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70 years, yes it’s been 70 years since “that” midnight seasoned with aspirations of a million people. India and Indians have come a long way; gone are the days when India was totally depended on the western world for all that’s “cutting-edge”. Today, India is a proud member of the science & technology high table.India’s commitment to the use of science & technology as a key instrument in national development has been clearly articulated time and again in various policy documents right from the early years of independence.And indeed, the progress made by our country since then in attainment of the stated goals in policy and plan documents has been substantial.In the past five decades 200 universities affiliating around 3000 colleges have been established to serve as an incubation ground for producing lakhs of technically qualified professionals.India today is acknowledged as the third largest storehouse in the world for technically qualified workforce.The pioneering Indian spirit has manifested itself in many fields; many frontiers have been won over.Agricultural Research and DevelopmentThere was a time when Indian policy makers were worried about ways to feed the ever growing population. Limited forex reserves meant importing food was never a feasible idea, the other option was to bring more area under cultivation and that would have meant cutting the forests.The solution was “Green Revolution” aimed at increasing the yield per hectare of land by using hybrid, high-yielding varieties of seeds.Green revolutionUnder a man; a visionary whose dream was to rid the world of hunger and poverty, the great Dr M S Swaminathan, better known as the "Father of the Green Revolution”; India developed into a country that fed itself.Under the aegis of Indian Council of Agricultural Research, more than 2300 high yielding, hybrid varieties of food grains and cash crops have been developed. The achievements have been substantial by all means:The Indian National Gene Bank established by the ICAR as a part of the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, has preserved more than 1, 50,000 accessions and samples. The capacity of this gene bank has been increased to about 1 million making it the largest gene bank of the world. It has more than 7100 accessions of underutilized crops.World’s first hybrid cotton, pearl millet, the first hybrid sorghum, the first hybrid castor, the first hybrid mango are some of the amazing achievements of Indian agricultural research.After China, India is only the second country in the world to develop its very own hybrid rice.The first amber coloured commercial Triticale dwarf and very high-yielding wheat varieties were developed by ICAR, thereby providing sustenance to millions of hungry Indians without actually cutting into the forest cover or being depended on imports.Besides the green revolution, the yellow revolution in oil seeds, white revolution in milk production, blue revolution in fish production and golden revolution in horticulture bear ample testimony to the contribution of our agricultural scientists in making our country self sustained in terms of food production.Bhakra DamThe Bhakra Nangal dam in itself stands as a proud testimony to the technical prowess of Indian engineers. For all those NRIs who love to gawk at America’s Hoover dam, it would come as a surprise that the Bhakra at 741 feet is one of the highest gravity dams (compare Hoover Dam at 732 ft). The dam provides irrigation to 10 million acres, thus playing a pivotal role in making the green revolution a true success.Defense Research and DevelopmentBy far the most remarkable achievement of India in the S&T sphere is the triumph over innumerable international sanctions to develop indigenous defence infrastructure. The bigger the challenge, the more determined Indian scientist became.Kaveri EngineThe GTX-35VS Kaveri is a low-bypass-ratio afterburning turbofan developed by the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), a lab under DRDO. Kaveri engine is an indigenous Indian design intended to power production models of the HAL’s Tejas fighter, also known as “Light Combat Aircraft" (LCA) as well as the proposed twin-engine Medium Combat Aircraft (MCA). Further evolution of the Kaveri design is envisioned for armored fighting vehicles and for ship propulsion.The Kaveri engine has been specifically designed for the demanding Indian operating environment, which ranges from hot desert to the highest mountain range in the world.With its development India no longer has to go around the world begging for engines to power its indigenous fighter planes and launch vehicles.TejasTejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) is India’s answer to the F-16s, understanding the pressing need to be self reliant in defence it was developed indigenously by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.HAL’s Tejas is an advanced, lightweight, supersonic multi-role fighter aircraft. Its tailless compound delta wing design powered by a single engine makes it ones of the best multi role aircraft around.SonarsDRDO, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and the Indian Navy have developed a range of Sonars for the Navy`s frontline combat ships. These include the APSOH (Advanced Panoramic Sonar Hull mounted), HUMVAD (Hull Mounted Variable Depth sonar) and the HUMSA (Hull Mounted Sonar Array), Panchendriya Submarine sonar and fire control system, sonobuoy Tadpole, Simhika.Sonars may be considered one of DRDO`s most successful achievements, years of toil has now assured that today, the Indian Navy`s most powerful ships rely on Indian made sonars.TorpedoesDRDO is currently developing multiple Torpedoes. These include a lightweight torpedo (Advanced Experimental