1 . Bharat 6G Alliance (B6GA)
Syllabus Mapping: GS3: Science & Technology – ICT • Research & Development
- The Bharat 6G Alliance (B6GA) has expanded to 90 members (as on 15 July 2026). The Alliance has also constituted seven working groups, and its Spectrum Working Group has submitted the report titled “Spectrum Roadmap for 6G in India.”
- Bharat 6G Alliance (B6GA) is an industry- and academia-led society supported by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
- It identifies technology gaps and develops proposals for 6G testbeds and advanced research aligned with India’s 6G Vision.
- Under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) of Digital Bharat Nidhi, a three-year project has been approved to establish a 6G Terahertz Testbed at SAMEER (Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research), Kolkata, along with IIT Madras, IIT Guwahati and IIT Patna.
- Current 4G and 5G networks use lower frequency waves. They are reliable but get crowded easily.
- The Highway: Terahertz (THz) waves are a brand new, ultra high frequency section of the radio spectrum.
- From the DoT Bharat 6G Vision:
- Phase I (2023–2025): Support exploratory ideas, risky pathways and proof-of-concept (PoC) tests.
- Phase II (2025–2030): Scale successful ideas through implementation, testbeds, IPR creation, standards contribution and commercialization to establish India’s leadership in 6G.
- B6GA signed a formal MoI in Oct 2025 with the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop space-enabled, non-terrestrial 6G network capabilities.
2. Bharat Forecast System (BFS)
Syllabus Mapping: GS3: Science & Technology • Disaster Management
- Bharat Forecast System (BFS) is an indigenously developed high resolution Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) system under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
- It has been developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, and is operational through the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
- BFS operates at 6 km horizontal spatial resolution, improving upon the earlier 12 km Global Forecast System (GFS-T1534) used by IMD.
- It is based on the Triangular Cubic Octahedral (TCo) dynamical grid, enabling more accurate representation of atmospheric processes.
- India is the only country running a global weather prediction model at 6km resolution for real time weather prediction.
- Higher-resolution forecasts strengthen disaster preparedness, aviation, agriculture, water-resource management and urban flood forecasting.
- The system runs on the indigenous high-performance supercomputers:
- Arka – IITM, Pune
- Arunika – NCMRWF, Noida
- NCMRWF functions under the Ministry of Earth Sciences and provides numerical weather prediction guidance to IMD.
3. Mission Vatsalya Portal
Syllabus Mapping: GS2: Welfare Schemes for Vulnerable Sections • Government Policies & Interventions
- The Ministry of Women and Child Development has developed an integrated unified Mission Vatsalya Portal, integrating the TrackChild Portal, Khoya-Paya application, and GHAR (Go Home and Re-Unite) Portal to strengthen tracking, rehabilitation and reintegration of missing and vulnerable children.
- Mission Vatsalya is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) implemented by States/UTs for Children in Need of Care and Protection (CNCP) and Children in Conflict with Law (CCL).
- It was launched in 2021-22 after restructuring the erstwhile Child Protection Services (CPS)
- The scheme aims to ensure care, protection, rehabilitation and reintegration of children in difficult circumstances, including missing and vulnerable children.
- Operates primarily under the legal framework of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act,2015 and the POCSO Act, 2012.
- Section 39 of JJ Act provides for rehabilitation and social integration through Individual Care Plan and family based care.
- The TrackChild module is implemented with support from Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Railways, State Governments/UTs, Child Welfare Committees (CWCs), Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) and National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).
- The portal is integrated with the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) of the Ministry of Home Affairs, enabling matching of FIRs of missing children with the Mission Vatsalya database.
- Registration and inspection of Child Care Institutions rests with State Governments and UT while Ministry issues advisories and monitors implementation.
4. Samudra Pradakshina
Syllabus Mapping: GS3: Defence & Security • Maritime Security • Indigenisation of Defence Technology
- Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh flagged-in ‘Samudra Pradakshina’, the first-ever Tri-Service all-women circumnavigation sailing expedition.
- Aboard the Indian Army Sailing Vessel (IASV) Triveni, nine women officers from the Army, Navy and Air Force completed a 314-day voyage covering nearly 25,500 nautical miles across four oceans.
- To qualify as a circumnavigation, the expedition:
- Crossed all meridians of longitude,
- Crossed the Equator twice,
- Crossed the International Date Line, and
- Rounded the Three Great Capes: Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) + Cape Leeuwin (Australia) + Cape Horn (Chile)
- The crew successfully navigated the Drake Passage and rounded Cape Horn. Located between Cape Horn (South America) and the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica). It connects the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.
- The expedition highlighted the principles of Tri-Service integration, Nari Shakti, maritime endurance, and indigenous defence capability.
5. Nuclear Energy Mission
Syllabus Mapping: GS3: Science & Technology • Energy Security • Indigenisation of Technology • Infrastructure
- The Nuclear Energy Mission (NEM), announced in the Union Budget 2025–26, aims to achieve 100 GWe nuclear power capacity by 2047 to support Viksit Bharat and India’s Net Zero target by 2070.
- The Mission also targets operationalisation of at least five indigenous Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) by 2033.
- Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is developing three indigenous reactor technologies under NEM:
- BSMR-200 (220 MWe Bharat Small Modular Reactor)
- SMR-55 (55 MWe Small Modular Reactor)
- Up to 5 MWth High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor (HTGCR) for hydrogen production.
- Present nuclear power capacity is 8.78 GW and is expected to reach about 22GW by 2031-32.
- Both BSMR-200 and SMR-55 have received in-principle approval for engineering & construction, with Tarapur (Maharashtra) approved by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) as their site.
- The HTGCR is proposed at BARC, Visakhapatnam, and will be used as a nuclear heat source for thermochemical hydrogen production (e.g., Copper-Chlorine Cycle).
- Parliament has enacted the SHANTI Act, 2025, which:
- Enables private sector participation in nuclear energy,
- Provides a statutory framework for the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB),
- Supports indigenous R&D and commercial deployment of nuclear technologies.
- NPCIL will primarily establish indigenous PHWRs and Light Water Reactors (LWRs) under the Mission roadmap.
- Nuclear waste management is governed by:
- Atomic Energy (Safe Disposal of Radioactive Wastes) Rules, 1987
- AERB Safety Code on Management of Radioactive Waste (AERB/SC/RW).
