UPSC Mains PYQs: Science & Technology

How can biotechnology improve the living standards of farmers?

What is India's plan to have its own space station and how will it benefit our space programme?

Discuss the work of 'Bose-Einstein Statistics' done by Prof. Satyendra Nath Bose and show how it revolutionized the field of Physics.

Why is there so much activity in the field of biotechnology in our country? How has this activity benefitted the field of biopharma?

Give an account of the growth and development of nuclear science and technology in India. What is the advantage of fast breeder reactor programme in India?

India has achieved remarkable successes in unmanned space missions including the Chandrayaan and Mars Orbiter Mission, but has not ventured into manned space mission, both in terms of technology and logistics? Explain critically.

Stem cell therapy is gaining popularity in India to treat a wide variety of medical conditions including Leukaem ia, Thalassemia, damaged cornea and several burns. Describe briefly what stem cell therapy is and what advantages it has over other treatments?

Discuss India's achievements in the field of Space Science and Technology. How the application of this technology has helped India in its socio-economic development?

Why is nanotechnology one of the key technologies of the 21st century? Describe the salient features of Indian Government's Mission on Nanoscience and Technology and the scope of its application in the development process of the country.

Discuss the advantage and security implications of cloud hosting of servers vis-a-vis in-house machine-based hosting for government businesses.

India's Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) which has a database containing formatted information on more than 2 million medicinal formulations is proving a powerful weapon in the country's fight against erroneous patents. Discuss the pros and cons making this database publicly available under open-source licensing.

What are the areas of prohibitive labour that can be sustainably managed by robots? Discuss the initiatives that can propel research in premier research institutes for substantive and gainful innovation.

What do you understand by 'Standard Positioning Systems' and 'Protection Posi- tioning Systems' in the GPS era? Discuss the advantages India perceives from its ambitious IRNSS programme employing just seven satellites.

Can overuse and the availability of antibiotics without doctor's prescription, be the contributors to the emergence of drug-resistant diseases in India? What are the available mechanisms for monitoring and control? Critically discuss the various issues involved.

In a globalised world, intellectual property rights assume significance and are a source of litigation. Broadly distinguish between the terms – copyrights, patents and trade secrets.

Scientific research in Indian universities is declining, because a career in science is not as attractive as our business operations, engineering or administration, and the universities are becoming consumer oriented. Critically comment.

What do you understand by fixed dose drug combinations (FDCs)? Discuss their merits and demerits.

How does the 3D printing technology work? List out the advantages and disadvantages of the technology.

What do you understand by Umpire decision review in cricket? Discuss its various components. Explain how silicon tape on the edge of a bat may fool the system?

What is an FRP composite material? How are they manufactured? Discuss their applications in aviation and automobile industry