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Indian Ocean Region

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Last Updated: March 2025 (Indian Ocean Region)

Indian Ocean Region

This article deals with the ‘Indian Ocean Region.’ This is part of our series on ‘International Relations’ which is an important pillar of the GS-2 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.

What is Indian Ocean Region (IOR)?

Indian Ocean Region
  • The region containing and surrounding the Indian Ocean is known as Indian Ocean Region. 
  • Indian Ocean Region has 51 coastal and landlocked states. Hence, it is a vast region.

Reasons behind the increased importance of the Indian Ocean

  • The Indian Ocean has become the lifeline of world trade (& has been so since time immemorial). The Indian Ocean is important for commerce as
    • 2/3rd of world oil shipments pass through the Indian Ocean.
    • 1/3rd of bulk cargo passes through the Indian Ocean. 
    • It hosts nearly 40% of the world’s population. 
Importance of the Indian Ocean
  • The Indian Ocean has the world’s most important choke points,  notably the Straits of Hormuz, Malacca and Bab el Mandeb. As these choke points are important for global trade, a number of extra-regional states maintain a naval presence in the Indian Ocean. Eg
    • US: 5th Fleet in Bahrain & uses the island of Diego Garcia as an air-naval base.  
    • France: Naval bases in Djibouti, Reunion Island and Abu Dhabi
  • Growing Economies: The economies of many Indian Ocean countries, such as India, Malaysia, and Tanzania, are growing rapidly and are attracting huge investments.
  • Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is rich in natural resources containing
    • World’s 40% oil exploration
    • Nearly 15% of total fishing in the world
    • Mineral and natural resources like iron, copper, Zinc, manganese, gold and silver 
  • China’s aggressive soft power diplomacy and Maritime Silk Road (MSR) Policy have been the most crucial element in shaping the Indian Ocean strategic environment. The US and other nations like Japan, India and Australia are also trying to counter Chinese initiatives. 
  • Security issues:  Indian Ocean Region (IOR) faces many security issues, such as piracy, illegal migration, drug trade etc. 

Changed attitude of India towards  Indian Ocean

  • Indian Ocean Region is the centre stage of 21st-century politics  & India stands geographically right in the middle. South Africa, Iran, Indonesia & Australia are also part of the Indian Ocean RIM family, but none has centrality & attraction like that of India. 
  • India is positioning itself as the “net security provider” in the broader Indian Ocean region.
  • Due to its strategic location and capabilities, India can play a pivotal role in this region. Till now, India has played a positive role and, in the time of need, has readily helped smaller countries of the region such as Maldives (Operation NEER), Srilanka, Bangladesh etc.

Importance of IOR for India

1. Geostrategic Importance

  • India is situated right in the middle of the Indian Ocean. 
  • It is important to secure Indian Ocean Region to protect Indian ships from piracy and stop human trafficking and drug smuggling.
  • 90% of Indian trade passes through the Indian Ocean. Hence, it is vital to protect our Sea Lines of Commerce (SLOC).
  • Energy Security: Most of our oil supplies come from Indian Ocean Rim countries.

2. Protection of assets and islands

  • Its security is important to protect Indian assets and islands situated in the Indian Ocean
    1. Islands: Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep
    2. Assets: Like Bombay High 

3. Economic Importance

It is the source of resources like

  1. Fishing and aquaculture
  2. Deep sea mineral exploration 
  3. Petroleum reserves like Bombay High 

4. Cultural Importance

  • India has cultural relations with IOR countries dating back centuries.
  • India has been the centre stage of Indian Ocean trade, corroborated by texts like Periplus Maris Erythraei, Jataka Stories, Sangam Poetry etc.

5. Diaspora

  • A large Indian diaspora lives in Indian Ocean Rim Countries and Small Island Nations like Mauritius, Maldives, South Africa etc.

6. Countering China’s influence

  • China’s aggressive soft power diplomacy has been seen as arguably the most critical element in shaping the IOR environment, transforming the entire region’s dynamics. 

7. Other

  • Monsoon Mechanism: The Indian Ocean plays a vital role in keeping the Monsoon mechanism in favour of India.

Chinese threat & String of Pearls

China’s Malacca Dilemma

  • Nearly 360 ships per day pass through the Strait of Malacca.
  • If there is any blockade by a human or natural disaster, it will cause problems for China because 80% of its oil & gas imports & almost 60% of exports pass through this region.
  • Singapore is located on the Malacca Strait and hosts a huge US naval base. 
  • Andaman & Nicobar Islands are situated near Malacca and can be used to choke the Straits. 
  • To counter Malacca’s Dilemma, China has opted to go for an ambitious String of Pearls strategy.

String of Pearls

  • It is the theory that China is trying to increase its naval presence in the Indian Ocean and counter India by surrounding it.
  • It is developing a string of ports around India for this purpose.
Kyaukpyu  Myanmar
Chittagong Bangladesh
Hambantota Srilanka
Marao Atoll Maldives
Gwadar Pakistan
Djibouti First Chinese Overseas Military Base (overlooks Bab el Mandeb)
String of Pearls

Side Topic: Kra Canal

  • The Kra Canal aims to address China’s Malacca Dilemma.
  • It is a 100-km canal cutting Thailand into two parts. Kra Canal will link the South China Sea to the Andaman Sea, bypassing the Malacca Strait.
  • It has the added advantage of saving time.
  • Experts believe Kra Canal could benefit India and other economies by taking pressure off the overcrowded Malacca Straits.
Kra Canal

Indian steps wrt IOR

Necklace of Diamonds

To counter String of Pearls, India is also making ports. India’s counter-strategy is often described as the “Necklace of Diamonds”

Andaman & Nicobar Islands It can act as an Iron choke to Malacca
1. Malacca strait is overlooked by Andaman & Nicobar islands.
2. India has established a naval air station here called Baaz.
Chabahar Port India is developing the Chabahar port in Iran.
Duqm port India has signed an agreement with Oman to provide military and logistics support to Duqm Port.
Seychelles India has given a proposal to lease the Assumption Islands from Seychelles.
Myanmar India is investing in Sittwe port as part of its Kaladan Multimodal project.
Mauritius  India has developed infrastructure on Agalega Island in Mauritius like upgrading its airstrip for operation of Dornier and P8I aircrafts.
Srilanka India is developing Kakesuthai & Trincomalee ports.
France India and France signed the “reciprocal logistics support” agreement as part of which warships of both nations would have access to each other’s naval bases.  

Making Alliances

Apart from that, India is trying to contain China by making alliances with like-minded nations. These include

  • Making an alliance with Vietnam (Vietnam, too, has issues with China in the South China sea).
  • Malabar practice with US & Japan.
  • Formation of Quad by USA, Japan, Australia and India.

Military Modernisation

  • Agni, Sukhoi, Nuclear submarines, and Aircraft Carriers-Vikramaditya and Vikrant, are not meant for Pakistan but to fight against a powerful nation like China.

Iron Curtain Policy  to counter Chinese String of pearls

  • It is the term given by naval analyst Zang Ming according to which Andaman & Nicobar islands can be used as a metal chain to block Chinese access to the Strait of Malacca.
  • Japan is also helping India to develop Andaman and Nicobar.

Project Mausam

  • It was launched in June 2014.
  • It is a Ministry of Culture project.
  • Aim :
    1. The project tries to see how the monsoon winds helped maritime trade historically between Indian Ocean-connected countries. 
    2. How winds influenced local economies, scientific quests, modern statecraft, religion, politics and cultural identity

Cotton Route

  • ‘Cotton Route’ has been started to strengthen economic ties between countries in the Indian Ocean rim. 

