against 17.3 percent of those with susceptible infections. That is a 41 percent higher relative risk of death.
    2. Klebsiella pneumoniae: Mortality was 31.2 percent in the resistant group against 23.5 percent in the susceptible group, a 33 percent higher relative risk.
    3. Acinetobacter baumannii: Mortality was 37.9 percent against 32.8 percent, a 16 percent higher relative risk.
    4. Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Mortality was 28.9 percent against 20.2 percent, a 43 percent higher relative risk.
    5. Bloodstream infections carry the heaviest toll: Among patients with carbapenem resistant bloodstream infections, mortality ran from 39.3 percent for E. coli to 50.8 percent for A. baumannii. It was 44.8 percent for K. pneumoniae and 46.4 percent for P. aeruginosa.

    What does resistance add to the cost of treatment?

    1. Escherichia coli: Antibiotic cost averaged about Rs 39,846 per patient for resistant infections against Rs 20,034 for susceptible ones.
    2. Klebsiella pneumoniae: The corresponding figures were about Rs 55,688 and Rs 47,918.
    3. Acinetobacter baumannii: Treatment cost about Rs 62,150 for resistant infections against Rs 41,372 for susceptible ones.
    4. Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Treatment cost about Rs 66,599 for resistant infections against Rs 48,392 for susceptible ones.
    5. The costing is deliberately conservative: Only antibiotics priced under the Jan Aushadhi scheme were counted. Intensive care, bed and room charges, diagnostic investigations, procedures, supportive care and consultation were all left out, so the real burden on patients and the health system is larger.

    Why does the study point to infection control rather than antibiotic overuse?

    1. The severe infections began in the hospital: More than 85 percent of bloodstream infections across the four bacteria were classified as healthcare associated.
    2. The named failure points are procedural: Healthcare associated transmission, invasive devices, recent surgery and gaps in infection prevention and timely diagnosis are what the study identifies. Reducing the problem to antibiotic overuse alone misplaces it.
    3. Antibiotics cannot substitute for prevention: The measures named are hand hygiene, device associated infection prevention, appropriate insertion and early removal of invasive devices, environmental cleaning, surgical infection prevention and surveillance of healthcare associated infections. Prevention stops the reserve antibiotics from being needed at all.
    4. Diagnostics decide whether prescribing is targeted: Timely diagnostics let a doctor identify the resistant organism and select a narrow, appropriate antibiotic. Without them, broad spectrum drugs are used by default.
    5. Surveillance has to reach the patient, not stop at the isolate: Integrated surveillance connecting laboratory results with mortality and treatment outcomes is what produced these findings. Prescribing data alone would not have shown them.

    What the study could not establish

    1. A tertiary hospital population is not a national average: These hospitals manage referred and often critically ill patients, so the level of resistance found there cannot be read as the level in the country.
    2. Key clinical variables were absent: The data carried no patient level information on how sick each patient was, how quickly appropriate treatment began, the source of the infection or the specific resistance mechanism involved.
    3. The findings describe practice, not drug superiority: The results reflect real world treatment patterns in India. They do not prove that one drug is universally better than another.

    Challenges to containing antimicrobial resistance in India

    1. Antibiotics move without a prescription: Schedule H1 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 requires a prescription and a separate sales register for named antibiotics, and compliance at the retail counter is weak. Eg. The Red Line campaign marks such medicines with a red stripe on the pack precisely because the schedule alone was not restricting sales.
      The Fix: Link Schedule H1 sales to an electronic prescription record, so the register is generated by the transaction instead of written up after it.
    2. Non human antibiotic use applies constant selection pressure: Antibiotics used for growth promotion and disease prevention in poultry and aquaculture select for resistant bacteria outside any clinical setting. Eg. India banned colistin, a last resort human antibiotic, in food producing animals in 2019 after its use in poultry farming was documented.
      The Fix: Replace single drug bans with a positive list of permitted veterinary antibiotics, enforced through residue testing at the point of procurement.
    3. Manufacturing effluent breeds resistance in the environment: Antibiotic residues discharged from pharmaceutical plants expose environmental bacteria to sub lethal drug concentrations, which is the condition in which resistance develops. Eg. Water bodies receiving effluent from the pharmaceutical cluster at Patancheru near Hyderabad have recorded high antibiotic concentrations.
      The Fix: Notify enforceable antibiotic residue limits for pharmaceutical effluent and make compliance a condition of the plant’s consent to operate.
    4. Infection prevention has no staffing floor: Most Indian hospitals run no dedicated infection control team to conduct hand hygiene and device audits, so prevention has no one accountable for it. Eg. National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) accreditation requires an infection control programme, and it covers a small share of India’s hospitals.
      The Fix: Make a minimum infection prevention and control staffing norm a condition of hospital empanelment under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
    5. Diagnostic delay forces empirical prescribing: Culture and sensitivity testing capacity sits mainly in large hospitals, and results take days, so smaller facilities start broad spectrum therapy blind. Eg. Rapid molecular testing is routine for drug resistant tuberculosis under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme, with no equivalent programme for bacterial bloodstream infections.
      The Fix: Fund rapid molecular resistance testing at district hospital level and tie its use to the hospital’s antibiotic prescribing audit.

    Conclusion

    India’s resistance response has been organised around what is prescribed, because prescribing is what the system can already count. This study relocates the problem to where the infection is acquired, which is a different task with a different owner inside the hospital. The unresolved part is that prevention carries no staffing norm, no dedicated budget line and no measurable output of its own, while prescribing has a surveillance network behind it. The marker to watch is whether prevention starts being counted the way prescribing already is.

    Back2Basics: Jan Aushadhi scheme

    1. What it is: The Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana supplies quality generic medicines at prices well below their branded equivalents.
    2. Who runs it: It is implemented by the Department of Pharmaceuticals under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, through the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Bureau of India.
    3. How it reaches patients: Medicines are sold through dedicated Janaushadhi Kendras rather than through ordinary retail pharmacies.