Torpedo). Apart from it DRDO is also developing heavy weight wire-guided torpedo Varunastra and Thakshak thermal torpedo suitable for use against both ships and submarines.Here is a timeline of the indigenously developed missile systems in India.1. Prithvi IPrithvi I was one of the first missiles developed under Government of India's IGMDP. Launched in February 1988, Prithvi I is a single-stage, liquid-fuelled missile. A surface-to-surface missile, it has a range of 150 km and a mounting capability of 1000 kg. It was inducted into the Indian Army in 1994.2. Agni IA nuclear-capable ballistic missile, Agni 1 is the first of the five-missile Agni series launched in 1983 by the Defence Research and Development Organisation. It has a range of 700 km.3. AkashAkash is a surface-to-air missile with an intercept range of 30 km. It has multi-target engagement capability and is in operational service with the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force.4. NagNag is a third-generation hit-to-kill anti-tank missile that was first tested in 1990. The two-stage solid propellant weapon uses the lock-on before launch system where the target is identified and designated before the weapon is launched.5. TrishulTrishul is a short-range surface-to-air missile equipped with electronic measures against all known aircraft jammers. It has a range of 9 km and is used as anti-sea skimmer from ships against low-flying attacks.6. Agni IIAn intermediate-range ballistic missile, the Agni-II was first test fired on April 11, 1999. The surface-to-surface missile has a range of 2000 to 2500 km and can carry conventional or nuclear warheads.7. Prithvi IIIPrithvi III is the naval-version missile with a range of 350 km. A two-stage surface-to-surface missile, Prithvi III was first tested in 2000.8. BrahmosBrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile that is first test-fired on June 12, 2001. It was developed as a joint venture between India and Russia and is the world's fastest anti-ship cruise missile in operation.9. Prithvi Air Defence (PAD)India’s ballistic missile defence got a fillip with the development of PAD, which has been given the moniker Pradyumna. The system was tested with a maximum interception altitude of 80 km, and has been designed to neutralise missiles within a range of 300-2000 km up to a speed of Mach 5.0. The technology employed in the PAD was the precursor to the indigenously developed Advanced Air Defence (AAD) interceptor missile which was tested in 2007, as well as the Barak-2 which was developed in collaboration with Israel.10. K-15 SagarikaThe successful test of the Sagarika marks an inflection point in India’s military history. It forms the crucial third leg of India’s nuclear deterrent vis-à-vis its submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) capability. The K-15 Sagarika, which has a range of 750 km, was successfully tested in February 2008, and was subsequently integrated with India’s nuclear-powered Arihant class submarine.11. DhanushDhanush is a liquid propelled sea-based missile that was envisaged as a short-range version of the Prithvi II ballistic missile. It has a range of 350 km and is capable of carrying nuclear warheads. It was successfully test-fired from a naval warship in March 2011, and carries forward the legacy of the K-15 Sagarika.12. Agni IIIAgni III is an intermediate-range ballistic missile developed as the successor to the Agni II. It is an improvement over its previous iteration, and has a range of 3,500-5,000 km, making it capable of engaging targets deep inside neighbouring countries. It was inducted in to the armed forces in June 2011, enhancing its strike capability.13. Agni IVCarrying forward the success of its predecessor, the Agni III was developed to strike targets within a similar range but with a significantly shorter flight time of 20 minutes. The Agni IV, which has a two-phase propulsion system is designed to carry a 1,000 kg payload.14. ShauryaIt was initially conceived as a surface-to-surface ballistic missile (SSM) variant of the K-15 Sagarika, that can be stored in underground silos for extended periods and launched using gas canisters as a trigger. The nuclear capability of the missile enhances India’s second strike capability reduces the dependence on the K-15 ballistic missile which was built with significant Russian assistance.15. NirbhayNirbhay is a subsonic missile which is ancillary to the BrahMos range. It uses a terrain-following navigation system to reach up to 1,000 km. Nirbhay is capable of being launched from multiple platforms on land, sea, and air.16. PrahaarPrahaar is a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 150 km that was successfully tested for the first time in July 2011. Stated to be a unique missile, the Prahaarboasts of high maneuverability, acceleration and accuracy. Primarily a battlefield support system for the Army, the missile can be fired from a road mobile launchers and is extremely mobile in battle situations owing to its lighter build.17. AstraAstra is a beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missile (AAM) that was tested successfully in May 2011. In terms of size and weight, the Astra is the smallest missile developed by the DRDO. It was envisaged to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft at supersonic speeds in the head-on mode within a range of 80 km.18. Agni VAgni is India’s first inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM), with high road mobility, fast-reaction ability and a strike range of over 5,000 km.INS Vikramaditya- This majestic looking 45,570 tonne aircraft carrier that was commissioned on 16 November 2013 at Severodvinsk, Russia, is Indian Navy's latest acquisition that will be force multiplier to the Navy, as the Indian Ocean region is greatly becoming