Spice Route

  • The Spice Route has been started to revive old links between 31 countries in Asia and Europe with India, particularly spice-rich Kerala.

SAGAR Initiative

  • Announced by the PM of India, the Sagar initiative aims at Security And Growth for All in the Region.

MAHASAGAR Policy

  • Announced in 2025, 10 years after SAGAR Initiative.
  • It builds on SAGAR. It extends the reach of the policy to the Indo-Pacific region.

Challenges to India’s role as a net security provider in IOR

  • The capacity of the Indian defence industry to supply naval and military equipment to India and its allies is challenged by the experts. Achieving the status of net security provider can put enormous strain on the country’s finite resources and calls for a manifold increase in existing military hardware. 
  • More focus on territorial boundaries: Due to its pending territorial disputes with China and Pakistan, India is forced to focus on its territorial boundaries.
  • China challenges India’s status in the Indian Ocean through its Belt and Road Initiative and String of pearls.
  • Opposition from other countries. E.g.:
    1. Seychelles parliament has opposed the lease of Assumption Island to India.
    2. Past Experience of Overseas Deployment of Armed Forces: The recipe of net security provider does encompass ‘Overseas Deployment’ as a vital ingredient. However, the experiences in Sri Lanka continue to have a dragging effect on any thought process involving overseas deployment. 

India Bhutan Relations

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India Bhutan Relations

Last Updated: October 2025 (India Bhutan Relations)

India Bhutan Relations

This article deals with ‘India Bhutan Relations.’ This is part of our series on ‘International Relations’ which is an important pillar of the GS-2 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.

Brief History

Timeline of India Bhutan Relations

India and Bhutan have long-standing diplomatic, economic and cultural relations.

  • India’s relations with Bhutan go back to 747 AD when a Buddhist monk Padmasambhava went from India to Bhutan and founded the Nyingmapa sect of Buddhism. Thus, India contributed to the cultural growth of Buddhism in Bhutan.
  • Bhutan came under the control of the British Empire when it lost in the Anglo-Bhutan Wars. Consequently, the Bhutanese king was forced to sign a humiliating treaty. 
  • When India became independent in 1947, Nehru went to Bhutan to build relations. Bhutan also preferred India over China as, in 1949, when China took over Tibet, it did create tensions and fears of annexation in Bhutan. In 1949, India and Bhutan concluded a Treaty of Friendship.
  • Diplomatic relations between India and Bhutan were established in 1968 with the appointment of a resident representative of India in Thimpu.  
  • Regular visits between both countries’ highest level Government functionaries have become a tradition. Dr Lotay Tshering, PM of Bhutan, visited India in 2018. It is the first overseas visit of PM Tshering after assuming office in 2018. Bhutan was also the first country visited by PM Narendra Modi after assuming office in 2019. The visit reflects the high priority that the Government of India (GoI) attaches to its relations with Bhutan.

Presently, Bhutan-India relations are governed by a friendship treaty renegotiated in 2007, freeing Thimphu’s external relations from New Delhi but still subjecting the Himalayan nation’s security needs to Indian supervision. 

India-Bhutan Friendship Treaty

  • Treaty of Friendship was signed in 1949. Terms of Treaty included
    1. As per Article-2 of the treaty, India accepted Bhutan’s sovereign and independent status, but Bhutan has to seek Indian guidance in matters of defence and external affairs. 
    2. Apart from that, Indian citizens have the same right to employment in Bhutan as Bhutanese nationals do in India. 
    3. Open border system between Bhutan and India under which citizens of India and Bhutan have a right to move into each other’s territory without a visa
  • The treaty was revised in 2007 because Bhutan raised its voice against Article 2 of the treaty. Under the renegotiated Treaty of Friendship, only defence is guided by India, and Bhutan can have independent Foreign Policy.
  • India-Bhutan Trade And Transit Agreement (1972) provides for duty-free transit of Bhutanese exports through India to third countries.
  • Treaty of Cooperation in Hydropower and Protocol (2006): Under the treaty, India has agreed to help and assist Bhutan in developing Hydropower of 10 GW and assured Bhutan to import the surplus to India. 

Importance of Bhutan for India

Strategic Importance

  • Bhutan acts as a buffer between India and China.
  • Chumbi Valley is situated at the trijunction of Bhutan, India and China and is 500 km away from the “Chicken’s neck” in North Bengal, which connects the northeast with the rest of the country. China is demanding Chumbi valley from Bhutan, which can jeopardize Indian security. 
  • After the Doklam standoff, securing Bhutan’s present borders, especially its western border, is essential for India to secure Siliguri Corridor/ Chicken’s Neck.  

To contain insurgency in North-East

  • Bhutan cooperated with India and helped flush out militant groups like the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) from the Himalayan nation. In 2003–04, the Royal Bhutan Army launched a mega operation known as Operation All Clear to eliminate ULFA and NDFB cadres in South Bhutan and successfully neutralized 650 insurgents and destroyed 30 insurgent camps.

Political Importance

  • An unstable and restive Bhutan would jeopardize India’s investments in that country and provide a safe haven for anti-India activities and anti-India militant groups. 
  • Bhutan is also the only country in the region that joined India in its boycott of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative.  

Multilateral Cooperation

  • Bhutan is a founding member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). It is also a member of BIMSTEC, World Bank, the IMF, Group of 77 and others.

Commercial Relations

  • The trade between the two countries is governed by the India-Bhutan Trade and Transit Agreement 1972, last renewed in 2016. The Agreement established a free-trade regime between the two countries. The Agreement also provides for duty-free transit of Bhutanese exports to third countries. 
  • India has been the principal financier of Bhutan’s 5-year plan (for the latest five-year plan of 2018-2023, India has committed ₹4500 crores.) 
  • Both countries have committed to developing 10,000 MW of hydropower generating capacity in Bhutan. 
  • India is Bhutan’s largest trading partner. Around 80% of Bhutan’s total imports are from India, and India provides a market for 90% of its exports. 
  • Indian Railways has announced to extend its railway grid to Bhutan by building 69-km Kokrajhar (Assam)-Gelephu (Bhutan) and 20-km Banarhat (West Bengal)-Samtse (Bhutan)  lines.
  • The government is planning to build a mini dry port in the border town of Phuentsholing to promote trade. 
  • Indian banks, such as the SBI and Bank of Baroda, have a presence in Bhutan. 
  • Bhutanese currency  Ngultrum is officially pegged to the Indian Rupee.

Hydropower Cooperation

  • Hydroelectric power generated by Bhutan is the country’s main export to India. 
  • India has financed the dams through aid and loans and buys excess electricity. Bhutan exports around 45% of its hydropower to India. 
  • Both countries have committed to developing 10,000 MW of hydropower generating capacity in Bhutan. 
  • Three hydroelectric projects (HEPs) made with Indian assistance are already operational. These projects include
    • Tala HEP (capacity = 1 GW || Most important project of Bhutan)
    • Chukha HEP
    • Kurichu HEP

Problems: 

  • India’s power-surplus status and the advent of other renewable energies like wind and solar power will make it more difficult for Bhutan to ensure that its hydropower sector becomes profitable. 
  • Bhutan alleges that due to hydro cooperation with India, there is a dominance of Indian firms in Bhutan. It feels that an overwhelming presence of Indian firms in Bhutan has restricted the space of growth for the Bhutanese corporate sector. 
  • Bhutan feels that the Indian firms end up recruiting cheap Bangladeshi labour in dam construction; as a result, Bhutanese don’t stand to benefit from the diplomacy.

Security Ties

  • The Indian military “is virtually responsible for protecting Bhutan from external and internal threats“.
  • The Eastern Command of the Indian Army and Air Force have integrated Bhutan’s defence into their role and responsibilities. 
  • The Indian Military Training Team (IMTRAT) trains Bhutanese security personnel as well. 