    [2019] Which of the following are the reasons for the occurrence of multi-drug resistance in microbial pathogens in India?

    1. Genetic predisposition of some people

    2. Taking incorrect doses of antibiotics to cure diseases

    3. Using antibiotics in livestock farming

    4. Multiple chronic diseases in some people

    Select the correct answer using the code given below.

    (a) 1 and 2

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1, 3 and 4

    (d) 2, 3 and 4

  • Ground control

    Why in the News

    Nine employee associations of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have written to the chairman seeking clarity on staff strength, recruitment and the outsourcing of core functions. The letter was sent on the day the agency recorded its largest success of the year, the launch of its first geosynchronous imaging satellite, EOS-05, on the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). The grievance follows from the Indian Space Policy of April 2023, which signalled that ISRO would eventually stop building commercial satellites and launch vehicles and would concentrate on exploratory missions. ISRO has stated that it will not be privatised or reduced, and the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), the body set up to enable private participation, has stated that the agency will not be diminished and that only industry’s role must grow. Neither institution has addressed the concern the letter actually raises, which is the loss of jobs. The underlying question is whether the sector’s direction still matches its founding principle, that space technology is an instrument of social development rather than a contest for prestige.

    What does the Indian Space Policy, 2023 set out?

    1. A division of roles: The policy separates the space sector into ISRO, IN-SPACe and NewSpace India Limited, and assigns each a distinct function instead of leaving all of them with ISRO.
    2. ISRO’s redefined remit: ISRO is to move out of routine operational and commercial production of satellites and launch vehicles, and towards research and development in advanced technologies and exploratory missions.
    3. IN-SPACe as the single window: IN-SPACe authorises and supervises the space activities of private entities, so a company deals with one authorising body rather than with the operator of the launch infrastructure.
    4. NewSpace India Limited as the commercial arm: The public sector company under the Department of Space is responsible for commercialising space technologies and platforms developed with public money.

    What are the employee associations asking for?

    1. Staff strength and recruitment: The associations want stated numbers on sanctioned strength and future recruitment, since a shrinking mandate implies a shrinking establishment.
    2. Outsourcing of core functions: The letter distinguishes contracting out manufacturing from contracting out functions the agency treats as core, and seeks clarity on where that line now falls.
    3. The institutional replies avoid the question: Both the agency and the authorisation body have answered on the agency’s continued existence, which was not what was asked.
    4. The timing is the point: The grievance surfaced on a day of technical success, which indicates that the concern is about the institution’s trajectory and not about its capability.

    Which vision of the space programme is the sector following?

    1. The founding principle: The programme was built on a refusal to be drawn into space races and on the use of space technology as a tool for social development, meaning communication, weather and resource mapping for domestic needs.
    2. The competing image: The alternative is space as an emblem of national power, membership of a small club of space faring countries, and a proliferation of startups as evidence of arrival.
    3. The 2035 test the sector is being set: If the sector is to be a source of export earnings and a nucleus of value added services that absorbs skilled labour and creates jobs, hard choices taken now may be justified.
    4. Where the line falls: Joining a bandwagon driven by billionaire ambition and notions of conquest is a different objective from either, and the case for restructuring collapses if that is what it delivers.

    What does the comparison with NASA show?

    1. The budget gap: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) operates on $24.4 billion against the Department of Space’s Rs 13,705 crore, roughly 16 times larger.
    2. NASA also contracted: NASA’s budget fell from 0.7% of American gross domestic product in 1966 to 0.1% now, so its own shift to contracting out followed a sustained loss of fiscal share.
    3. Its establishment shrank with it: NASA’s civil service headcount fell from about 36,000 at the peak of the Apollo programme to about 14,000 today, which is the trajectory ISRO’s employees are reading against.
    4. The unaddressed comparator: China’s space programme has not been seriously reckoned with in India’s planning, and it is the one operating at a scale and cadence that directly bears on India’s position.

    Is the new private base the same as the old one?

    1. ISRO never made everything itself: Unlike NASA in its early years, which designed and made every component, ISRO has always had a manufacturing relationship with private industry, including Walchandnagar Industries and Larsen and Toubro.
    2. The entrants are of a different type: The current activity is not established companies building on decades of manufacturing experience but new entrants funded by foreign capital that may not stay.
    3. The business model has shifted: Most new entrants are interested in satellite data as a service rather than in building hardware, which is a different industrial base from the one that supplied the agency.
    4. The transferable capability is therefore narrower: A vendor base built on data services cannot absorb the manufacturing functions ISRO is being asked to shed.

    Challenges to ISRO’s restructuring

    1. In house capability is easy to lose and slow to rebuild: Skills that live in the hands of a small number of engineers disappear once the work is contracted out and the staff are not replaced. Eg. Cryogenic engine development took India close to two decades to master after external supply was cut off.
      The Fix: Ring fence a defined set of critical technologies as retained in house capability, with recruitment sanctioned against them irrespective of outsourcing elsewhere.
    2. The private demand base is thin: A domestic space economy built on data services has few anchor customers other than government departments, so private capacity depends on public orders it is meant to replace. Eg. Earth observation demand in India is dominated by central and State government users.
      The Fix: Commit an anchor procurement volume for satellite data and launch services over a fixed multi year period, so private capacity is built against contracted demand.
    3. Foreign capital in the entrant base is mobile: Startups funded by capital that can exit quickly cannot be relied on to hold strategic capability through a downturn. Eg. Global space venture funding has moved sharply between years, tightening after periods of expansion.
      The Fix: Condition the transfer of any strategic technology on domestic ownership thresholds and on a minimum period of operation in India.
    4. Transferring a launch vehicle is harder than transferring a design: Handing production of a vehicle to industry moves drawings but not the accumulated process knowledge that makes a launch repeatable. Eg. The Small Satellite Launch Vehicle technology transfer to industry involved an extended period of hand holding rather than a clean handover.
      The Fix: Structure every technology transfer with a defined number of jointly executed missions before the agency withdraws.
    5. The regulatory body is also the promoter: IN-SPACe both promotes private participation and authorises it, so the function that grants approvals is the function measured on how many approvals it grants. Eg. Authorisation and promotion sit within one body rather than in separate agencies.
      The Fix: Separate the authorisation function into a statutory regulator with its own appointment process, leaving promotion with the existing body.