infested by pirates. The former Admiral Gorshkov from Russia went into refits and complete change in its structural design in 2004 to become INS Vikramaditya, causing delay in delivery and cost escalation. The aircraft carrier will have 24 Mikoyan MiG-29K fighter jets and mix of 10 helicopters that might include Ka-28 helicopters ASW, Ka-31 helicopters AEW, ALH Dhruv choppers and SeaKing helicopters. The carrier will be based in INS Kadamba in Karwar, Karnataka.Mountain Strike Corps- Indian Government cleared about 50,000 strong Mountain Strike Corps with two independent infantry and armored brigade, operating along the entire line of actual control (LAC) with China. The Strike Corps will be headquartered at Panagarh in West Bengal. This force will boast of "rapid reaction force capability in mountains" and will be able to strike deep in Tibet in case of Chinese incursions in Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims is its own territory.INS Arihant and INS Vikrant- Indian defense scientists and technologists added another feather to their cap by achieving the crucial criticality of the in-board nuclear reactor. Arihant is India's first indigenously developed class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines with five more in the pipeline. It will also complete India's nuclear triad capability.Pilatus PC 7 MK II-This Swiss-made basic trainer aircrafts were inducted into the Indian Air Force for the training of its cadets filling in an important gap in the transition of pilots from ab-initio stage through intermediate and advanced stages into full-fledged operational flying. Since its order the Air Force already has 14 aircraft and 75 more to come.GSAT-7 - This is India's first military satellite, that is exclusively for the Indian Navy and will provide military communications thus improving the maritime security and intelligence gathering abilities over the vast Indian Ocean Area. It will also link ships, submarines, aircraft and command from land in real timeC-130J Super Hercules, C-17 Globemaster III and Boeing P-8I - India's capability for strategic airlift got a boost with the induction of six C-130J Super Hercules and four -17 Globemaster III with six more to be eventually delivered. Both these aircrafts have displayed capability to land or take-off from semi-prepared runways. India has placed another six C-130J Super Hercules on order. India had also ordered eight Boeing P-8I for Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance and Anti Submarine Warfare (LRMRASW) with it, receiving two of them on schedule adding teeth to its maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare.BrahMos SLCM - The BrahMos project is a joint venture between India and its long-time ally Russia that resulted in a development of supersonic cruise missile. BrahMos has been billed as world's fastest cruise missile travelling at speeds of Mach 2.8 to 3.0. With the land variant already in service, the successful testing of the missile under a water pontoon will eventually pave way to its unlimate integration into the Indian naval ships and submarines.ALH-Dhruv Squadron - India commissioned its first Advanced Light Helicopter (Dhruv) Squadron into the Navy at Kochi in November. Dhruv is an indigenous 5-ton multirole helicopter used for transport, utility, reconnaissance and medical evacuation roles.Space ResearchSince its advent, a significant feature of the Indian space programme has been the underlying emphasis on reaping its benefits in the shortest possible time. To achieve this objective simultaneous R&D was initiated in all the three spheres of space technology namely rocket, satellite and space infrastructure development.Indian Satellite SystemsIndian Remote Sensing: The IRS system is by far the world’s biggest constellation of remote sensing satellites. These satellites provide data for applications in agriculture, forestry, water harnessing, land use and land cover mapping, fold mapping and ocean resources survey.INSAT: The Indian National Satellite (INSAT) system is a shining example of what all has been achieved by India’s space technology. The INSAT series is the largest domestic communication system in the Asia-Pacific Region. Active satellites of this series include INSAT-2E, INSAT-3A, INSAT-3B, INSAT-3C, INSAT-3E, KALPANA-1 (METSAT), GSAT-2, EDUSAT (GSAT-3) and INSAT-4A. INSAT satellites provide transponders (about 150) in various bands (C, S, Extended C and Ku) to serve the television and communication needs of India.The development of the INSAT system was a milestone by all means; it gave India the prowess to stand on its own for all critical functions.INSAT & development of India’s intellectual capitalA land mark achievement of the INSAT series has been its role in helping unleash the power of distance learning. Never before had it happened that professors from India’s premier educational institutes were accessible to students even in the remotest part of India. ISRO in association with UGC and Doordarshan through interactive shows like Gyan Vani brought about a silent revolution in the field of education.Innumerable students from all parts of the country benefited from ISRO’s novel methods, thereby immensely adding to India’s intellectual capital.Launch Vehicles: The Indian Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) was a project started in the early 1970s by ISRO to develop the technology needed to launch satellites. The project leader was Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. The first launch of the SLV took place in Sriharikota on 10 August 1979.With its launch India joined the elite club of countries with such capabilities. Over the years the technological capabilities of India in this sphere have increased many folds; the SLV was followed by the ASLV (Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle), the PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) and the latest of them all, the state-of-the-art GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle).The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched 2 satellites in March and April 2017, which includes the satellite meant for the benefit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations. ISRO also targets launch of second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 in first quarter of 2018.ISRO has launched a record high of 104 satellites in one go on a single rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.ISRO has successfully placed remote sensing satellite RESOURCESAT-2A in orbit, to provide continuity to ISRO's three tier imaging data, which will be extremely useful for agricultural applications.The Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C35 (PSLV-C35) has successfully placed eight different satellites in a single rocket mission, including SCATSAT-1 for weather related studies, five foreign satellites and two satellites from Indian academic institutes into orbit.The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has completed its mission of developing India's independent navigation system by launching Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS - 1G), the seventh and final navigation satellite, which will reduce the country's dependency on US Global Positioning System.The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Airports Authority of India (AAI), aimed at providing space technology for construction of airports, which will help make flight operations safer and provide optimum utilisation of land.Indian and American delegations have discussed an arrangement for Space Situational Awareness (SSA), a programme for monitoring space environment and track potential hazards and security threats, and have set up a bilateral mechanism for sharing information for tracking movements of satellites, avoiding collisions and identifying potential threats to space and ground assets.The Department of Space/ Indian Space Research Organisation (DOS/ISRO) and Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research (KISR) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the field of exploration and use of outer space.The progress India has made in the field of space technology is incredible in all sense and can be best described in the words of ex ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair. The year was 1963; Madhavan Nair was in his final year at Thiruvanathapuram Engineering College, on the last day of his final year papers Madhavan Nair woke up early to make final preparations, to study alone he went to the hostel terrace.Standing there he was witness to a very peculiar site, he saw a man cycling down the road towards Thumba with “something” resembling like a rocket on his cycle carrier. Closely following him, in fact, running behind the cycle was another young man. He was certainly intrigued but didn’t knew he was about to witness history. The man cycling with the “rocket” was none other than the father of Indian space research Dr Vikram Sarabhai and the man following him on foot was Dr A P J Abdul Kalam. They were on their way to Thumba to fire India’s first sounding rocket Nicke Apache. After sometime Madhavan Nair witnessed a rocket rise on the western horizon. He had by chance become witness to ISRO’s first space flight, an organisation he was destined to head one day.Today India is one of the leading nations in the field of space technology. From launch vehicle technologies to satellite design, fabrication to its application in diverse areas like communication, broadcasting, meteorology, disaster management, telemedicine etc. Indian scientists have successfully developed and demonstrated it all.Not amongst those who rest on their past laurels, Indian space scientists have charted out ambitious plans to take Indian space programme to the next level.And, with the successful testing of indigenously built Cryogenic engine, ISRO is confident of meeting its policy targets and take India one notch up on the global space arena.ComputingPARAMPARAM is the series of supercomputers developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). The development of the same was taken up as a challenge to break the hegemony of the western world when it came to super-fast computing. The western world was reluctant to part with any of their technology as they feared India would use it for its space programme.Indian scientists under Dr Bhatkar developed something that was thought to be impossible until now. He functioned as the architect of PARAM Supercomputers, GIST multilingual technology and Education-To-Home (ETH) mission.Technologies that had far reaching impact on India’s emergence as a pioneer in super-fast computing.The latest machine in the series is the PARAM Padma, which reached No. 171 on the TOP500 in 2003. Others include PARAM 10000 and PARAM 9000/SS. The PARAM 10000 was India`s first TFLOPS computer. C-DAC has also developed a high performance System Area Network called the PARAMNet-II having transfer speeds of up to 2.5 Gbit/s.The major applications of PARAM 10000 are in weather forecasting, remote sensing, drug design and molecular modelling. PARAMs have also helped in India`s space programme.Investment ScenarioInfosys Ltd has invested Rs 14.5 crore (Danish Krone 15.22 million) in a Danish artificial intelligence start-up called UNSILO, which specialises in advanced text analysis and has built a semantic search engine with best-in-class text intelligence.NIDHI (National Initiative for Development and Harnessing Innovations), an umbrella program pioneered by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), has committed