Science and Technology 2025-26 Capstone for UPSC: The Year in Numbers, RDI Fund, Deep Ocean Mission and Terms to Know
How the Capstone Helps
🎯 Exam priority: Tier-1/2 capstone. Use this as the last-mile map after the twelve topic articles. UPSC 2026 Prelims asked a block of science and technology questions from the year's news: genetic medicine, large language models, stealth, black boxes, private space, drone swarms, GenomeIndia, the National Quantum Mission, the Deep Ocean Mission and the Bharat Forecast System. Mains asked for agentic AI, Mission Drishti, the fast breeder reactor, biotechnology and agri-produce and the Technology Missions in agriculture.
The year in one line: India moved from showing prototypes to building ecosystems: a ₹1 lakh crore fund for private R&D, a national biofoundry network, a quantum mission with four hubs, the first docking in space, the first Indian astronaut at the ISS, a prototype breeder reactor and an indigenous 4G stack.
The Year in Numbers
The year in numbers
Theme | What happened (2025 to mid-2026) |
Rankings and funding | 38th in the Global Innovation Index 2025; 49th in the Network Readiness Index 2024 (from 79th in 2019). The RDI Scheme (approved 1 July 2025) is a ₹1 lakh crore, six-year fund (₹20,000 crore in 2025-26) run through a Special Purpose Fund in the Anusandhan National Research Foundation, which has been in force since 5 February 2024 |
Space | SpaDeX docking (16 January 2025); Axiom-4 and Shubhanshu Shukla at the ISS (25 June 2025); NISAR launch (30 July 2025); CMS-03 on LVM3-M5, the heaviest communication satellite to GTO from India (2 November 2025); PSLV-C61 failure (18 May 2025) |
Earth sciences and oceans | A deep-sea mining system tested at 5,270 m; the human submersible MATSYA passed comfort and stability tests under Samudrayaan; Mission Mausam and IMD Vision 2047 launched on 14 January 2025; supercomputing at 21 PFlops; a 1.5 lakh litre low-temperature thermal desalination plant at Chetlat, Lakshadweep; research vessels Sagar Tara and Sagar Anveshika; the Monsoon Mission returned an estimated ₹50,000 crore for about ₹1,000 crore |
Biotechnology | Bio-economy of $165.7 billion in 2024; BioE3 Policy; National Biofoundry Network of six biofoundries; 10,000 genomes released under GenomeIndia; CRISPR therapy BIRSA 101 for sickle cell disease; CSIR-NBRI's GM cotton resistant to pink bollworm |
Quantum, AI and chips | National Quantum Mission (₹6,003.65 crore, four hubs); IndiaAI Mission; India Semiconductor Mission units at Sanand, Dholera, Assam, Jewar and Odisha |
Nuclear | Mahi Banswara foundation stone (25 September 2025); record 56,681 million units from NPCIL; PFBR first criticality (6 April 2026); the SHANTI Act (December 2025) |
Telecom | Tele-density 86.65 per cent; 5G in 99.9 per cent of districts; the fifth country with its own 4G stack; Sanchar Saathi and the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator against fraud |
Terms UPSC Could Ask Next and Two Mains Frames
Terms UPSC could ask next
Term | One-line meaning | Article |
Samudrayaan, MATSYA-6000 | India's crewed deep-sea submersible project under the Deep Ocean Mission (a Ministry of Earth Sciences mission) | Capstone |
Bharat Forecast System | High-resolution weather model from IITM Pune giving forecasts at panchayat-cluster level | Capstone |
Mission Mausam | Programme to improve weather and climate observation and forecasting, launched 14 January 2025 | Capstone |
BioE3 Policy | Biotechnology for Economy, Environment and Employment; six thematic sectors | 1 |
GenomeIndia | DBT project cataloguing the genetic diversity of Indians; 10,000 genomes released | 2 |
BIRSA 101 | India's first indigenous CRISPR therapy for sickle cell disease (CSIR-IGIB) | 2 |
SpaDeX, CROPS, POEM-4 | Space docking demonstration; plant seed germination in orbit; the PSLV fourth-stage platform | 5 |
NISAR | First joint ISRO-NASA radar satellite (L-band and S-band) | 5 |
Sanchar Saathi, FRI, Device Setu | Telecom fraud and IMEI tools | 7 |
National Quantum Mission | ₹6,003.65 crore, 50 to 1,000 qubit machines, four thematic hubs | 8 |