People to People Cooperation

  • Approximately 4000 Bhutanese are studying in Indian Universities.
  • India-Bhutan Foundation was established (in 2003) to enhance people to people exchanges in focus areas like education, culture, scientific and technical research, and environment protection.
  • About 60,000 Indian nationals live in Bhutan, employed mainly in the hydroelectric power and construction industry. 

Other aspects of Cooperation

  • Space Cooperation: In 2020, India and Bhutan signed MoU on Space Cooperation and India will assist Bhutan in Remote Sensing, Space Communication etc. 
  • Project Dantak: Since 1961, Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has run Project Dantak. Under this, the BRO provides for roads construction, telecom works, colleges, schools and other infrastructure.
  • During COVID Crisis (2020-21), India supplied vaccines to Bhutan. In return, when India faced a severe oxygen shortage, Bhutan gave 40 metric tonnes of oxygen (~10,000 cylinders) every day to India.
  • India is also assisting Bhutan in establishing an e-Project covering all the 20 districts of Bhutan.
  • PM Narendra Modi has coined the idea of B2B as ‘Bharat to Bhutan’ to build effective and renewed bilateral relationships.

Issues / Irritants

Although the older Bhutanese generation looked to India with gratitude, the newer generation tends to look more profoundly and dissatisfied at the situation.

  • Doklam Crisis (73-day India-China standoff In 2017 ): Doklam, or Donglang in China, comprises a plateau and a valley at the trijunction between India, Bhutan and China. It is surrounded by the Chumbi Valley of Tibet, Bhutan’s Ha Valley and Sikkim. Despite several rounds of engagement between China and Bhutan, the dispute over Doklam has not been resolved. It flared up in 2017 when the Chinese were trying to construct a road in the area, and Indian troops, in aid of their Bhutanese counterparts, objected to it, resulting in the standoff. Doklam is located close to the Siliguri corridor, which connects mainland India with its north-eastern region. The corridor, also called Chicken’s Neck, is a vulnerable point for India. But many Bhutanese feel that why they should suffer for protecting Indian interests.  
  • India acting as a roadblock in solving the Bhutan-China boundary issue: Bhutan cant solve their boundary dispute with China. Bhutan has three disputed regions with China: Doklam Plateau, Jakarlung and Pasamlung. In 2013, India stopped all loans, subsidies and aid in retaliation for starting discussions with China for settling their boundary dispute without taking Indian consent. 
India Bhutan Relations
  • Bhutan had decided to withdraw from the BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement because it would adversely affect its environment and its sovereignty.  
  • Bhutan also stopped free tourist access to Indians in 2020.
  • Imposing behaviour of India: Bhutanese people are raising voices against increasing Indianisation. E.g., Under Project Dantak, Border Roads Organisation built a road in Bhutan and placed boards with tricolour shade which wasn’t appreciated by Bhutanese people leading to a backlash. Ultimately, signboards were changed. 
  • Delays in Hydropower projects by Indian companies leading to the country’s burgeoning national debt.
  • Bhutan wants to increase its export power tariff to India as it is lesser than the cost of production.
  • Goods and services tax hurts Bhutanese traders & Demonetization left lasting scars on the banking system.
  • Indian aid is being criticized for creating ‘jobless growth’ in Bhutan.  
  • The terms on which India is financing the hydropower projects and getting electricity from Bhutan at cheap rates seems unfavourable to Bhutan. Hydropower plants are also attached to certain environmental concerns. 

Way Forward

  • Continue Foreign Aid: Although Bhutan remains the largest recipient of Indian aid, the amount of assistance in grants and loans to the country has dropped over the last two years. It is not the right time for India to decrease aid to Bhutan as the Chinese presence is growing.
  • India must draw the Bhutanese public attention to China’s role in the debt trap policy of China, epitomized by the Hambantota port case in Sri Lanka. 
  • Respect Bhutanese Values: India should demonstrate respect for Bhutanese values. The Bhutanese are environment-conscious people. Therefore, India should go for economically and environmentally more viable projects. 
  • Maintain Ties with the Bhutanese Monarchy: Unlike their Nepali counterparts, Bhutan’s monarchs have been strong proponents of close relations with India. India should back Bhutan’s constitutional monarchy and strengthen it by channelling its aid through this institution.
  • The fourth King of Bhutan King Jigme Singye Wangchuck coined the phrase “Gross National Happiness” in 1972 and declared that is more important than GDP. India needs to combine the Gross National Happiness of Bhutan with its own economic development to maintain a shared prosperity and relationship between the two countries.

India Nepal Relations

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INDIA—NEPAL RELATIONS

Last updated: Jan 2025(India Nepal Relations)

India Nepal Relations

This article deals with ‘India-Nepal Relations.’ This is part of our series on ‘International Relations’, which is an important pillar of the GS-2 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.

Introduction

  • India and Nepal are connected geographically, historically, religiously, economically and financially.
  • Open borders, shared religious background, marital relations, and unrestricted movement of people between the two nations are unique characteristics of bilateral ties. 
  • India and Nepal share a long boundary, and 5 Indian states-Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Sikkim and Bihar are adjacent to Nepal.
  • But in recent times, the relationship between the two countries has been going through an obnoxious phase.  

History

Common Culture

  • India and Nepal have had common culture since times immemorial. 
  • For example
    • In Ramayana, Sita was from Janakpuri (Nepal).
    • Buddha was born in Rummendei in Nepal. Emperor Ashoka has also visited that place.

British Times

  • Treaty of Sagauli of 1816: Britishers defeated the Gurkhas in the Anglo-Gurkha wars and subsequently signed the Treaty of Sagauli.  
  • As per the treaty 
    • Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim were annexed to the British empire.
    • Treaty established Mahakali or Kali  River as a dividing line in the Western sector.
    • British resident was stationed at Kathmandu. 
    • Nepal surrendered its foreign policy to Britishers.
    • Britishers started to recruit Gorkhas to British Army. 

Treaty of Peace & Friendship, 1950

  • After the Independence, India and Nepal signed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship in 1950.
  • Under the terms of the treaty 
    • Nepal would consult India whenever they undertake any arms imports from any nation other than India.
    • Neither government shall tolerate any threat to the security of the other by a foreign aggressor.
    • Opening of the border between the two countries. 
    • Citizens of both countries are empowered to have the same privileges for property, trade and residence, movement, and work in India without a work permit.
    • As per Article X in the treaty, either party can ask for a change in the treaty whenever demanded.

Strengths in India-Nepal relations

Strengths in India Nepal Relations
  • A large number of Nepalese work in India (nearly 30 lakh Nepalis or 10% of Nepal’s population). Significant among them are Gorkha soldiers in the Indian army. 
  • Nepalese and Indians have common cultural & historical ties.
  • A large majority in Nepal follows Hinduism.
  • People belonging to the Terai region of India and Nepal have kinship and marital ties.  
  • Nepal is a landlocked country, and access to the outer world is only through India. 
  • Indian cinema & music is highly popular in Nepal.  

Importance and Cooperation

1 . Military Cooperation

Indian and Nepalese Military have very close ties. Eg

  • There are 180 training slots for the Nepalese army in the Indian Military Academy. 
  • Indian Army Chief is Honorary General of Nepal Army & vice versa.
  • Nepalese can serve as soldiers in the Indian army. Over 1.23 lakh veterans are currently residing in Nepal. India sends ₹ 1100 crores/ annum as pension to these ex-servicemen.
  • Battalion-level Joint Military Exercise’ SURYA KIRAN’ is conducted alternately in India and Nepal.