Rs 500 crore (US$ 75 million) to implement Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Startup India initiative, by providing technological solutions and nurturing ideas and innovations into successful startups.InnoNano Research, a clean water technology company, has raised US$ 18 million from NanoHoldings, a US-based energy and water investment firm, which will be used to set up manufacturing facility, modern research laboratory and technology delivery offices across North America, Asia and Africa to make India an exporter of water technologies.Ecoppia, an Israel-based developer of robotic cleaning technology for solar sites, has signed a deal with Sanmina Corporation, a US-based Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), to begin mass production of their E4 robots at a new facility near Chennai.Saama Technologies Incorporation, the Big Data analytics solutions and services company, headquartered in the Silicon Valley, plans to invest US$ 2 million to create the largest pure play data science and analytics hub in India.The Government aims to invest 2 per cent of the country’s GDP on research and development (R&D) in its 12th Five-Year Plan period (2013–17). Accordingly, the Government has undertaken various measures for promoting growth of scientific research, such as:Sustained increase in plan allocations for scientific departmentsSetting up of new institutions for science education and researchLaunch of new Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2013.Creation of centres of excellence for research and facilities in emerging and frontline science and technology areas in academic and national institutes.Establishment of new and attractive fellowshipsStrengthening infrastructure for R&D in universitiesEncouraging public-private R&D partnershipsRecognition of R&D unitsFiscal incentives and support measures for enhancing industry participation in R&DGovernment InitiativesIndia and Israel have agreed to enhance the bilateral cooperation in science and technology in the next two years, under the aegis of the S&T agreement concluded in 1993, by providing US$ 1 million from each side to support new research and development (R&D) projects in the areas of big data analytics in healthcare and cyber security.India has become an Associate Member State of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), which will increase the collaboration between India and CERN’s scientific and technological endeavours, and will increase participation of Indian physicists, software engineers and electronics hardware in global experiments.Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State with Independent Charge for the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, outlined plans of setting up a committee to examine and expeditiously implement measures to improve India’s innovation landscape.Dr Harsh Vardhan, Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, outlined Government of India's plans to pursue a green path to growth by doubling investment in clean energy research to US$ 145 million in the next five years from current investment of US$ 72 million.The Department of Health Research (DHR), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare plans to set up a three-tier national network of Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDLs) under which 160 VRDLs will be set up with capability to handle around 30-35 viruses of public health importance.The central government plans to soon institute a nation-wide consultation process with a view to develop the first publicly accessible Science and Technology policy. The policy ‘Vision S&T 2020’ would articulate the country’s future towards self-reliance and technological independence in the 21st century.The Union Cabinet gave "in principle" clearance for the location of a Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) facility in India which will be the third in the world and will be set up and managed by the IndIGO Consortium (Indian Initiative in Gravitational-wave Observations).The Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology of the Government of India has become only the second country outside of Europe to join the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO), which consists of 1,700 eminent scientists and 84 Nobel laureates, and aims to encourage research in the field of life sciences.The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) under Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and North East Centre for Technology Application and Research (NECTAR) to use spatial technology such as satellite data to monitor and manage national highways.National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), an autonomous organisation under the Union Ministry of Culture, is engaged in the establishment of Science Centres across the country. NCSM is developing a Science City at Guwahati, Assam, which would be handed over to the Government of Assam for future operations and maintenance. The organisation has received proposals from various state governments for setting up of such Science Cities. NCSM has undertaken the Science Centres/Cities projects in a phased manner depending on the availability of resources, project handling capacity of NCSM, and existing level of science centre activities in a particular state.Future challengesDespite achieving a lot in the last 70 years, what is of paramount importance in the present context of fast changing technological scenario is to keep the momentum going and further the efforts in science and technological R&D.The main challenge is to keep pace with the technological changes so as to ensure that the S&T developments are used for socio-economic development and help India develop into a country that can stand tall even amongst the tallest of the all.