Topic 70: Computer Science – AI, Networking,

Q: What is blockchain? State three applications beyond cryptocurrency.

**Blockchain** is a **distributed ledger** — a chain of cryptographically linked blocks containing transaction records, replicated across a peer-to-peer network. Properties: **decentralised** (no single authority), **immutable** (records cannot be altered), **transparent**. Applications beyond cryptocurrency: (1) **Land records** — Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh piloting blockchain land registries to prevent tampering; (2) **Supply chain** — IBM Food Trust + Walmart trace food provenance in 2.2 seconds; (3) **Healthcare** — secure sharing of patient records across hospitals without single-point-of-failure risk.

Study Material

Paper Paper II

Unit 2

1. Computer Networks - Interconnected computers sharing resources - Types by geography: PAN (~10m), LAN (building/campus), MAN (city), WAN (global — Internet is the largest WAN) - IP address: unique identifier for devices on network - IPv4: 32-bit; ~4.3 billion addresses — exhausted - IPv6: 128-bit; virtually unlimited
2. 5G Technology - 5th Generation mobile network; theoretical peak speed 20 Gbps (vs. 4G's 1 Gbps) - Latency < 1 millisecond; supports 1 million devices per km² - Enables: autonomous vehicles, industrial IoT, smart cities, remote surgery - India's 5G rollout began October 2022 (Airtel and Jio in 13 cities) - 100+ cities covered by 2024
3. Artificial Intelligence (AI) - Simulation of human intelligence by machines - Machine Learning (ML): systems that learn from data - Deep Learning (DL): neural networks with many layers; basis of image recognition and NLP - NLP (Natural Language Processing): computers understanding/generating human language (ChatGPT, Alexa) - Computer Vision: image/video interpretation
4. Big Data - Defined by 5 Vs: Volume (terabytes to exabytes), Velocity (real-time streams), Variety (structured/unstructured text, images, video), Veracity (accuracy/trustworthiness), Value (business insights) - Hadoop: distributed storage framework - Apache Spark: real-time processing (100× faster than Hadoop MapReduce) - Also uses NoSQL databases
5. Cloud Computing - Delivers computing services over the Internet on a pay-per-use basis - IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): AWS EC2, Azure VMs - PaaS (Platform as a Service): Google App Engine - SaaS (Software as a Service): Gmail, Office 365 - Edge computing: processes data near its source (IoT devices, factories); reduces latency
6. Internet of Things (IoT) - Network of physical objects embedded with sensors, software, and connectivity to collect and exchange data - Examples: smart home devices (Alexa, smart thermostat), wearable fitness trackers, industrial sensors - Smart agriculture (soil moisture sensors), connected vehicles, smart city infrastructure - By 2025, ~75 billion IoT devices projected globally
7. Blockchain - Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT): chain of blocks containing transaction records, cryptographically linked - Replicated across a peer-to-peer network - Decentralised: no single authority; Immutable: records cannot be altered; Transparent: all participants can verify - Bitcoin (2009, Satoshi Nakamoto) was the first blockchain application
8. Digital Currency - Cryptocurrency: decentralised, blockchain-based (Bitcoin, Ethereum); no central authority - CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency): government-issued digital legal tender - India's Digital Rupee (e₹) by RBI: Wholesale e₹ pilot (November 2022), Retail e₹ pilot (December 2022) - Unlike cryptocurrency, e₹ is centralised and backed by RBI
9. VR / AR / MR - VR (Virtual Reality): fully immersive computer-generated environment via headsets (Oculus, Meta Quest, Sony PlayStation VR) - AR (Augmented Reality): overlays digital information on real world (Pokémon Go, Google Glass, Apple Vision Pro) - MR (Mixed Reality): blends real and digital objects that interact - Applications: gaming, education, medical simulation, military training, tourism
10. OTT Platforms - Deliver media content directly over the Internet, bypassing traditional cable/satellite TV - India has 45+ OTT platforms; top global: Netflix (238 million subscribers), Amazon Prime, Disney+Hotstar, YouTube - Jio Cinema: IPL 2023 — record 32 million concurrent viewers - Regulated by MIB under IT Rules 2021
11. Social Media - Web-based platforms allowing creation, sharing, and exchange of user-generated content - Major platforms: Facebook (3.05 billion MAU), YouTube (2.5 billion), WhatsApp (2 billion), Instagram (2 billion), TikTok (1.5 billion), Twitter/X (250 million) - India has 500 million+ social media users (2024) - IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 governs social media intermediaries in India
12. Machine Learning Types - Supervised Learning: learns from labelled examples (spam detection, image classification, price prediction) - Unsupervised Learning: finds patterns in unlabelled data (customer segmentation, anomaly detection) - Reinforcement Learning: agent learns by trial and error with rewards/penalties (AlphaGo, robotics, self-driving cars)
13. Generative AI (GenAI) - AI systems that create new content: text, images, music, code, video - Key models: GPT-4 (OpenAI), Gemini (Google DeepMind), Claude (Anthropic), Llama (Meta) - Image generation: Stable Diffusion, DALL-E, Midjourney - ChatGPT reached 100 million users in 60 days (November 2022) — fastest-growing consumer app in history
14. Quantum Computing - Uses quantum bits (qubits) exploiting superposition and entanglement - Potential to break current RSA encryption (Shor's algorithm) → driving post-quantum cryptography - Applications: drug discovery, financial optimisation, climate modelling, AI acceleration - IBM Quantum Eagle (2021): 127 qubits; IBM Condor (2023): 1,121 qubits