Issues

  • But Nepal is also increasing military ties with China. 2017 saw the first Nepal-China joint military exercise.
  • Indian army is recruiting more Garhwalis and Kumaon than Nepali Gurkhas in Gurkha Regiment. It has to be noted that the Gurkha regiment, originally comprised only of Nepali Gurkhas, changed the rule in 1975 to recruit Nepalese and Indian domiciled Gurkhas in 70:30. In the 1990s, it was changed to 60:40, and the government is considering changing it further to 40:60.

2 . Economic Cooperation

  • India is Nepal’s largest trading partner having bilateral trade of $7 billion. 
  • Indian exports to Nepal have grown 8 times in the past 10 years. 
  • India and Bangladesh have signed MoU to enable Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA), thus allowing the smooth movement of goods and vehicles across borders. 

3 . Strategic Importance

  • Nepal is a buffer state between India and China.
    • Indian border with Nepal is most indefensive as there is no protection by the Himalayas as Nepal lies beneath the Himalayas
    • If China penetrates Nepal and connects it with Road and Railways, Gangetic plains will become vulnerable.

4 . Multilateral Cooperation

Both India and Nepal are part of many multilateral organizations, especially

  • SAARC
  • BIMSTEC
  • BBIN 

5. Others

  • Education: 3000 scholarships/seats are provided to Nepali nationals in India annually.
  • Indian help in Post – Earthquake Reconstruction: India has pledged $2 billion for reconstruction in Nepal.  
  • Culture: India and Nepal have signed three sister-city agreements between 
    1. Kathmandu-Varanasi
    2. Lumbini-Bodhgaya (Buddhist)
    3. Janakpur-Ayodhya (Sita & Ram)
  • India and Nepal have had a Power Exchange Agreement since 1971 for meeting the power requirements in the border areas of the two countries. 
  • South Asia’s first cross-border petroleum products pipeline, constructed and funded by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., connecting Motihari in India to Amlekhgunj in Nepal. 
  • India also provided economic assistance to Nepal, which was to the tune of ₹1200 crore. 

New Indian Projects  in Nepal

  • Construction of a Raxaul-Kathmandu, Jogbani-Biratnagar and Jaynagar-Bardibas railway line. 
  • Nepal-India Ramayana Circuit connecting Janakpur, the birthplace of Sita, with Ayodhya.
  • 900 MW Arun III hydro-electric project in Nepal.
  • Upgradation of 10 roads in the Terai area; 
  • Establish Integrated Check Posts at Birgunj, Biratnagar, Bhairahawa, and Nepalgunj.

Issues / Irritants

1 . Open Border Issue

  • Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1950 accepted “open border” between India and Nepal. An “open border” means an unrestricted movement of people from either side.
  • Due to Open Border, many illegal activities are carried like
    • Fake Currency,
    • Terrorist penetration, 
    • Drug Smuggling, 
    • Human Trafficking. 
    • Pakistan has been taking advantage of the open border to infiltrate terrorists and pump fake Currency into India. 

2. Kalapani Issue

  • The origin of the Kalapani issue goes back to the Treaty of Sagauli. As per the treaty, the Kali River was designated as the boundary. In between the two streams of the Kali, the river lies Kalapani. The issue arises because India recognizes the eastern stream as the Kali river while Nepal recognizes the western stream as the Kali river. 
  • Kalapani is a strategic position located at the trijunction of India, China and Nepal and provides an advantage to India vis a vis China. Nepal is demanding it (under Chinese pressure, demand is gaining strength). 
  • This issue took an ugly turn in 2020. India built a new 80 km-long road in the Himalayas, connecting to the border with China, at the Lipulekh pass. The Nepali government protested immediately, contending that the road crosses territory that it claims and accusing India of changing the status quo. Later, Nepal enlarged its claim from 35 square kilometres of territory to nearly 400 square kilometres and incorporated it into the revised map through a constitutional amendment.
Kalapani Issue

3. Nepal Constitution of 2015 and Madheshi Issue

Constituent Assembly of Nepal framed the constitution of Nepal, which came into force in 2015. But India was not happy with this development because of the following reasons:-

  1. In the new constitution, the Madheshi (who constitute 70% of the population, speak Maithili, Bhojpuri, Awadhi and Hindi and have a close relationship with Indian living across the border) were left out. Out of 165 Legislative Assembly seats, they were given just 65 seats, while Pahadis were given 100 seats. 
  2. It also intends to destroy the roti-beti character, as women from UP and Bihar states of India who marry a Madheshi will be treated as a foreigner for up to five years.

4. River issues

  • Nepal is an upper riparian state and has great hydropower generation potential. However, Nepal’s installed hydel capacity of 800 MW is much lesser than the potential of over 80 GW. Due to power shortages, power cuts are common throughout the country. India has approached Nepal to develop power projects on the Nepalese river on the condition of getting preferential rights over Nepalese waters. Still, Nepal has refused it due to sovereignty issues and the Indian track record of not delivering projects on time. 
  • India and Nepal share three major rivers, i.e. Kosi, Gandhak & Mahakali. There are three treaties to regulate water sharing, and these include
    1. Kosi River Treaty: Kosi river causes tremendous flooding in Bihar. As per the treaty, the two sides agreed to manage Kosi flooding. India has constructed the barrage on the Kosi river in Nepal, and Nepal agreed to give its management rights to India for 199 years. 
    2. Gandak River Treaty: Under the treaty, both sides utilize water from the Gandak river to generate 20 GW of electricity. 
    3. Mahakali River Treaty: Under the treaty, India has agreed to undertake the creation of three dams at Sarda, Janakpur and Pancheshwar. Both sides have agreed to share costs. However, there has been no progress on these projects owing to pending social and environmental impact assessment.
  • Certain sections in Nepal allege that India, while managing the barrage on the Kosi river, does not release adequate water for irrigation and, during floods, opens the gates, leading to many villages getting submerged completely.

China card of Nepal

  • China has increased its footprint in Nepal. China in 2015 overtook India as Nepal’s biggest foreign investor.
  • The present government has a clear tilt towards China.
  • In 2024, newly elected PM Oli decided to make his first bilateral visit to China, a break from tradition.
  • Chinese Project of which Nepal is part include
    • China and Nepal have signed an agreement for all-weather road connectivity between Kathmandu and the Tibet Autonomous Region.
    • China is planning to extend its rail network to the Nepal border. 
    • Nepal is part of the One Belt One Road (OBOR ) Project.
    • China is funding powerplant on Budhi Gandaki (worth $ 2.5 billion), Trishuli river etc. 
    • China has agreed to provide access to the Tianjin seaport to transit Nepali goods (but distance = 3,000 km || compared to 1,000 km from Haldia port ). 
    • China is making Dry Port at Kodari (China has already made the road from Kathmandu to Kodari) 
    • China is constructing a road connecting Kodari with Zhangmu (in Tibet).  
    • China Study Centers (CSC) and Confucius Institutes have been opened in large numbers in Nepal.
China Card of Nepal
Kathmandu-Kodari-Zangmu Road
  • In previous years, the Indian share in Nepal’s foreign trade is decreasing while China’s is increasing.
India vs China in Nepal
Indian and Chinese Share in Nepalese Trade

Why Nepal is interested in China

  • Dependency on India: Nepal has found itself heavily reliant on India for an outlet to the outer world because of its geographical constraints. India can practically blockade Nepal in case of any dispute. 
  • Ideological basis: The communist parties in Nepal have favoured and consistently protested against India.
  • Economic Opportunities: Nepal views the Chinese railway as an opportunity to bring Chinese pilgrims and tourists to Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, and the famous valley of Pokhara. The  
  • Earlier, King Mahendra (in1960s), Birendra & Gyanendra too used China card. Hence, it is not a new problem.