India Semiconductor Mission | ₹76,000 crore initial outlay for fabs and assembly units | 8 |
PFBR | 500 MWe prototype fast breeder at Kalpakkam; first criticality 6 April 2026 | 10 |
National Critical Mineral Mission | Exploration, recycling and overseas assets for critical minerals (January 2025) | 11 |
Indian Standard Time trademark | CSIR-NPL obtained a trademark for IST; indigenous atomic clocks make it GPS-independent | Capstone |
Two Mains frames
1. How science is interwoven with our lives (Mains 2020) and technology in the COVID-19 response
Use a three-part answer: everyday life (mobile networks, UPI-style digital platforms, LED lighting, vaccines), production (agriculture through Bt cotton and gene editing, nano-fertilisers, remote sensing of crops, space-based wheat forecasts) and security and resilience (weather forecasting, early-warning, cyber-fraud tools). For COVID-19, list diagnostics (RT-PCR kits), vaccines (Covaxin, Covishield, ZyCoV-D, Corbevax), digital tools (CoWIN, Aarogya Setu) and genomic surveillance.
2. Technology missions in agriculture (Mains 2026)
Structure the answer around inputs, information and markets: seed and bio-technology (Bt cotton, gene-edited rice, tissue culture), water and soil (micro-irrigation, soil health cards), satellite crop monitoring (ISRO's CROP wheat estimate of 330.8 lakh hectares) and digital markets (eNAM, agri-stack). Add the limits: small holdings, extension gaps and data privacy.
How to use the capstone
Read it last, then jump back to the article for any row you cannot explain.
Re-check anything marked 'secondary sources' in the earlier articles before the exam: the semiconductor project list, the PFBR status, the DPDP Rules timeline and Mission Drishti.
Further Reading
NCERT Biology (Class 12) and Geography textbooks, the India State of Forest Report, the MoEFCC Annual Report, the Economic Survey and the official lists cited in this note — the primary sources behind every figure above.
Test Yourself: Practice Questions and PYQs
Twelve revision questions across the year's science and technology developments, followed by the real UPSC Prelims questions and exact Mains questions.
Practice Questions
Q1. The Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme approved by the Union Cabinet on 1 July 2025 has a total outlay of
(a) ₹5,000 crore over two years
(b) ₹1 lakh crore over six years
(c) ₹10,000 crore over three years
(d) ₹50,000 crore over ten years
Show answer
Answer: (b) — It runs through a Special Purpose Fund within the Anusandhan National Research Foundation.
Q2. India's rank in the Global Innovation Index 2025 was
(a) 81st
(b) 38th
(c) 10th
(d) 55th
Show answer
Answer: (b) — India stands 49th in the Network Readiness Index 2024, up from 79th in 2019.
Q3. Consider the following statements about the Deep Ocean Mission:
1. It was launched by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
2. Matsya-6000 is designed to carry three people.
3. Samudrayaan is a project under the mission.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1, 2 and 3
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 3 only
Show answer
Answer: (c) — UPSC's 2026 provisional key: the mission is under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Q4. Mission Mausam and the IMD Vision 2047 were launched in
(a) March 2022
(b) August 2023
(c) June 2019
(d) January 2025
Show answer
Answer: (d) — On 14 January 2025.
Q5. The Bharat Forecast System is a high-resolution weather model that
(a) forecasts only cyclones
(b) was developed by IIT Delhi
(c) generates forecasts at the level of clusters of panchayats
(d) was developed by a private company
Show answer
Answer: (c) — UPSC's 2026 provisional key: statement 2 (IIT Delhi) was wrong.
Q6. India's deep-sea mining system was tested to a depth of
(a) 12,000 metres
(b) 5,270 metres
(c) 1,000 metres
(d) 500 metres
Show answer
Answer: (b) — It was the deepest such test recorded.
Q7. The world's first GM cotton totally resistant to the pink bollworm was developed by
(a) ICAR-CICR, Nagpur
(b) CSIR-NBRI, Lucknow
(c) IIT Bombay
(d) IARI, New Delhi
Show answer
Answer: (b) — The pink bollworm devastates cotton in India, Africa and Asia.