Key facts

Computer Networks — Interconnected computers sharing resources — Types by geography: PAN (~10m), LAN (building/campus), MAN (city), WAN (global
5G Technology — 5th Generation mobile network; theoretical peak speed 20 Gbps (vs. 4G's 1 Gbps)
Big Data - Defined by 5 Vs: Volume (terabytes to exabytes), Velocity (real-time streams), Variety (structured/unstructured text, images, video), Verac…
Cloud Computing — Delivers computing services over the Internet on a pay-per-use basis — IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): AWS EC2, Azure VMs
Internet of Things (IoT) — Network of physical objects embedded with sensors, software, and connectivity to collect and exchange data

Key Points at a Glance

1
Computer Networks
- Interconnected computers sharing resources
- Types by geography: PAN (~10m), LAN (building/campus), MAN (city), WAN (global — Internet is the largest WAN)
- IP address: unique identifier for devices on network
- IPv4: 32-bit; ~4.3 billion addresses — exhausted
- IPv6: 128-bit; virtually unlimited
2
5G Technology
- 5th Generation mobile network; theoretical peak speed 20 Gbps (vs. 4G's 1 Gbps)
- Latency < 1 millisecond; supports 1 million devices per km²
- Enables: autonomous vehicles, industrial IoT, smart cities, remote surgery
- India's 5G rollout began October 2022 (Airtel and Jio in 13 cities)
- 100+ cities covered by 2024
3
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Simulation of human intelligence by machines
- Machine Learning (ML): systems that learn from data
- Deep Learning (DL): neural networks with many layers; basis of image recognition and NLP
- NLP (Natural Language Processing): computers understanding/generating human language (ChatGPT, Alexa)
- Computer Vision: image/video interpretation
4
Big Data
- Defined by 5 Vs: Volume (terabytes to exabytes), Velocity (real-time streams), Variety (structured/unstructured text, images, video), Veracity (accuracy/trustworthiness), Value (business insights)
- Hadoop: distributed storage framework
- Apache Spark: real-time processing (100× faster than Hadoop MapReduce)
- Also uses NoSQL databases
5
Cloud Computing
- Delivers computing services over the Internet on a pay-per-use basis
- IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): AWS EC2, Azure VMs
- PaaS (Platform as a Service): Google App Engine
- SaaS (Software as a Service): Gmail, Office 365
- Edge computing: processes data near its source (IoT devices, factories); reduces latency
6
Internet of Things (IoT)
- Network of physical objects embedded with sensors, software, and connectivity to collect and exchange data
- Examples: smart home devices (Alexa, smart thermostat), wearable fitness trackers, industrial sensors
- Smart agriculture (soil moisture sensors), connected vehicles, smart city infrastructure
- By 2025, ~75 billion IoT devices projected globally
7
Blockchain
- Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT): chain of blocks containing transaction records, cryptographically linked
- Replicated across a peer-to-peer network
- Decentralised: no single authority; Immutable: records cannot be altered; Transparent: all participants can verify
- Bitcoin (2009, Satoshi Nakamoto) was the first blockchain application
8
Digital Currency
- Cryptocurrency: decentralised, blockchain-based (Bitcoin, Ethereum); no central authority
- CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency): government-issued digital legal tender
- India's Digital Rupee (e₹) by RBI: Wholesale e₹ pilot (November 2022), Retail e₹ pilot (December 2022)
- Unlike cryptocurrency, e₹ is centralised and backed by RBI
9
VR / AR / MR
- VR (Virtual Reality): fully immersive computer-generated environment via headsets (Oculus, Meta Quest, Sony PlayStation VR)
- AR (Augmented Reality): overlays digital information on real world (Pokémon Go, Google Glass, Apple Vision Pro)
- MR (Mixed Reality): blends real and digital objects that interact
- Applications: gaming, education, medical simulation, military training, tourism
10
OTT Platforms
- Deliver media content directly over the Internet, bypassing traditional cable/satellite TV
- India has 45+ OTT platforms; top global: Netflix (238 million subscribers), Amazon Prime, Disney+Hotstar, YouTube
- Jio Cinema: IPL 2023 — record 32 million concurrent viewers
- Regulated by MIB under IT Rules 2021
11
Social Media
- Web-based platforms allowing creation, sharing, and exchange of user-generated content
- Major platforms: Facebook (3.05 billion MAU), YouTube (2.5 billion), WhatsApp (2 billion), Instagram (2 billion), TikTok (1.5 billion), Twitter/X (250 million)
- India has 500 million+ social media users (2024)
- IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 governs social media intermediaries in India
12
Machine Learning Types
- Supervised Learning: learns from labelled examples (spam detection, image classification, price prediction)
- Unsupervised Learning: finds patterns in unlabelled data (customer segmentation, anomaly detection)
- Reinforcement Learning: agent learns by trial and error with rewards/penalties (AlphaGo, robotics, self-driving cars)
13
Generative AI (GenAI)
- AI systems that create new content: text, images, music, code, video
- Key models: GPT-4 (OpenAI), Gemini (Google DeepMind), Claude (Anthropic), Llama (Meta)
- Image generation: Stable Diffusion, DALL-E, Midjourney
- ChatGPT reached 100 million users in 60 days (November 2022) — fastest-growing consumer app in history
14
Quantum Computing
- Uses quantum bits (qubits) exploiting superposition and entanglement
- Potential to break current RSA encryption (Shor's algorithm) → driving post-quantum cryptography
- Applications: drug discovery, financial optimisation, climate modelling, AI acceleration
- IBM Quantum Eagle (2021): 127 qubits; IBM Condor (2023): 1,121 qubits