    Conclusion

    The agency’s technical record is not what is in question, and a successful launch is precisely why the staffing letter is difficult to dismiss. What is unresolved is that two institutions have given assurances about the agency’s survival while declining to state what happens to the people inside it, and an assurance that avoids the question asked is not an answer. The concrete thing to watch is whether the Department of Space publishes a transparent policy stating sanctioned staff strength, the recruitment pipeline and the specific functions that will remain in house.

    Back2Basics: Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle

    1. What it is: A three stage Indian launch vehicle designed mainly to place communication and other heavier satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbit.
    2. Its stages: It uses a solid first stage with liquid strap on boosters, a liquid second stage, and an indigenous cryogenic upper stage.
    3. Why the cryogenic stage matters: Cryogenic propulsion burns liquid hydrogen with liquid oxygen at very low temperatures, giving the high efficiency needed for the final push to a high orbit, and India developed it after external supply was withheld.
    4. Its record: The vehicle has a higher failure rate than India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, which is why each successful GSLV flight is treated as a significant outcome.

    [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

  • ISRO’s role is by no means diminishing: space officials

    ISRO’s role is by no means diminishing: space officials

    Why in the News

    Nine Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) employee associations have written a joint letter dated 4 September seeking written clarification on whether the government intends to transfer the agency’s launch vehicle and satellite manufacturing to private firms.

    What did the employee associations actually ask?

    1. Whether the position is an approved decision: They asked whether the stated future of ISRO not manufacturing launch vehicles represents an approved Space Commission decision.
    2. What happens to the workforce: They asked what would happen to sanctioned strength and recruitment over the next five to 10 years.
    3. Whether they will be consulted: They asked whether the associations would be consulted before irreversible decisions are taken.
    4. Where the letter went: It was addressed to the Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, ISRO, and copied to the Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers.

    What is the official position on ISRO’s role?

    1. The role is stated as undiminished: IN-SPACe’s chairman said the direction is not a smaller ISRO but a larger Indian space ecosystem, with ISRO pushing the technological frontier.
    2. Privatisation is denied outright: ISRO’s clarification stated that the agency will neither be privatised nor have its importance reduced.
    3. Transfer is distinguished from withdrawal: Handing over a mature technology does not amount to leaving that domain, on the agency’s stated reasoning.
    4. Ownership stays public: Critical national space infrastructure will remain owned by the government.

    How is the division of labour defined?

    1. The 2020 reforms set the structure: The reforms were aimed at expanding the overall ecosystem, with IN-SPACe authorising non-government participation and NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) commercialising mature capabilities.
    2. Industry takes the mature end: Industry is to increasingly manufacture and scale launch vehicles and satellites whose technology is settled.
    3. The agency keeps the unsettled end: ISRO is to concentrate on advanced research and development, scientific and strategic missions, and infrastructure too complex for private developers.
    4. The policy instrument: The arrangement is described as an ISRO-led national space ecosystem, institutionalised through the Indian Space Policy 2023.

    What does the reform record show so far?

    1. Firm formation: India now has over 450 space start-ups, against a handful in 2020.
    2. The revenue target: The space economy is roughly $8.4 billion and the stated aim is to grow it to $44 billion by 2033.
    3. The retained programmes: The Bharatiya Antariksh Station by 2035 and an Indian crewed lunar mission by 2040 are named as the missions ISRO itself will build toward.

    Why could employees only raise this as associations?

    1. They are outside the industry definition: Department of Space employees are exempted from the statutory definition of industry.
    2. They cannot unionise: That exemption means they cannot form trade unions to bargain on employment terms.
    3. The available channel is narrower: They organise instead as service associations recognised under the Central Civil Services (Recognition of Service Associations) Rules, 1993, which permits representation rather than negotiation.

    Challenges to an ISRO-led national space ecosystem

    1. Government remains the anchor customer: Private launch and satellite demand is thin, so firms depend on public orders for volume. Eg. NewSpace India Limited awarded the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle industrial production contract for five vehicles to a Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Larsen and Toubro consortium in 2022.
      The Fix: Publish a multi-year public launch and satellite procurement calendar, so firms can size capacity against committed demand rather than announcements.
    2. Technology transfer terms decide whether industry can compete: A transferred design without production know-how and test infrastructure leaves the recipient dependent on the agency. Eg. ISRO transferred the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle technology to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in 2025.
      The Fix: Attach test facility access and a defined hand-holding period to every transfer agreement, with milestones the recipient must independently clear.
    3. Long-gestation capital is scarce: Launch and propulsion ventures need patient capital across development cycles that outlast most venture fund horizons. Eg. The Union Budget for 2024-25 announced a Rs 1,000 crore venture capital fund for the space sector for this reason.
      The Fix: Route that fund through milestone-linked tranches tied to qualification tests, rather than as equity at a single valuation point.
    4. Foreign investment rules still differ by segment: Investment caps vary across launch vehicles, satellites and components, which complicates raising capital for an integrated firm. Eg. The 2024 foreign direct investment revision set different automatic-route thresholds for satellite manufacturing, launch vehicles and component supply.
      The Fix: Publish a single classification note stating which activity falls in which segment, so a firm knows its cap before it raises capital.

    Conclusion

    Both sides agree that industry should build what is settled and the agency should build what is not. The disagreement is over where that boundary currently sits and who has the authority to move it. The workforce question the associations raised is the one neither reply engaged with. Until the Department of Space states its recruitment intent in numbers, the assurance rests on stated direction rather than on anything an employee can verify.

