Science & Tech. (Latest Developments and their Applications) by Rajvardhan

Model Answer

Question #1. Explaining India’s first Manned Mission into Space, discuss how it will contribute to technological, economic and educational development of India.

Approach:

•   Briefly introduce with India’s first Manned Mission into Space
•   Discuss features of India’s 1st manned space mission
•   Explain the multifarious advantages of launching our own Manned Mission for the 1st time.
•   Conclude with how this mission will place India in the club of Space Superpowers and will have multiplier effects on India’s trajectory.

Hints:

India’s first indigenous Manned Space programme (Gaganyaan Mission) is set to launch Indian astronauts to space.

It intends to send  3  astronauts  tspace  by  2022,  as  part  of  the  Indian  Human  Spaceflight  Programme.  This will make India the 4th nation in the world to launch a Human Spaceflight Mission.

Features of India’s 1st manned space mission:

•   The Gaganyaan Programme will undertake the demonstration of human spaceflight to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in the short term and will pave the way for future Indian human space exploration programmes in the long run.
•   In its maiden crewed mission, ISRO’s largely autonomous 5.3 t (12,000 lb) capsule will orbit the Earth at 400 km altitude for up to seven days with a three-person crew on board.
•   The objective of the Gaganyaan programme is to demonstrate the indigenous capability to undertake human space flight missions to LEO.
•   The major new technologies involved in the Gaganyaan Mission are:
  • • Human rated launch vehicle
    • Crew escape systems
    • Habitable orbital module
    • Life support system
    • Crew selection and training and associated crew management activities
•   International Collaboration: ISRO has collaborated with various international partners for training  and  logistics  support  like  ROSCOSMOS  (the  Russian  space  agency),  CNES  (space agency of France) etc.
•   Gaganyaan will play a vital role in boosting  technological,  educational  and  economic development  within the country:

Technological, Educational and Economic Development:

• Gaganyaan will involve numerous agencies, laboratories, disciplines, industries and departments all of which are expected to learn and improve during this programme.
• Human Space flights are a frontier field in science and technology, and hence help in faster technological development.
• It will boost good research and technology development. With a  large  number  of  researchers  with  proper  equipment  involved, HSF will thrust significant research in areas such as materials processing, astrobiology, resources  mining, planetary chemistry, planetary  orbital calculus and many other areas.
• It will lead a Progress towards sustained and affordable human and robotic programmes to explore the solar system and beyond.
• Gaganyaan Programme is a national effort and will involve the participation of academia and National Agencies.  It will establish a broader framework for collaboration between ISRO, academia, industry, national agencies and other scientific organizations.
• It will motivate younger generations to take up Space astronomy as a discipline in their career preferences.
• It will help in the improvement of industrial growth since many equipment will be required for its launch and training.
• The Indian industry will find large opportunities through participation in the highly demanding Space missions. Gaganyaan Mission is expected to source nearly 60% of its equipment from the Indian private sector. Recently,  the  Government  has  announced  a  new organisation,  IN-SPACe,  as  part  of  reforms  tincrease  private  participation  in  the space sector.
• According to the ISRO chief, the Gaganyaan mission would create 15,000 new employment  opportunities,  13,000  of  them  in  private  industry  and  the space organisation would need an additional manpower of 900.
• It will help in making India a Space hub.

Conclusion:

In  terms  of  space  technology,  a  manned  space  programme  is  the  obvious  next  step  for  India. Gaganyaan success will put India into the elite club of space superpowers. It will help India to put a step forward in developing its own space station which the government plans to achieve after this mission success. The Gaganyaan will not only bring about prestige to the nation but also establish India’s role as a key player in the space industry.

Question #2.Geospatial technology will be crucial to drive the growth ambitions of the country”. In this light, discuss the roadblocks in harnessing the full potential of India’s geospatial sector and also comment on the recent policy efforts to de-regulate the sector.

Approach:

•   The question requires the analysis of Geospatial technology.
•   The demand of the question is to explain how Geospatial technology will be crucial to drive growth ambitions of the country and roadblocks affecting the sector.
•   In intro define Geospatial technology.
•   Then elaborate on potential of Geospatial technology (ex- Agriculture) and later discuss roadblocks faced by the sector and also discuss recent de-regulation of the sector.
•   Conclude, by suggesting a way forward.

Hints:

Geospatial technology is an emerging field of study that includes Geographic Information System, Remote Sensing and Global Positioning System. It enables us to acquire data that is referenced to the earth and use it for analysis, modeling, simulations and visualization. India's geospatial economy is currently valued at Rs 38,972 crore and has potential to grow to Rs 63,100 crore at 12.8 percent by 2025 end.

How Geospatial technology will be crucial to drive the growth ambitions of the country?

•   Agriculture: Geospatial technology can be used in precision agriculture, monitoring of crop conditions etc.
•   Land use management: Ex- Odisha has used high resolution maps produced by drone imagery to grant land title to its slum dwellers which decreased its slum population.
•   Employment: Private Companies like Amazon, Zomato etc. use this technology to smoothly conduct their delivery operations which supports livelihood generation.
•   Implementation of Schemes: The schemes like the Gati Shakti program can be smoothly implemented using geospatial technology.
•   Disaster risk reduction: Ex- Cyclone Fani‘s impact was contained due to early warning systems, detection, etc. using Geospatial information.
•   Remote sensing satellites ex- Oceansat series are being utilised for identification of potential fishing zones.

Some of the GIS based initiatives implemented in India are:

•   India-WRIS (Water Resources Information System) developed by the ISRO to provide a single portal for all water resources data and information.
•   National Spatial Data Infrastructure of the Department of Science and Technology

Roadblocks in harnessing full potential of India’s geospatial sector

•   Despite the existence of the National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy 2012, there is no single platform that can be used by all departments to collate value-added data.
•   There are challenges with respect to Super computers and quantum computers since they play a vital role in storage and processing of data.Ex- India's fastest supercomputer PARAM-Siddhi AI ranks 63rd
•   Among the most prominent hurdles is the absence of a sizable geospatial market in India.There is no demand for geospatial services and products on a scale linked to India’s potential and size.
•   The other hurdle has been the lack of skilled manpower across the entire pyramid.
•   Lack of data privacy law is also a big challenge.
•   National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) is only partially open and free for the public. Thus availability of innovation-fostering data to the private sector is limited.

Recent policy efforts to deregulate the sector

The Centre is currently in the process of finalizing the draft National Geospatial Policy (NGP) and the Indian Satellite Navigation Policy (SATNAV Policy). It has already implemented Guidelines for Geospatial Data (Guidelines for acquiring and producing geospatial data and geospatial data services, including maps) in 2021 which deregulated the previous protocol and liberalised the sector to a more competitive field. This is regarded as a watershed moment because:

•   The policy granted open access to the geospatial data and services, including maps, for all Indian entities, with the exception of sensitive defence or security-related data.
•   Indian corporations and innovators are no longer subjected to restrictions and do not require prior approvals before generating or updating digital geospatial data and maps within the territory of India.
•   There is also no requirement for security clearance, licence or any other restrictions.

Conclusion:

United Nation Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in its report titled “Geospatial Practices for Sustainable Development '' praised India on India’s initiatives like BHUVAN, Water Resource Information System etc. Some steps need to be taken are-re-skilling of young workers, integrating geospatial data with other data sets, enhancing data security and privacy etc. International collaboration should also be leveraged to address the geospatial digital divide and other related issues. Although post de-regulation, the geospatial sector in the country is rightly positioned for investment, it does need to create an enabling ecosystem for the utilization of its maximum potential.