Q8. BIRSA 101 is
(a) an indigenous 4G stack
(b) a satellite launched by ISRO
(c) a quantum processor
(d) India's first indigenous CRISPR-based therapy for sickle cell disease
Show answer
Answer: (d) — It was developed by CSIR-IGIB and the technology went to the Serum Institute of India.
Q9. CSIR obtained a trademark in 2025 for
(a) Indian Standard Time
(b) the Indian tricolour
(c) the name 'India'
(d) Aadhaar
Show answer
Answer: (a) — CSIR-NPL's indigenous atomic clocks make IST independent of GPS.
Q10. Which of the following is NOT a 2025 space milestone listed in the Department of Space review?
(a) Soft landing of Chandrayaan-4 on the Moon
(b) Docking of the SpaDeX satellites
(c) Launch of NISAR on GSLV-F16
(d) Axiom-4 mission with an ISRO astronaut
Show answer
Answer: (a) — Chandrayaan-4 has not yet flown.
Q11. India's bio-economy was valued at over ___ in 2024.
(a) $1.65 billion
(b) $165.7 billion
(c) $16.5 billion
(d) $1,657 billion
Show answer
Answer: (b) — The projection is $300 billion by 2030.
Q12. The Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) was introduced by the
(a) Department of Telecommunications in May 2025
(b) NPCI in 2016
(c) Reserve Bank of India in 2019
(d) SEBI in 2020
Show answer
Answer: (a) — The RBI asked banks to integrate it.
UPSC Previous Year Questions (PYQs)
Real UPSC Prelims questions, checked against the official paper and answer key.
Q1. (2026, provisional key) Which of the following statements with regard to India's Deep Ocean Mission is/are correct ?
1. It was launched by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Government of India.
2. Matsya-6000 has been designed to carry 3 people for deep sea exploration.
3. Samudrayaan is a project under this mission.
Select the answer using the code given below :
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Answer: (b) — The Deep Ocean Mission was launched by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, not the ports ministry. Matsya-6000 is a crewed submersible for three people and Samudrayaan is the project under the mission. So statements 2 and 3.
Q2. (2026, provisional key) Which of the following statements with regard to India's indigenous new high resolution weather model, the 'Bharat Forecast System,' is/are correct?
1. Its objective is to generate forecasts at the Panchayats cluster level.
2. It was developed by IIT Delhi.
Select the answer using the code given below :
(a) Both 1 and 2
(b) 2 only
(c) Neither 1 nor 2
(d) 1 only
Show answer
Answer: (d) — The Bharat Forecast System is a high-resolution weather model that generates forecasts down to the level of clusters of panchayats. It was developed at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, not IIT Delhi.
Mains Practice Questions
Use these to frame full-length answers. You don't have to answer one exactly — they show the angles UPSC tests, so let them guide which points you cover.
How is science interwoven deeply with our lives? What are the striking changes in agriculture triggered off by science-based technologies?
Describe the various Technology Missions initiated in Indian agriculture and examine their role in food security.
COVID-19 caused unprecedented devastation, but technological advances helped win over the crisis. Give an account of how technology was used to manage the pandemic.
Evaluate India's strategy of using a Research, Development and Innovation fund to bring private capital into deep-tech research.
Choose any three developments of 2025-26 and explain how each strengthens India's strategic autonomy.
UPSC Mains — Previous Years’ Questions on this topic (last 10 years)
These are the actual GS Mains questions UPSC has asked on this theme — real proof of how, and when, it is tested. Try to write a full answer to each.
2026 (GS-III): Mention salient features of 'Mission Drishti'. Discuss the imaging techniques used in the satellite launched on 3rd May 2026. Why it is being considered world's first satellite of its kind?
2026 (GS-III): Describe the various Technology Missions initiated in Indian agriculture and examine their role in food security.
2020 (GS-III): COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented devastation worldwide. However, technological advancements are being availed readily to win over the crisis. Give an account of how technology was sought to aid management of the pandemic.
2020 (GS-III): How is science interwoven deeply with our lives? What are the striking changes in agriculture triggered off by the science-based technologies?