Why China is interested in Nepal

  • The market for Chinese products in Nepal.
  • The Tibetan community in Nepal is a serious concern. China is pressuring the Nepalese government to do crackdown on Tibetan activities.
  • Use Nepal in breaching the Himalayan barrier. 

Why India is worried?

  • Strategic vulnerabilities: Rising Nepal and China cooperation signals that the Himalayas are not a barrier anymore.
  • Debt Trap diplomacy of China: China can take parts of Nepal on lease as done in Sri Lanka in the case of Hambantota port.
  • Effect on other neighbours: Including Bhutan, which has faced similar circumstances with India and China.
  • Impact on regional groupings: Growing China-Nepal relations may become a hurdle in regional groups like BIMSTEC, in which Nepal holds a powerful voice.

Indian strategy to contain it

  • Due to the Indian policy of not buying power from Chinese projects, the Nepalese government was forced to abandon Chinese involvement in the West SETI Power Project. Hence, the Nepalese government gave the project to NHPC.

India Afghanistan Relations

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India- Afghanistan Relations

This article deals with ‘India Afghanistan Relations.’ This is part of our series on ‘International Relations’ which is an important pillar of the GS-2 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.

A brief history of India-Afghanistan Relations

1950 Afghanistan and India signed a “Friendship Treaty.”
1950 to 1978 India had robust ties with Afghanistan during King Zahir Shah’s regime. 
1978 People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) (Marxist Party) took power in a military coup , an event which is known as SAUR Revolution. They started series of radical reforms in Afghanistan and as a results conservatives started war against them.  
1979 Soviet Union entered Afghanistan after threat of removal of Socialist government in the neighbourhood of USSR was eminent and war started between the Soviet Union led Afghan forces and Mujahedeen allegedly supported by USA and Pakistan .  
1989 Soviet forces left Afghanistan after eminent defeat .  
1990s  Taliban rose to power in Afghanistan. India started to support the ‘Northern Alliance’ which was fighting Taliban in Afghanistan .  
2000s till 2012 – Subsequent to the 9/11 attacks in USA, NATO interfered in Afghanistan under OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM (2001)  with the purpose to defeat Al-Qaeda,remove the Taliban from power &  create a viable democratic state .
– Taliban gave a tough fight and as a result, NATO stayed in Afghanistan for  more than decade.
– USA also worked for the capacity building of the Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) and it was thought that even after the US troops finally withdraw, the ANSF would be strong enough to prevent the Taliban from recapturing Afghanistan .
 
Post  2012 Barack Obama shifted the focus on ending the Afghan war.
– Obama increased the US troops in Afghanistan during first term (called ‘Surge Policy’).
– But his policy saw major turn in second term when he decided to  withdrew all but approximately 8,400 soldiers from Afghanistan
2016 In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with Afghanistan’s highest civilian honour, the Amir Amanullah Khan Award.
Trump policy Trump regime wanted to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan .
Feb 2020 US president struck a peace deal with the Taliban on the issues of counterterrorism and the withdrawal of U.S. and international troops. Its terms were as follows
1. The United States to reduce its troops in Afghanistan from 12,000 to 8,600.
2. Release of prisoners and prisoner swap.
3. Recognition to Taliban and US will move to the United Nations Security Council to remove Taliban members from the sanctions list.
4. Taliban would prevent any terror group from using Afghanistan to threaten the security of the US and its allies.
5. Intra-Afghan Negotiations will be start  among all the stakeholders of the Afghan society and the Taliban would commit towards it.  
2020 ‘Intra-Afghan peace talks’ held for the first time between Afghan government and the Taliban in Qatar.

India – Afghanistan

  • In 1999, India became one of the key supporters of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance.
  • In 2005, India proposed Afghanistan’s membership in the SAARC.  Both nations also developed strategic and military cooperation against Islamic militants.
  • Afghanistan signed its first Strategic Partnership Agreement with India in 2011.
  • In 2016, PM Narendra Modi was conferred with Afghanistan’s highest civilian honour, the Amir Amanullah Khan Award.

Importance of Afghanistan for India

India has a vision about stable Afghanistan which would be the crossroad of trade, the role which Afghanistan has played for centuries.

Economic importance

  • Natural Resources: Afghanistan has a mineral wealth of about $1-3 trillion which includes Iron ore, Lithium, Chromium, Natural Gas, Petroleum etc.
  • Massive reconstruction plans for the country offer a lot of opportunities for Indian companies.

Security

  • A stable government in Kabul will not give a safe haven to terrorists that might reduce insurgency in Kashmir. In fact, at present, the extremists fighting in Kashmir have drawn inspiration from the resistance offered by Afghan Mujahedeen against the Soviets during the Cold War.
  • Afghanistan can help in the prevention of Pakistan from regaining its central role in Afghan affairs.

Gateway to energy-rich Central Asia

  • Afghanistan is situated at crossroads between South Asia and Central Asia and South Asia and the Middle East. 

Indian works in Afghanistan

  • India has contributed 2 billion $ for Afghanistan’s reconstruction (6th largest donor by amount).  Indian assistance has been largely focused on infrastructure, irrigation and defence.
  • India has helped in the deepening of democracy in Afghanistan by building its Parliament building (cost = $90 million). 
  • Other Indian projects in Afghanistan include
    • Salma Dam on Harihud river (cost = $290 million) will generate 42 megawatts and irrigate 75,000-hectare land. It was later renamed to India-Afghanistan Friendship Dam.
    • Construction of a 218 km road from Zaranj to Delaram for facilitating the movement of goods to Chabahar Port.
    • Committed to contribute substantially in improving the transportation system in Kabul & to donate 1000 buses.
    • India has built a 220 kV DC transmission line from Pul-e-Khumri to Kabul.
    • Constructing the Chimtala power substation in Kabul.
    • Rebuilding of the Habibia High School in Kabul.
    • Financing the establishment of the Afghan National Agriculture Sciences and Technology University (ANASTU) in Kandahar.
    • Building the cricket stadium in Kandahar.
    • Building a cold storage warehouse in Kandahar.
  • India and Afghanistan signed a Preferential Trade Agreement in  2003. In  2011, India removed basic customs duties for all products of Afghanistan (except alcohol and tobacco) giving them duty-free access to the Indian market.
  • Afghanistan is rich in mineral resources.   India has acquired rights to iron mining (from Hajigak iron ore reserves).
  • Accessing Afghanistan is the biggest problem for India because Pakistan doesn’t allow Indian trucks to pass from her territory & reach Afghanistan. To overcome this India has invested in a route through Iran (Zaranj-Delaram Highway). Chabahar port will also help in this pursuit.
  • India has also invested in TAPI. If the project takes off, it will help Afghanistan to earn a transit fee.
  • India has donated four Mi-25 attack helicopters to Afghanistan.
  • India train cadets of the Afghani Army at NDA and IMA.
  • A large number of Afghani students come to India to study through scholarships. 
  • Afghanistani Cricket Team has a base in Dehradun.
  • Indian Soft Power: Indian Bollywood movies and dramas are among the favourite of Afghani people.  In Afghanistan, the reason that Bollywood is popular is that it has deep echoes with the psyche of Afghan society. Bollywood cinemas are based on the theme of a larger-than-life Bollywood hero fighting injustice. This synchronizes well with the Afghan society, which has also faced and continues to face immense injustice.

