Indian Scientists — Key Facts
| Scientist |
Birth–Death |
Contribution |
Institution/Award |
| C.V. Raman |
1888–1970 |
Raman Effect (1928) |
Nobel 1930; Raman Research Institute |
| Ramanujan |
1887–1920 |
Number theory, mock theta functions |
Cambridge (with Hardy); 1729 = Hardy-Ramanujan number |
| S.N. Bose |
1894–1974 |
Bose-Einstein statistics; Bosons |
Padma Vibhushan 1954 |
| Meghnad Saha |
1893–1956 |
Saha Ionisation Equation |
Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics |
| J.C. Bose |
1858–1937 |
Millimetre radio waves, crescograph |
Bose Institute 1917 |
| Homi Bhabha |
1909–1966 |
Nuclear programme, 3-stage plan |
TIFR 1945, BARC 1954 |
| Vikram Sarabhai |
1919–1971 |
Space programme |
PRL 1947, ISRO 1969 |
| APJ Kalam |
1931–2015 |
IGMDP missiles, SLV-3 |
DRDO/ISRO; President 2002–07 |
| Salim Ali |
1896–1987 |
Ornithology — "Birdman of India" |
BNHS, Bharatpur Sanctuary |
| Verghese Kurien |
1921–2012 |
Operation Flood — "Milkman of India" |
NDDB, Amul cooperative |
| M.S. Swaminathan |
1925–2023 |
Green Revolution, HYV wheat |
MSSRF; Swaminathan Commission |
| Haridatta |
~5th c. CE |
Panahsiddhanta — positional numeral system |
Ancient Indian mathematician |
| Panchanan Maheshwari |
1904–1966 |
Embryology of angiosperms, test-tube fertilisation |
Delhi University; Padma Bhushan 1961 |
Key Policies and Missions
| Policy/Mission |
Year |
Budget |
Nodal Ministry |
Key Target |
| Nano Mission |
2007 |
Rs 1,000 cr (Ph-I) |
DST |
Nanoscience R&D, CeNS centres |
| National Cyber Security Policy |
2013 |
— |
MHA/MeitY |
5 lakh cyber professionals, NCIIPC |
| Digital India |
2015 |
Rs 1 lakh cr+ |
MeitY |
Digital infra, services, literacy |
| National Supercomputing Mission |
2015 |
Rs 4,500 cr |
DST + MeitY |
70+ supercomputers; PARAM series |
| NITI Aayog National AI Strategy |
2018 |
— |
NITI Aayog |
AI in 5 sectors (#AIForAll) |
| National Quantum Mission |
2023 |
Rs 6,003 cr |
DST |
50–1,000 qubit computers by 2031; 4 T-Hubs |
| DPDP Act |
2023 |
— |
MeitY |
Data privacy law; Data Protection Board |
| IndiaAI Mission |
2024 |
Rs 10,371 cr |
MeitY |
AIRAWAT, LLMs, AI skills |
| Anusandhan NRF |
2023 |
Rs 50,000 cr |
DST/Education |
Research culture in universities |
Digital India Key Numbers
| Initiative |
Key Number |
Year/Context |
| Aadhaar |
1.37 billion enrolled |
2025 |
| UPI Transactions |
14.96 billion/month |
March 2025 |
| UPI Value |
Rs 20.64 lakh crore/month |
March 2025 |
| BharatNet |
2.14 lakh GPs connected |
2025 |
| DigiLocker |
250 million users |
2025 |
| e-Sanjeevani |
250 million teleconsultations |
2025 |
| DBT Leakage Savings |
Rs 3.48 lakh crore |
Cumulative to 2024 |
| CoWIN |
2.5 billion dose records |
COVID programme |
| ONDC |
1 lakh+ sellers |
2025 |
Cyber Security Timeline
| Year |
Event/Policy |
| 2000 |
IT Act enacted — India's cyber law foundation |
| 2008 |
IT (Amendment) Act — added cyber terrorism (S.66F), data protection |
| 2013 |
National Cyber Security Policy — NCIIPC established |
| 2015 |
Supreme Court strikes down S.66A — Shreya Singhal judgment |
| 2018 |
Cyber Surakshit Bharat — government CISO training |
| 2018 |
Justice Srikrishna Committee — data protection bill draft |
| 2022 |
CERT-In directives — 6-hour reporting, 180-day log retention |
| 2022 |
AIIMS Delhi ransomware attack — 5 days of server downtime |
| 2023 |
DPDP Act enacted — India's first data privacy law |
Sources: DST Annual Reports; MeitY publications; NPCI data; CERT-In Annual Reports; RPSC Mains Previous Year Questions 2013–2024; RPSC 2026 Official Syllabus; IndiaAI Mission documentation; National Quantum Mission Cabinet approval notification.