    Back2Basics

    1. NewSpace India Limited: The commercial arm of the Department of Space, incorporated in March 2019 as a central public sector enterprise.
    2. Predecessor: It took over the commercial role earlier held by Antrix Corporation, which now handles a narrower marketing mandate.
    3. Business model: It operates on a demand-driven model, owning and operating satellites and launches for identified customers rather than only marketing surplus capacity.
    4. Headquarters: It is based in Bengaluru and reports to the Department of Space.

    [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

  • Bhutan leads Southeast Asia region in eliminating rabies

    Bhutan leads Southeast Asia region in eliminating rabies

    Why in News?

    • WHO has validated Bhutan as the first country in the South-East Asia Region to eliminate dog-transmitted rabies as a public health problem. India aims to eliminate human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030.

    What does WHO Validation Mean?

    • Not virus eradication: It means elimination of human deaths from dog-mediated rabies.
    • The virus may still exist in wildlife reservoirs.
    • 2 years: No human deaths from dog-mediated rabies for at least two consecutive years.
    • The country must demonstrate capacity to prevent re-emergence through surveillance and response.

    How did Bhutan achieve it?

    Two-pronged strategy

    • Mass vaccination of dogs to control infection at source.
    • Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) for exposed humans:
      • Wound washing with soap and water
      • Rabies vaccine
      • Rabies immunoglobulin where required

    One Health approach

    • Coordination between:
      • Ministry of Health
      • Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock
      • Local governments
      • Veterinary workers
      • Communities
    • De-suung volunteers, called “Guardians of Peace”, supported vaccination and awareness.

    Why is Rabies a Major Challenge for India?

    • ~59,000: Global rabies deaths annually.
    • ~1/3: Share of global deaths occurring in India.
    • ~96%: Rabies mortality and morbidity associated with dog bites.
    • Rabies is endemic across most of India.
    • Exceptions: Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.
    • Once clinical symptoms appear, rabies is almost always fatal.

    What does India need for the 2030 Target?

    1. Dog vaccination

    • Achieve around 70% vaccination coverage.
    • Conduct annual mass vaccination campaigns.
    • Publish district-level vaccination coverage.

    2. Dog population management

    • Strengthen municipal sterilisation and vaccination programmes.
    • Link funding to verified vaccination coverage, rather than only sterilisation numbers.

    3. Better PEP access

    • Decentralise rabies immunoglobulin to lower-level health facilities.
    • Improve rural access to complete PEP.

    4. Strong surveillance

    • Make human and animal rabies nationally notifiable.
    • Improve case-based reporting and mortality estimation.

    5. One Health coordination

    • Integrate human health, animal health and environmental health.
    • Strengthen coordination among health, animal husbandry and wildlife agencies.

    One Health

    • Definition: An integrated approach linking human, animal and environmental health.
    • Rabies is a classic One Health disease because:
      • Reservoir: Mainly animals
      • Transmission: Animal to human
      • Outcome: Human disease and death
    • India has established the National One Health Mission for coordination on zoonotic diseases.

    Prelims Quick Revision

    • 59,000: Approximate global rabies deaths annually.
    • 1/3: Approximate share occurring in India.
    • 96%: Mortality and morbidity associated with dog bites.
    • 70%: Approximate dog vaccination coverage required to interrupt transmission.
    • 2 years: Disease-free period relevant to WHO validation.
    • 2030: Target for eliminating human deaths from dog-mediated rabies.
    • Rabies elimination ≠ rabies virus eradication

    [2014] Consider the following diseases:

    1. Diphtheria

    2. Chickenpox

    3. Smallpox

    Which of the above diseases has/have been eradicated in India?

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 3 only

    (c) 1, 2 and 3 only

    (d) None of the above

  • Geothermal Energy

    Why in News

    A PIB Backgrounder on geothermal energy set out the resource, its potential in India, and its place in the clean energy transition.

    Core facts

    1. Definition: Geothermal energy is heat stored within the earth. It is drawn from hot rocks and hot water reservoirs below the surface and used for power generation and direct heating.
    2. Nature of the resource: Geothermal energy is a renewable and baseload source. It supplies power around the clock, unlike solar and wind, which vary with weather and time of day.

    Static Context

    1. India’s potential: The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has identified about 340 geothermal hot spring sites. The estimated geothermal power potential is placed around 10,600 megawatts (MW).
    2. Key geothermal provinces: Major sites include Puga and Chhumathang in Ladakh, Tattapani in Chhattisgarh, Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh, and the Godavari and Cambay basins.
    3. How it works: A geothermal plant taps steam or hot water from a well. The steam drives a turbine. The turbine drives a generator to produce electricity.
    4. Uses beyond power: Direct use includes space heating, greenhouse warming, aquaculture and cold storage. Ladakh has seen pilot efforts for geothermal power and heating.
    5. Nodal ministry: The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is the nodal ministry for renewable energy sources, including geothermal.
    6. Global comparison: Countries with high geothermal output include the United States, Indonesia, the Philippines, Iceland and Kenya. India’s geothermal capacity remains at an early stage.

    Prelims angle

    1. The location of Puga, Tattapani, Manikaran and other geothermal sites, and the role of the Geological Survey of India in resource mapping.
    2. The classification of geothermal as a renewable and baseload source, and the nodal ministry. Site to state matching is a common format.

    Mains angle

    1. GS Paper 3, infrastructure and energy, and India’s renewable energy mix.
    2. A question can ask how baseload renewable sources such as geothermal complement variable solar and wind in the path to energy security.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “[2022, GS3, 15] Do you think India will meet 50 percent of its energy needs from renewable energy by 2030 ? Justify your answer. How will the shift of subsidies from fossil fuels to renewables help achieve the above objective? Explain.”