Introduction & Scope

Topic 70 matters in RAS Paper II because RPSC now treats computer science and emerging digital technologies as core governance knowledge, not as a peripheral science topic. Topic 70 is the fastest-growing topic in Paper II — it scored 20 marks in 2023 alone, up from 5 marks in 2013. This reflects the RPSC's recognition that computer science/technology has permeated every aspect of modern governance, economy, and daily life. The 2026 syllabus is more explicit than any previous version, naming AI/ML, blockchain, digital currency, VR/AR, OTT, and social media as specific sub-topics. The RPSC official syllabus page released 5 scheme/syllabus downloads for the 2026 Rajasthan State and Subordinate Services Combined Competitive Examination on 09/01/2026, including the English Mains syllabus used for this topic map.

Key distinctions this topic requires:

Abstract scope: This topic covers conceptual/global CS — definitions, mechanisms, global examples. India-specific applications (UPI, AIRAWAT, CERT-In) belong to Topic 71.
Depth vs breadth: For 50-word answers, focus on the mechanism and one-two distinguishing features, not exhaustive examples.
Answer discipline: Treat each sub-topic as a definition-plus-use-case answer. RPSC usually rewards clean distinctions: AI vs ML, cloud vs edge, cryptocurrency vs CBDC, VR vs AR, and social media intermediary vs OTT publisher.
Governance link: Even when the question sounds technical, end with the public-administration relevance: service delivery, cyber security, regulation, privacy, cost, transparency, or inclusion.

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PREDICTED Predicted RAS Questions

Based on PYQ trends and 2026 syllabus analysis

1 5M What is blockchain? State three applications beyond cryptocurrency. 5 marks · 50 words

Model Answer

Blockchain is a distributed ledger — a chain of cryptographically linked blocks containing transaction records, replicated across a peer-to-peer network. Properties: decentralised (no single authority), immutable (records cannot be altered), transparent. Applications beyond cryptocurrency: (1) Land records — Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh piloting blockchain land registries to prevent tampering; (2) Supply chain — IBM Food Trust + Walmart trace food provenance in 2.2 seconds; (3) Healthcare — secure sharing of patient records across hospitals without single-point-of-failure risk.

~50 words • 5 marks