APTTA (Af-Pak Transit Trade Agreement)

  • Treaty was originally signed in 1950 to provide access to Karachi port & Lahore dry Port to Afghanistan. Under the modified agreement in 2011, along with Karachi port and Lahore dry port, 
    • Afghan trucks loaded with Cargo meant for India can travel up to its last checkpoint at Wagah in Pakistan.
    • But no Indian goods can be imported and Afghan trucks would have to drive back empty to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border where they could load up with Pakistani goods.
Af-Pak Transit Trade Agreement
  • Afghanistan demands  Pakistan to open a transit route for India.  But Pakistan doesn’t allow this. Bitter India-Pakistan relations mean Afghan trucks carrying perishable fruit face long delays on both sides of the border.
  • In 2016, Ashraf Ghani asserted that if Pakistan does not allow its trucks to come back with goods from India, Afghanistan would block Pakistani access to Central Asia. But, despite the assertion by Ghani, Pakistan refused to budge.
  • Due to this, India is adopting alternate routes
    • India has built Zaranj-Delaram Highway and Chabahar Port for trade with Afghanistan in future.
Zaranj Delaram
  • India-Afghanistan Air Freight Corridor was started in 2017 (Bring Dry fruits to India & take medicine, garments etc. from India). The air corridor will be a big enabler to the bilateral trade and will send a strong message to Pakistan that despite its obstructionist behaviour, India will continue to engage with Afghanistan.

Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process

  • ‘Heart of Asia- Istanbul Process’ was established to encourage security, political and economic cooperation between Afghanistan and its neighbour.  There are 14 participating countries in this.
India Afghanistan Relations
  • 6th & latest conference was held in Amritsar in Dec 2016. Amritsar Declaration was adopted which called for
    • Immediate elimination of terrorism from Afghanistan 
    • State-sponsored terrorism was identified as a key challenge
  • Amritsar was chosen as a venue by India because
    • Amritsar lies at the heart of the Grant Trunk Road connecting Bangladesh to Peshawar.
    • India showcased that Pakistan remains an irritant in facilitating regional connectivity. India used the conference in Amritsar to press Pakistan to allow entry of trucks and transit to Afghanistan via the Attari- Wagah border.

Issue: US withdrawal from Afghanistan

Timeline

2000s till 2012 – Subsequent to the 9/11 attacks in the USA, NATO interfered in Afghanistan under OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM (2001)  with the purpose to defeat Al-Qaeda, remove the Taliban from power &  create a viable democratic state.
– Taliban gave a tough fight and as a result, NATO stayed in Afghanistan for more than a decade.
– USA also worked for the capacity building of the Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) and it was thought that even after the US troops finally withdraw, the ANSF would be strong enough to prevent the Taliban from recapturing Afghanistan.
 
Obama Policy – Obama increased the US troops in Afghanistan during the first term (called ‘Surge Policy’).
– But his policy saw a major turn in the second term when he decided to withdraw all but approximately 8,400 soldiers from Afghanistan.
Trump policy Trump regime wanted to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan.
Feb 2020 US president struck a peace deal with the Taliban on the issues of counterterrorism and the withdrawal of U.S. and international troops. Its terms were as follows
1. the United States to reduce its troops in Afghanistan from 12,000 to 8,600.
2. Release of prisoners and prisoner swap.
3. Recognition to Taliban and US will move to the United Nations Security Council to remove Taliban members from the sanctions list.
4. Taliban would prevent any terror group from using Afghanistan to threaten the security of the US and its allies.
5. Intra-Afghan Negotiations will start among all the stakeholders of the Afghan society and the Taliban would commit towards it.  
2020 ‘Intra-Afghan peace talks’ held for the first time between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Qatar.

Reasons for US withdrawal

  • Trump’s America First Policy: Trump is not in favour of wasting US ‘blood and treasure’ on distant lands (19th year and no solution in sight).
  • The realisation that the Afghanistan war cant be won owing to Afghan geography and society. Even after 19 years of war, the Taliban is controlling a large part of Afghan territory.
Area under Taliban Control

Reasons for US failure

  • Polity factor: The US failed to integrate the Taliban into Afghan government & National Unity Government was corrupt & inefficient.
  • Geographical Factors:  hostile terrain as well as guerrilla tactics used by Talibs.
  • Great Game:  
    • Intervention by global powers. E.g. U.S.-Russia tensions are creating space for proxies.
    • Intervention by regional powers. Eg: India vs Pakistan.
  • Role of Pakistan: ISI allowed senior Taliban Leaders to run the war in relative security. 
  • Socio-Cultural Factors:  nomadic and tribal society in Afghanistan comprises multiple tribes like Pashtuns, Turks and Persians, each dominant in different regions, asserting their own traditions and culture. The tribal factionalism didn’t allow the democratically elected government to settle in Afghanistan.

Consequences of US withdrawal

  • The resurgence of Taliban: Post US withdrawal, the Taliban with help of Pakistan can take over the whole of Afghanistan.
  • The breeding ground of Terrorism threatening the security of Central Asia and India.
  • Refugee Crisis as instability will result in the mass exodus of Afghans.
  • Threat to human rights: The Taliban wants to reimpose its version of Islamic law as the country’s system of governance.

Consequences for India

  • The upsurge of terrorism and act as a launchpad for attacks on India as happened during 1990s post-Soviet withdrawal. Eg: In 1999, Pakistani terrorists hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC-814 and landed in Kandahar.
  • On Kashmir:  Separatists in Kashmir are using the Taliban’s “victory” over the US  to inspire that they too could “defeat India”.
  • India has already invested 2 billion $ in Afghanistan’s infrastructure along with a large investment in Chabahar port with an eye on Afghanistan.
  • The ‘Golden Crescent’ comprising of Iran, Afghan, and Pakistan is a worry for India, especially with respect to the issue of drug abuse in Punjab
  • TAPI project may get jeopardised impacting the energy security of India.
  • It will lead to increased Pakistani involvement in Afghan policy which will disturb the Balance of Power in the Middle East & Central Asia in Pakistan’s favour.
  • Refugee Crisis will impact India. Due to the resurgence of the Taliban regime, a large number of Afghani Sikhs and Hindus will seek refuge in India.

IRNSS / NAVIC

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Last Updated: March 2025 (IRNSS / NAVIC)

IRNSS / NAVIC

This article deals with ‘IRNSS / NAVIC‘. This is part of our series on ‘Science and Technology which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.

How Global Positioning System (GPS) works?

  • GPS is the network of 24 Satellites that orbits the Earth, transmitting signals back to Earth. GPS triangulates the position by comparing the time when the signal was transmitted by the satellite with the time it was received. With the help of 3 satellites locked by the receiver, the 2D position (latitude & longitude) can be determined, and with 4 satellites, the 3D position can be determined (latitude, longitude & altitude).
  • GPS receiver is only a receiver, without any transmitting capability. The satellites contain highly precise atomic clocks, generating some code that keeps transmitting to the Earth.

IRNSS / NAVIC

  • At present, only a few countries have fully functional global navigation systems. These include
USA NAVSTAR
Russia GLONASS
China Beidou Compass
Japan Quasi-Zenith
Europe Galileo
  • American GPS has 24 satellites covering all parts of the world. Indian GPS (named NAVIC) has just 7 satellites covering India and 1,500 km beyond its borders. 
  • 7 satellites of NAVIC or IRNCC has the following composition
    • 3 Geostationary Satellites 
    • 4 Geosynchronous Satellites with an inclination of 29 degrees 
  • Area of Service of IRNSS includes
    • Primary Service Area: up to 1,500 km from India’s boundary.
    • Extended Service Area: rectangle imagined by 30° S and 50° N and 30° E and 130° E.
  • NAVIC has an accuracy of 20 m (compared to 15 m of American GPS).
IRNSS / NAVIC

Timeline

1979The first satellite of GPS (USA) was launched.
1982 The first satellite of GLONASS was launched.
2006 The Indian government approved this project.
2013First Satellite i.e. IRNSS-1A was launched with lifespan of 10 years.
2016 April All 7 satellites were placed in orbit & Modi named this system NAVIC, i.e. Navigation with Indian Constellation.
2024-25ISRO is replacing 5 first-generation satellites with second-generation navigation satellites (known as NAV SAT). These satellites have a longer lifespan of 12 years, better atomic clocks and utilize L1 frequency (same as that of US GPS).