  • Ten-sided wave undulates around Saturn’s south pole

    Why in the News

    Scientists have found a decagonal wave, a standing pattern with ten sides, around Saturn’s south pole. It is the first time such a feature has been reported at that pole. The finding rests on images taken from space and ground telescopes between 2023 and 2025. Saturn’s north pole has been known for decades to carry a long-lasting hexagonal wave, so the planet now presents two polar polygons with different numbers of sides. The question that follows is why one atmosphere produces two different wave patterns at its two poles.

    What has been observed at Saturn’s south pole?

    1. The shape: A wave with ten sides encircles the south pole, the counterpart of the six-sided pattern long known at the north.
    2. The evidence base: It was identified from images taken by space and ground telescopes across 2023 to 2025, so it has been seen over a span of years rather than in a single observation.
    3. The motion: The whole pattern drifts slowly eastward around the pole.
    4. The oscillation: The decagon’s vertices, the ten corners where the sides meet, move back and forth on a cycle of 32 days.

    What do researchers think the feature is?

    1. It has depth, not just outline: The wave is treated as a vertical structure extending into the atmosphere, not a pattern confined to the visible cloud tops.
    2. The first candidate cause: Unstable winds are one proposed origin, meaning a fast circumpolar flow that breaks into a regular wave pattern rather than running smooth.
    3. The second candidate cause: A nearby anticyclone, a high-pressure rotating storm system, is the other proposed origin, forcing the wave from outside.

    How does this compare with the north-polar hexagon?

    1. The hexagon is old and stable: It was first seen in Voyager images in the early 1980s and observed again from Saturn orbit two decades later, so it has persisted across most of a Saturnian year.
    2. It is very large: The hexagon spans of the order of 30,000 km, wider than the Earth, and is understood as the path of a fast jet stream circling the pole.
    3. The wave number is what differs: A six-sided and a ten-sided pattern imply different jet speeds and different shear across the jet, so the two poles are not mirror images of each other.
    4. The south pole already carried a distinct feature: A hurricane-like polar vortex with a well-defined eyewall was imaged there in the previous decade, which is a different phenomenon from a polygonal jet.

    Why is Saturn’s south pole harder to study?

    1. No spacecraft is there now: The only orbiter to have studied Saturn from close range ended its mission in 2017, so all current work depends on remote imaging from Earth orbit and from the ground.
    2. Season controls the view: Saturn is tilted about 27 degrees and takes roughly 29 Earth years to orbit the Sun, so each pole is favourably lit only for part of that cycle, and the planet passed its most recent equinox in 2025.
    3. Resolution is the limiting factor: Telescopes hundreds of millions of kilometres away resolve polar detail far less finely than an orbiting camera, which is why a repeated pattern is easier to detect than its internal structure.

    Conclusion

    Two polar polygons with different side counts on the same planet is a constraint on any model of Saturn’s atmospheric circulation, because a single explanation now has to produce both. Whether the southern feature holds for decades as the northern one has, or decays within a few years, is the question the next stretch of telescope observation will settle. No dedicated mission to Saturn’s atmosphere is scheduled, so that answer will come from the ground and from Earth-orbiting instruments rather than from a return visit.

    Back2Basics: Cassini-Huygens

    1. It was a joint mission of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency to study Saturn, its rings and its moons.
    2. It was launched in 1997 and entered orbit around Saturn in 2004, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit the planet.
    3. It carried the Huygens probe, which landed on Titan in 2005, the first landing in the outer solar system.
    4. The mission ended in September 2017 with a deliberate plunge into Saturn’s atmosphere, chosen to avoid contaminating potentially habitable moons.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “Which one of the following planets has largest number of natural satellites or moons ? (a) Jupiter (b) Mars (c) Saturn (d) Venus”

  • What is ‘One Nation, One Time’?

    Why in the News

    The Centre has notified the Legal Metrology (Indian Standard Time) Rules, 2026, making Indian Standard Time (IST) the single reference for legal, administrative, commercial and other official purposes across the country. The Rules follow a draft notified by the Department of Consumer Affairs in January 2025, and the work of a high-power inter-ministerial committee constituted to build a policy, regulatory and legislative framework for adopting IST under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009. IST already existed and was already maintained by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL). It was not mandatorily adopted, and many telecom and internet service providers continued to take their time from foreign satellite sources such as the Global Positioning System (GPS). The change is about legal compulsion, and about where critical infrastructure gets its time from, not about setting the clock.

    What do the Legal Metrology (Indian Standard Time) Rules, 2026 do?

    1. They make one time reference legally binding: IST becomes the single reference for legal, administrative, commercial and other official purposes across the country.
    2. They allow a transition period: The Rules come into force 180 days from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette, so departments, businesses and institutions can change their systems first.
    3. They name the permitted domestic sources: The Rules enable the use of the Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC), India’s own satellite navigation system, along with other approved Indian timing sources for time dissemination.

    Why does India need a legally fixed time reference?

    1. Digital systems record events by timestamp: Banking and digital payments, telecommunications, railways, power systems, computer networks and government records all depend on accurate time and time stamps.
    2. Divergent sources corrupt sequence: Differences between time sources affect the coordination and the recording of these activities, so two systems can disagree about the order in which events happened.
    3. The listed users are the critical ones: The common reference is meant to support time-stamping of banking and digital payment transactions, coordination among railways, airports and other transport systems, reliable functioning of telecommunication and internet networks, precise time-keeping in power systems, the upkeep of government and legal records, and coordination of emergency services.

    How is IST generated and distributed?

    1. The definition: IST is Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the international reference time, with a plus five hours thirty minutes offset, and it is maintained by CSIR-NPL.
    2. The precision claimed: IST is generated using advanced atomic clocks and satellite links to ensure traceability to UTC with an uncertainty of less than 3 nanoseconds.
    3. How users receive it today: It is widely disseminated at millisecond accuracy through Network Time Protocol servers at CSIR-NPL.
    4. The satellite path: ISRO has been given traceability to IST at nanosecond accuracy through satellite links to NavIC.

    How did the push for a common time begin?

