About Science and Technology
Science and technology current affairs is the most rewarding part of the section for a candidate with a science background and the most discouraging for one without, but the questions are not evenly spread: they concentrate on space, defence, health and computing, and within each of those on a small number of recurring subjects. This page has no practice questions, deliberately. Questions written about the events of one year are wrong within months, and a bank of them would need rebuilding every season. What is taught here is the part that stays useful: what to read, how to keep it, and how it is asked.
What you need to understand
- Space is the largest single subject. Launches, the vehicles used, the orbit a satellite has been placed in and the purpose of a mission are the four facts that are asked.
- Learn the launchers by their capacity rather than by their names alone, and learn which organisation runs the programme, since the two together answer most space questions.
- Defence items are asked as a pairing of a platform with its kind: which aircraft, which missile, which ship, and whether it was bought or built in India.
- Missiles are asked by range and by type. A question usually gives the name and asks for the category, or the reverse.
- Health items are mostly about vaccines, outbreaks and the approval of a drug, and the question is usually about the body that approved it.
- Computing items are about the technologies rather than the products: what a technology is for, and which organisation is developing it. The static science topic covers the underlying principles.
- Awards in science - the Nobel Prizes and the national science prizes - are asked as a pairing of a field with a discovery, which is a static question with a current name attached.
- Where a technology is named after an acronym, learn what the letters stand for, because that is very often the question.
- Do not try to learn the technical detail of a mission. The purpose and the agency are what a general paper asks for.
- Where India has a programme of its own, learn its stages: what has been launched, what is planned and what the next step is.
- Environment and climate items are asked in this section as often as in the international one, and the recurring subjects are emissions, renewable capacity and conservation.
- Keep the date with every launch and approval, since questions about a mission usually include its year among the options.
- In an interview, being able to explain what a technology is for, in one sentence and without jargon, is worth more than naming its specification.
How to work through these questions
- Read one newspaper a day rather than five on a Sunday. The habit is what works, and the same item seen three times in three sources is remembered without effort.
- Keep a single notebook, physical or digital, divided by the same headings as this section: national, international, economy, science and technology, sports and awards.
- Write four lines per item at most: what happened, who was involved, where, and why it matters. More than that and the notebook becomes unreadable by the third month.
- Revise the notebook monthly rather than reading it daily. The monthly pass is what turns a list of items into a shape.
- For examinations, the previous six months matter more than the last six days. A paper set in June draws on the year to March.
- In an interview, follow one story through rather than listing ten. An interviewer can tell the difference immediately.
Mistakes that cost marks
- Collecting material without ever revising it, so that the folder grows and nothing is retained.
- Reading only the headlines, which gives the subject of an event and not what happened.
- Learning figures without the year they belong to, so that last year's number is quoted for this year.
- Trusting a single source for a disputed fact, particularly on figures and on appointments.
- Spending time on items that no examination asks about, such as individual match results, while missing appointments and policy decisions.
- Revising in the last week only, which works for facts and fails for the connections between them.
- Reading about an event without knowing where it happened, which is the commonest half-knowledge in a viva.
- Treating an announced policy as an event that has taken place, when the announcement and the implementation are usually months apart.
Worked example
What should be recorded about a satellite launch?
- The launcher and the agency that operates it, which are the two facts most often asked.
- The kind of orbit the satellite was placed in, since that is what the mission's purpose follows from.
- The purpose of the satellite - communication, navigation, observation or science - in one line.
- The date, and whether the launch was a first of its kind or a routine one.
Answer: The launcher, the agency, the orbit, the purpose and the date
Practice questions with answers
A few Science and Technology questions with the full solution shown, so you can see
how the method is applied before you attempt the timed set.
Question 1
In which country is the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board based?
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A
the United Kingdom
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B
Europe
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C
France
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D
India
Answer: Option D — with explanation
the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board is based in India and its mandate is the safety regulation of nuclear installations.
Learn the agencies by country and mandate, and each technology by the single thing it is for. A question about a technology is almost always about its purpose rather than its detail.
Common mistakes
- this agency is based in a different country: the United Kingdom
- this agency is based in a different country: Europe
- this agency is based in a different country: France
Question 2
Which of these describes the use of cryogenics?
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A
using heat from within the earth
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B
producing and working at very low temperatures
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C
producing fuel from crops or from waste
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D
using living systems to make useful products
Answer: Option B — with explanation
cryogenics is used for producing and working at very low temperatures.
Learn the agencies by country and mandate, and each technology by the single thing it is for. A question about a technology is almost always about its purpose rather than its detail.
Common mistakes
- this is what a different technology is used for: using living systems to make useful products
- this is what a different technology is used for: producing fuel from crops or from waste
- this is what a different technology is used for: using heat from within the earth
Question 3
What is the mandate of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology?
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A
the funding of biomedical research
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B
policy and support for biotechnology
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C
research in cellular and molecular biology
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D
research in astronomy and astrophysics
Answer: Option C — with explanation
the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology is based in India and its mandate is research in cellular and molecular biology.
Learn the agencies by country and mandate, and each technology by the single thing it is for. A question about a technology is almost always about its purpose rather than its detail.
Common mistakes
- this is the mandate of a different body: the funding of biomedical research
- this is the mandate of a different body: research in astronomy and astrophysics
- this is the mandate of a different body: policy and support for biotechnology
Question 4
Which of these is the purpose of computer vision?
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A
releasing energy by joining light nuclei
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B
extracting information from images
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C
locating objects under water by reflected sound
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D
carrying energy that produces only water when used
Answer: Option B — with explanation
computer vision is used for extracting information from images.
Learn the agencies by country and mandate, and each technology by the single thing it is for. A question about a technology is almost always about its purpose rather than its detail.
Common mistakes
- this is what a different technology is used for: locating objects under water by reflected sound
- this is what a different technology is used for: releasing energy by joining light nuclei
- this is what a different technology is used for: carrying energy that produces only water when used
Question 5
Which of these is the purpose of near field communication?
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A
very short range exchange of data, as in a payment
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B
editing a gene at a chosen site in the sequence
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C
propelling a spacecraft with accelerated ions
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D
carrying data as pulses of light
Answer: Option A — with explanation
near field communication is used for very short range exchange of data, as in a payment.
Learn the agencies by country and mandate, and each technology by the single thing it is for. A question about a technology is almost always about its purpose rather than its detail.
Common mistakes
- this is what a different technology is used for: editing a gene at a chosen site in the sequence
- this is what a different technology is used for: propelling a spacecraft with accelerated ions
- this is what a different technology is used for: carrying data as pulses of light
Frequently asked questions
Why are there no questions on this page?
Because the events date. The principles behind them - what a geostationary orbit is, what a vaccine does, what an integrated circuit is - are static and are covered in the general science and inventions topics on this site.
What should a non-scientist do with this subject?
Follow space, defence and health, and leave the rest. Those three account for most of the questions, and none of them needs a science background beyond what a school course gives.
How much of the paper is science and technology?
About a fifth of the current affairs section in most papers, and rather more in the papers of examinations for technical posts.
Should I learn the acronyms?
Yes, and what they stand for. Many questions give the expansion and ask for the technology, or the reverse, and the expansion is the easier half to learn.
Where do the underlying principles belong?
In the general science topic on this site. Read that first and this page afterwards, and the current items will attach themselves to facts you already have.