As of Jan 2025, ISRO has placed 1 second generation Nav Sat in the orbit. Although the second Nav Sat was launched in Jan 2025 but mission failed due to non firing of engines in the space. 

Applications of IRNSS

  1. Terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation.
  2. Disaster management
  3. Vehicle tracking and fleet management.
  4. Integration with mobile. 
  5. Precise timing
  6. Terrestrial navigation aid for hikers and travellers.
  7. Geotagging of all the assets created under schemes like MNREGA, RKVY etc.
  8. Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) for Toll Collection

Why should the Indian Government waste money on IRNSS/NAVIC? Why not simply use American GPS at a fraction of that cost?

  • Access to a foreign GPS is not guaranteed during a hostile situation. During Indo-Pakistan War (Kargil War) in 1999, the rumour circulated that the US was denying India access to the most precise level of its GPS. Although this rumour was never substantiated, this scenario presented the advantage of having such a system fully under Indian Control.
  • Americans sent wrong GPS signals to Iraqi planes during the Iraq war, and the same can happen with India as well.
  • It also bolsters the ability of India to serve as a net security provider in the neighbourhood and Indian Ocean Region. 
  • It will increase the technical prowess of India and help it in becoming a knowledge-based economy.
  • It can play a role in relief efforts post disasters such as the tsunami in the Indian Ocean region in 2004. 

Use in Diplomacy

  • As a goodwill gesture, Modi said that our SAARC neighbours could use it who depend on foreign GPS services.

New developments wrt NAVIC

  • December 2020: International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has recognized NavIC as a World-Wide Radio Navigation System (WWRNS) component. It will enable NAVIC’s utilization in maritime navigation, surveying and others.
  • Jan 2020: Qualcomm Technologies has unveiled mobile chipsets supporting the IRNSS/ NAVIC. Now Mobile manufacturers can release NAVIC enabled phones in India. 

GAGAN

GAGAN
  • GAGAN = GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation System 
  • GAGAN is intended to meet civil aviation requirements, and ISRO has worked with the Airports Authority of India to establish GAGAN.
  • It is a satellite-based augmentation system for Civil Aviation purposes.
  • It depends on GPS (American navigation system) and  Indian satellites like GSAT 8, 10 & 15.
  • GAGAN  provides position to aeroplanes in the Indian airspace with an accuracy of 3 m.  

Gaganyaan

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Last updated: June 2025 (Gaganyaan)

Gaganyaan

This article deals with ‘Gaganyaan‘. This is part of our series on ‘Science and Technology’ which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here

Gaganyaan Program or Indian Human Spaceflight Program (IHSP)

  • Gaganyaan Program is India’s first manned Spacecraft. In the 15 August (2018) Speech, PM Modi set a target of 2022 for the Space Manned Mission. It has been delayed now and is expected to be launched in 2025.
  • It will carry 3 crew members to low earth orbit (400 km above earth’s surface) , their stay for 3 days and their safe return back to Earth.
  • India will become 4th country after US, Russia and China to have this capability.

Spacecraft / Space Shuttle

  • As Satellite Launch Vehicles are used to send satellites in the Orbits. In the same way, Spacecraft is used to send astronauts into space. 
  • Examples include China’s Shenzhou, America’s Atlantis, Russia’s Soyuz, SpaceX’s Dragon Capsule and Boeing’s Dreamliner.
  • India’s Gaganyaan is also a spacecraft.
Gaganyaan

Timeline

1984 Rakesh Sharma travelled to space (becoming the first and only Indian citizen to do so).
2007 The first proposal for ISRO’s human-crewed space mission.
Dec 2014 Experimental flight of manned mission launcher GSLV MK-III tested.
July 2018 ISRO conducted Pad Abort Test (PAT).  Pad Abort Test is part of the crew escape system, which assists in quickly pulling the astronaut cabin along with the crew out to a safer distance from the launch vehicle during a launch abort.
15 August 2018 PM Modi announced that Gaganyaan will be launched by 2022. But the project got delayed.
2024ISRO will send a humanoid robot named VYOMMITRA into space before human expedition to test the safety of the spacecraft.
2026First, Indian manned Spacecraft will be launched.

Earlier Manned Missions

Only 3 countries — the USA, Russia and China — have sent human spaceflights.

Vostok 1 Mission (USSR,1961) Took Yuri Gagarin of the Soviet Union into space, making him the world’s first human in space.
Mercury Mission (USA, 1961) Alan Shepard was the first American sent to space.
Shenzou (China, 2003) This mission put the first Chinese citizen in space.
Rakesh Kumar Rakesh Kumar was the first Indian sent to space on a Russian Soyuz Space vehicle.

What will Gaganyaan Project include?

  • Gaganyaan is India’s manned mission to space.
  • In the mission, GSLV MK-III will carry a 3-member crew to the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and safe return to the Earth after the duration of a few orbits to two days.  
  • An extendable version of the spaceship will allow flights up to 7 days & docking capability with the space station.

Key Components of Human Space  Program

  1. Building up a Habitable Module 
  2. Other life support systems like Space Suits 
  3. Astronaut training 
  4. Capabilities for recovering Astronauts safely
  5. Crew Escape System 

Do you know?

Indian Astronauts will be called ‘Vyomanauts‘.

Vyomanauts

ISRO will send a humanoid robot called Vyommitra before sending human to test the safety of spacecraft.

Objectives of Gaganyaan Programme

  • The exponential growth of science and technology in the country.
  • Improvement of industrial growth.
  • Inspiring youth.
  • Development of technology for social benefit.
  • Improving international collaboration.

Benefits / Significance of Human Space Program

  • It will help India in doing Research and Development in space. Indian scientists will get the opportunity to conduct experiments in space through Gaganyaan Mission.
  • It will encourage our scientific community and will help in making India a knowledge-based economy. Significant advancement will happen in material processing, astrobiology, resources mining, planetary chemistry, planetary orbital calculus. 
  • The Manned Space Program is essential to control the resources present outside the Earth. If we plan to set up colonies outside the Earth in the future, such programs will be of great help.
  • It has the added advantage to achieve the status of great power.
  • Indian industry will find significant opportunities as Gaganyaan Mission is expected to source ~60% of its equipment from the Indian private sector. 
  • According to the ISRO chief, the Gaganyaan mission would create 15,000 new employment opportunities. 
  • It will increase India’s soft power and give space to Indian Space diplomacy. India will be the fourth country to launch a human space mission, establishing India’s role as a key player in the space industry.

Challenges

  • The human body is designed according to Earth’s gravity. There is a microgravity environment in space, which affects hand-eye and head-eye coordination. In the absence of gravity, blood and body fluids cannot distribute to the lower part of the body and accumulate in the upper part. Additionally, the size of the heart decreases, bones become weak, and the brain cannot interpret information correctly.
  • Humans in space are subjected to a high degree of radiation, increasing cancer risk.
  • Space is a hostile environment as there is a lack of gravity, danger of radiation and absence of atmosphere.  
  • Financial: These missions require exorbitantly huge investment as they are highly technology-intensive. It will cost ISRO Rs. 10,000 crores.
  • Re-entry and Recovery: The biggest challenge in the case of human flight is the re-entry of the vehicle back into the Earth’s atmosphere and recovery of the module as it is subjected to extreme heat due to friction with the air. Even the slightest deviation can result in disaster. 