    1. The draft stage: The Department of Consumer Affairs notified draft Rules in January 2025 proposing to synchronise time across India, working with the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to disseminate IST with millisecond to microsecond accuracy from the five legal metrology laboratories.
    2. The gap it identified: The trademark for IST had been registered in 2024, and the time itself had not been legalised in India.
    3. The committee that framed it: A high-power inter-ministerial committee headed by the Secretary (Consumer Affairs) drew in NPL, ISRO, IIT Kanpur, the National Informatics Centre, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), the Securities and Exchange Board of India, and the railways and telecom departments.

    What is the security case for cutting reliance on foreign time sources?

    1. The stated national security ground: The government’s position is that synchronising all networks and systems to IST is essential for national security, for real-time applications and for the smooth operation of critical infrastructure.
    2. The demonstration already built: Under the One Nation, One Time initiative, a White Rabbit Technology-based IST Dissemination Demonstration Network was commissioned in July 2026 at the Regional Reference Standard Laboratory in Bengaluru, using a fibre-based method that distributes time at sub-nanosecond accuracy.
    3. The claim made for it: The network is described as upholding the sovereignty of the nation’s digital infrastructure by eliminating reliance on foreign time sources like GPS, and as giving critical sectors maximum protection against cyber-attacks and data manipulation.

    Challenges to a single legal time reference

    1. One clock across a wide longitudinal span: India stretches across roughly 30 degrees of longitude, so sunrise and sunset in the far east of the country run close to two hours ahead of the far west against the same clock. Eg. Assam has repeatedly pressed for a separate time an hour ahead, and its tea estates already run on such a working clock informally.
      The Fix: Stagger office and school hours administratively in the north-eastern States, which captures the daylight gain without splitting the legal time reference the Rules have just unified.
    2. Compliance across private networks is unaudited: Telecom and internet operators must re-point their time servers, and no published mechanism verifies that they have. Eg. Network equipment commonly synchronises to satellite-derived time by default in its firmware, without the operator making an active choice.
      The Fix: Require licensed operators to file an annual traceability certificate against CSIR-NPL time as a licence condition.
    3. Internet-delivered time is too coarse for the highest-precision users: Time delivered over the public internet is accurate to milliseconds, and grid protection and trade sequencing are specified in microseconds. Eg. Synchrophasor measurement in power systems and order sequencing on securities exchanges both need microsecond-level agreement between distant nodes.
      The Fix: Extend the fibre-based distribution path from the reference laboratories to grid control centres and exchange data centres before the Rules take effect.
    4. A domestic chain still needs local fallback: A node cut off from its time source drifts unless it holds an independent clock of its own. Eg. A ground segment error in the Global Positioning System in 2016 broadcast an offset of about 13 microseconds and disrupted telecom and broadcast equipment across several countries.
      The Fix: Mandate local holdover clocks at critical nodes, rated to hold accuracy for a defined outage duration.

    Conclusion

    Notifying a legal time reference is the easy half of the exercise. The harder half is re-pointing the equipment inside banks, exchanges, grid control centres and telecom networks that currently takes its time from a foreign satellite by default, and none of that follows automatically from a notification. The marker to watch is whether the Department of Consumer Affairs publishes a compliance and audit mechanism, naming who certifies traceability and at what interval, before the transition window closes.

    Back2Basics: Legal Metrology Act, 2009

    1. It is the law governing weights, measures and units of measurement in India, administered by the Department of Consumer Affairs.
    2. It replaced the Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976 and the Standards of Weights and Measures (Enforcement) Act, 1985.
    3. It establishes the International System of Units as the basis for standard units, and provides for verification and stamping of weights and measuring instruments.
    4. Enforcement rests largely with State legal metrology departments, with the Centre setting the standards and framing the Rules.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “In which of the following areas can GPS technology be used ? 1. Mobile phone operations 2. Banking operations 3. Controlling the power grids Select the correct answer using the code given below : (a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3”

  • ISRO staff question trajectory of space privatisation, want chief to clarify

    Why in the News

    Key employee associations at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have written to the ISRO chairperson seeking a written clarification on whether ISRO’s exit from launch vehicle manufacture is an approved decision of the Government of India, the Space Commission or the Department of Space. The letter follows a public statement by the chairperson of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), the nodal body under the Department of Space set up in 2020 to open India’s space sector to private participation, that ISRO will eventually not manufacture any launch vehicles. The associations say the statement was never followed by any formal communication from the Department of Space explaining the policy, its legal basis, its timeline or its effect on staff. The letter was sent hours after ISRO launched an earth observation satellite aboard a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), ending a months-long hiatus. The dispute is between a promotion body announcing the direction of travel in public and a workforce with no document to read it in.

    What did the statement claim about ISRO’s future work?

    1. Launch vehicles move out: ISRO will eventually not manufacture any launch vehicles, and that work will be done by the private sector or a public sector undertaking.
    2. Routine satellites move out too: ISRO will not build what were described as day in day out satellites.
    3. What is retained is narrowly drawn: ISRO will build satellites for special purposes, for orbits meant for scientific research, or to develop new technology that is then transferred to the private sector.

    What are the employee associations asking for?

    1. The status of the statement: The letter asks the chairperson to issue a written clarification on whether the statements represent an approved decision of the Government of India, the Space Commission or the Department of Space.
    2. Who has signed it: It carries signatures of representatives from across ISRO’s centres, including the Space Applications Centre and the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre.
    3. What the letter asks to be defined: It seeks answers on ISRO’s future role as a public organisation, on whether public sector undertakings will also be excluded from manufacturing work, on the safeguards available to current employees, and on how publicly funded technologies are being transferred to private companies.
    4. A consultation demand: It asks whether employee associations will be consulted before any irreversible decision affecting the agency’s structure, mandate or staffing is finalised.

    Why do the associations treat this as a threat to the organisation?

    1. The activities named are the core, not the periphery: The associations describe those activities as ISRO’s core competence, and say withdrawing from them threatens the organisation’s long-term viability.
    2. Career expectations are unsettled: Employees who built careers around ISRO’s stability and public character now face uncertainty about what the organisation will be.
    3. Recruitment is the compounding effect: Recruitment is already limited by vacancies and attrition, and a shrinking intake discourages young professionals who see ISRO as a respected public sector career path.

    How far has the transfer to industry already gone?

    1. The stated policy since 2020: The government’s approach has been for ISRO to mentor emerging companies and gradually shift routine work to them, with ISRO focusing on missions of scientific and strategic significance.
    2. The transfers already made: ISRO has transferred around 120 technologies to industry, including the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle and the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
    3. Infrastructure is being built for the same segment: The new spaceport at Kulasekharapatnam is expected to focus on small satellite launches, a segment where private capability is already fairly advanced.

    Where does expert opinion sit on the direction?

    1. The opening is defended as overdue: The Deputy Director General of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses said the sector’s opening up was overdue and could have helped India capture a larger share of the global market sooner.
    2. Some shifting is treated as natural: With ISRO focused on Gaganyaan, the Bharatiya Antariksh Station and a crewed lunar mission, some functions would move to private players as a matter of course.
    3. The limit drawn is on launch: Launch services and vehicle development remain core to ISRO’s mandate, and ISRO should remain capable of launching some of its own satellites, especially the strategic ones.
    4. The counter-example cited is American: The stated caution is that India should not reach the position of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which is completely dependent on a single commercial provider for its launches.

    Challenges to India’s space sector privatisation

    1. The opening rests on policy, not statute: Authorisation, liability and licensing of private space activity are governed by executive policy documents rather than by a law passed by Parliament. Eg. A draft Space Activities Bill was circulated for comment in 2017 and was never introduced, and the Indian Space Policy, 2023 has filled that space instead.
      The Fix: Enact a space activities law fixing licensing conditions, third-party liability and government indemnity, so operators and the regulator work to statutory terms.
    2. Promotion and authorisation sit in the same body: The agency that promotes private entry also authorises it, and the incumbent it is displacing reports to the same department. Eg. IN-SPACe, ISRO and NewSpace India Limited all sit under the Department of Space.
      The Fix: Separate the authorisation function into a body with its own statutory mandate, leaving promotion and hand-holding with IN-SPACe.
    3. Publicly funded designs move out without a published valuation: Technology developed at public cost is handed to firms without the consideration or the continuing support obligations being disclosed. Eg. Production of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle was transferred through a competitive bid won by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
      The Fix: Publish the consideration, the support commitment and the reciprocal obligations for every transfer above a stated value.
    4. Capability decays when it is not exercised: Launch vehicle engineering skill is retained by building vehicles, not by supervising others building them. Eg. India’s cryogenic upper stage took roughly two decades to reach operational service after technology transfer from Russia was blocked in the 1990s.
      The Fix: Attach a minimum in-house build and integration requirement to each new vehicle programme so design teams retain hands-on work.

    Conclusion

    A structural change of this size is being read off a public remark rather than a departmental order, and that is the substance of the objection rather than the policy direction itself. Employees can contest a document. They cannot contest a statement that nobody has confirmed to be policy. The written clarification the letter seeks is the marker to watch. Whether it names the Space Commission as the deciding authority, or declines to, will show where the decision on ISRO’s manufacturing role actually sits.

    Back2Basics: IN-SPACe

    1. It is an autonomous single-window agency under the Department of Space, announced in 2020 and set up to enable private participation in space activities.
    2. It authorises and supervises space activities carried out by non-government entities in India.
    3. It arranges the sharing of ISRO’s facilities, expertise and technical data with private operators.
    4. It is distinct from NewSpace India Limited, which is the commercial arm that markets and sells ISRO’s products and services.

    Matching Previous Year Question

    “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”

  • Geothermal Energy

    Geothermal Energy

    Why in News

    The Press Information Bureau (PIB) published a thematic Backgrounder on Geothermal Energy on 4 September 2026. The piece is a subject explainer written for exam and public awareness value.

    Core facts

    1. Definition: Geothermal energy is heat stored inside the Earth. This heat is tapped through wells at sites with high underground temperature gradients.
    2. Nature of the source: Geothermal power is a renewable and baseload source. It generates around the clock, unlike solar or wind.
    3. Nodal ministry: The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is the nodal ministry for geothermal energy in India.
    4. Verification note: The release body did not resolve on the source page this run, so release-specific figures are not quoted. The static estimates below come from standard reference data.

    Static Context

    1. India’s first project: India commissioned its first geothermal wells at Puga Valley in the Changthang region of Ladakh. A 1 Megawatt (MW) pilot geothermal plant is planned as the first demonstration scale project.
    2. Implementing agency: The ONGC Energy Centre, a body of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), leads the Puga project with the Ladakh Administration.
    3. Estimated potential: India’s geothermal potential is estimated at about 10,600 MW (standard reference figure).
    4. Survey base: The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has documented about 381 hot springs. India has ten geothermal provinces, including the Himalayan, Son Narmada Tapi (SONATA), West Coast, Cambay and Godavari belts.
    5. Key sites: Notable geothermal sites include Puga and Chumathang in Ladakh, Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh, Tattapani in Chhattisgarh, and Bakreshwar in West Bengal.
    6. Policy frame: A National Policy on Geothermal Energy was notified in 2025, with the MNRE as the promoting authority.

    Prelims angle

    1. Nodal ministry: MNRE. Lead agency for Puga: ONGC Energy Centre.
    2. First site: Puga Valley, Ladakh. Survey body: GSI, with about 381 hot springs mapped.
    3. Source character: Renewable and baseload, driven by internal Earth heat.
    4. Geothermal provinces: Himalayan, SONATA, West Coast, Cambay, Godavari and others.

    Mains angle

    GS Paper 3, energy and infrastructure. A question can ask how geothermal energy can add firm renewable baseload capacity to India’s energy mix, and can weigh the high exploration cost and site concentration in the Himalayas against the round the clock output advantage.

    “[2013] Consider the following :

    (1). Electromagnetic radiation

    (2). Geothermal energy

    (3). Gravitational force

    (4). Plate movements

    (5). Rotation of the earth

    (6). Revolution of the earth

    Which of the above are responsible for bringing dynamic changes on the surface of the earth?

    (a) 1, 2, 3 and 4 only

    (b) 1, 3, 5 and 6 only

    (c) 2, 4, 5 and 6 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3, 4. 5 and 6.

  • ISRO launches advanced imaging satellite EOS-05

    ISRO launches advanced imaging satellite EOS-05

    Why in the News

    The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched the advanced earth observation satellite EOS-05 aboard the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F17).

    What is EOS-05?

    1. What makes it a first: It is India’s first dedicated imaging satellite operating from geosynchronous orbit, where a satellite’s orbital period matches the earth’s rotation so it holds position over the same region.
    2. What it carries: The satellite has multi band operating capabilities and an operational life of nine years.
    3. What it replaces: It takes the place of EOS-03, lost in the unsuccessful GSLV-F10 mission of August 2021.
    4. Where it is now: ISRO has confirmed that the valves are operating, the solar panel is deployed and the satellite’s health is intact, and the orbit will be raised over the coming days to place it on the geo platform.

    Why does imaging from geosynchronous orbit matter?

    1. It removes the revisit gap: A low earth orbit imaging satellite passes over a given area only periodically, while a geosynchronous platform holds the same region in view continuously.
    2. The applications are time sensitive: Near real time imagery serves agriculture, environment monitoring and disaster management, where the value of an image collapses if it arrives days after the event.
    3. The data is described as strategic: ISRO has stated that the platform will supply important strategic data supporting “national activities”, which is the standard formulation for defence and security use.
    4. The trade off is resolution: Ground resolution falls as orbital distance rises, so a geosynchronous imager buys persistence at the cost of the fine detail a low orbit satellite returns.

    What does the mission say about the launch vehicle?

    1. It was the heaviest payload the vehicle has carried: The 2,367 kg satellite is the heaviest ISRO has injected using this launch vehicle.
    2. The growth is measurable against the first flight: The first GSLV flight, GSLV-D1, carried a payload of 1,536 kg.
    3. The gain came from two specific changes: ISRO has attributed the improvement to optimising the vehicle’s structural mass and improving its propulsion systems.
    4. The vehicle configuration: The GSLV is a three stage, 51.7 metre vehicle with a lift off mass of 420.5 tonnes, and its third stage is cryogenic (using propellants stored as liquids at extremely low temperatures, which yields higher efficiency than conventional stages).
    5. The mission count: This was the 19th GSLV mission and the 107th launch from Sriharikota.

    Why had ISRO stopped launching?

    1. Two consecutive vehicle failures: The PSLV-C61 mission failed on 18 May 2025, and the PSLV-C62 mission carrying the EOS-N1 earth observation satellite failed on 12 January 2026.
    2. The response was a deliberate halt: ISRO adopted a cautious approach after the back to back failures and refrained from carrying out further launches.
    3. The cost was an entire quarter: Seven missions, including this one, had been scheduled for the first quarter of 2026, and no satellite was launched during the period.

    Challenges to India’s earth observation programme

    1. Launch cadence lags the manifest: A single quarter of stood down launches pushes an entire year’s schedule, and satellites waiting for a slot age against their design windows. Eg. Seven missions planned for the first quarter of 2026 were carried forward without a single flight.
      The Fix: Move routine earth observation payloads onto the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle and commercial providers, so a review of one vehicle does not freeze the whole manifest.
    2. The cryogenic stage remains the vehicle’s hardest element: The GSLV’s performance depends on a stage that took India close to two decades to prove. Eg. The first fully successful flight of the indigenous cryogenic upper stage came only with GSLV-D5 in January 2014.
      The Fix: Sustain a parallel production line and ground test cadence for cryogenic stages, so a flight failure does not idle the vehicle for want of a qualified replacement stage.
    3. Optical imaging fails when it is needed most: An optical imager cannot see through cloud, and India’s worst flood and landslide events occur during the monsoon under continuous cloud cover. Eg. Disaster response during the monsoon depends on radar imaging satellites such as EOS-04 rather than on optical payloads.
      The Fix: Pair the geosynchronous optical platform with a scheduled radar imaging constellation, so persistent coverage survives the cloud season.
    4. Imagery is only as useful as its downstream users: Data value depends on agencies and states being able to ingest and act on it rather than on the satellite alone. Eg. Access to national imagery is routed through the Bhuvan platform and the National Remote Sensing Centre, and uptake varies sharply across state departments.
      The Fix: Fund state level remote sensing application centres with standing analyst posts, so imagery reaches district administrations as advisories rather than as raw files.

    Conclusion

    The satellite is in a transfer orbit and not yet at its station, so the mission’s outcome is settled only once orbit raising is complete and the platform is commissioned. The capability it brings is persistence over one region rather than sharper pictures, which suits warning and monitoring more than reconnaissance. The launch pause has ended on the vehicle that had the weaker record, which is the more demanding of the two returns to flight. What to watch is whether the remaining missions deferred from the first quarter of 2026 now fly on schedule, since a single successful launch does not by itself restore a cadence.

    “[2018] With reference to India’s satellite launch vehicles, consider the following statements :

    1.PSLVs launch the satellites useful for Earth resources monitoring whereas GSLVs are designed mainly to launch communication satellites.

    2.Satellites launched by PSLV appear to remain permanently fixed in the same position in the sky, as viewed from a particular location on Earth.

    3.GSLV Mk III is a four-stage launch vehicle with the first and third stages using solid rocket motors, and the second and fourth stages using liquid rocket engines.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3

    (c) 1 and 2

    (d) 3 only