International Space Station (ISS)

ISS

  • ISS or International Space Station is a man-made or artificial habitable satellite in Low Earth orbit (between 278 km and 460 km) and travels at 15.7 orbits per day.
  • The space station also acts as a laboratory in space where astronauts stay for an extended period to carry out experiments in microgravity.
  • It is a joint venture of NASA (USA), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada). 
  • It has been operating since 1998 and will continue to operate till 2031.
  • Building a Space Station is an expensive affair, and ISS is the most expensive object ever constructed by man, with a cost amounting to $150 billion.
  • It will be operational till 2031.
  • ISS is the ninth space station. Earlier, Mir, Salyut and Almaz were the Space Stations of the USSR, and Skylab was the Space Station of the USA. 
International Space Station


Other Space Stations

  • Tianhe: Chinese Space Station, operational since 2021.
  • Russian Plans: Russia will withdraw from ISS in 2025 and will launch its space station in 2030. 
  • Bhartiya Antariksha Station: Proposed by ISRO and plans are to launch its first module by 2028.

Uses of Space Stations

  • It acts as a Microgravity Lab. It is used to conduct experiments in biology, physics etc., in a micro-gravity environment.
  • Observe the long-term effects of space exposure on the human body. 
  • Study of cosmic rays, cosmic dust, antimatter and dark matter in the universe.
  • It serves as a Space Terminal. 
  • It can also be used in Space Tourism.

Artemis Accords

  • Artemis is the moon mission of NASA which aims to land the next man and the first woman on the moon by 2024.
  • The long term goal is to build Artemis Base Camp on the Moon’s surface and the Gateway in lunar orbit.  This will allow robots and astronauts to explore and conduct scientific experiments on Lunar surface.

Artemis 1 Mission

  • In 2022, NASA’s Artemis 1 mission successfully lifted off from the Kennedy Space Centre.
  •  It is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to build a long-term human presence at the Moon .
  • It is an uncrewed flight test that will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration.
  • Future Missions: Artemis I will be followed by Artemis II (Planned for 2024) and Artemis III (Planned for 2026)

Side Topic: Artemis

  • Artemis was a major deity in Ancient Greece. She was daughter of Zeus (Chief Greek God) and twin sister of Apollo (god of sun).
  • The Greeks and Romans associated Artemis with the Moon. Her independence and strength have long inspired women in a wide range of activities. She has also become a modern-day feminist icon.

Side Topic: CROPS

  • CROPS = Compact Research Module for Orbital Plant Studies
  • CROPS is ISRO’s automated platform designed to cultivate plants in a microgravity environment under active thermal management.
  • In January 2025, ISRO was successful in sending cowpea seedlings to space, and at least three (out of eight) seeds sprouted leaves.
  • Importance: It will be important in future manned missions to space.

Axiom-4 Mission

  • Axiom-4 is a private space mission by Axiom Space (with NASA & SpaceX), sending India’s Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station — the first Indian to do so. He is the second Indian to go into space after Rakesh Sharma.
  • Multinational Crew: Launched in June 2025 from the Kennedy Space Centre, the crew included astronauts from India, the USA, Poland, and Hungary, led by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson. Shukla is the designated pilot of the Axiom-4 mission.
  • Science in Space:  It will carry out the following experiments:
    • Diabetes research in microgravity
    • Crop seed growth in space
    • Revival, survival and reproduction of Tardigrades (aka Waterbears) in space
    • Cyanobacteria for oxygen generation
  • Boost for Gaganyaan: Shukla is the designated pilot of the Axiom-4 mission, and his hands-on experience with crewed missions will be beneficial for the Gaganyaan Mission as well.

Indian Astronauts

Rakesh Sharma

  • He was the first Indian to travel to space. 
  • He was born in Patiala in 1949 and later joined Indian Airforce as a pilot, from where he joined ISRO.
  • As a cosmonaut, he went to space in a Soviet Spacecraft (Soyuz T-11). 

Kalpana Chawla

  • She was the first woman of Indian origin to go into space. 
  • She did his B. Tech from Punjab Engineering College (Chandigarh) and PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the USA.
  • Her first space flight was on Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997. Unfortunately, in 2003, Kalpana Chawla was part of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster and lost her life.

Sunita Williams

  • Sunita Williams is American of Indian (Gujarati) descent. 
  • She has done 7 spacewalks and stayed in space for the longest time in a single flight (195 days).

Raja Chari

  • NASA has selected Raja Chari to fly to ISS in SpaceX Crew-3 Mission (with 3 other astronauts). 
  • It is part of NASA’s Artemis program that aims to expand humanity’s horizons in space. 

Anil Menon

  • Anil Menon is a doctor of Indian origin who has worked in SpaceX as a surgeon during its project to launch humans into space. 
  • He has been chosen by NASA as a future astronaut. 

Indian Satellite Launch Vehicles

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Last Update: Jan 2025 (Indian Satellite Launch Vehicles)

Indian Satellite Launch Vehicles

This article deals with ‘Indian Satellite Launch Vehicles‘. This is part of our series on ‘Science and Technology’ which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.

Satellite Launch Vehicles

Satellite Launch Vehicles

SLV

  • SLV = Satellite Launch Vehicle.
  • It was a four-stage launch vehicle (all stages used solid fuel).
  • Payload that SLV could carry = 40 kg till 400 km. 
  • The first successful launch of SLV happened in 1980 in the project headed by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.  
  • Later, India also used SLV to place the Rohini satellite in its orbit.
Satellite Launch Vehicle

ASLV

  • ASLV = Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle.
  • ASLV was designed to augment the capacity of SLV. 
  • It was a five-stage launch vehicle (all stages used solid propellant).
  • The payload that ASLV could carry = 150 kg till Low Earth Orbit. 
  • The first successful launch of SLV happened in 1994, and it is retired now.
ASLV

PSLV

  • PSLV = Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle 
  • The first launch using PSLV happened in 1993. 
  • The payload that PSLV can carry = up to 1600 kg till Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbit.
  • PSLV is very reliable, and 57 of its 60 launches were successful.
  • ISRO use it to launch Indian Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS) such as Cartosat, Oceansat etc. and some other historic missions like Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), Chandrayaan-1, IRNSS/ NAVIC, Aditya L1 etc. 
  • It has three variants, i.e. PSLV–G, PSLV-CA and PSLV-XL. The latest version of PSLV, i.e. PSLV-XL, can carry up to 1750 kg. Chandrayaan & Mars missions were launched using this.
  • Stages of PSLV: Four Stages using solid and liquid fuel alternately. 
First – It uses solid fuel, i.e. HTPB- Hydroxyl Terminated Poly-Butadiene.
Second – It uses liquid propellant, i.e. UDMH-Unsymmetrical Di Methyl Hydrazine with Nitrogen Tetroxide as an oxidiser.
– It employs a Vikas engine.
Third – It uses solid fuel, i.e. HTPB- Hydroxyl Terminated Poly-Butadiene.
Fourth – It uses liquid propellant, i.e. Mono Methyl Hydrazine.
– It employs Vikas Engine.
PSLV

PSLV and importance to the Indian Space Program 

  • PSLV was the country’s first operational launch vehicle and is dubbed as the ‘workhorse of ISRO’. 
  • It is highly successful and reliable. It has a record of 97% successful launches, which is one of the most successful in the world.
  • It is used to carry remote sensing satellites to Polar Sun Synchronous Orbits with utmost precision. Till now, India has launched 54 Indian satellites and 222 foreign satellites using PSLV. 
  • It poses potential competition to the west due to its lower launch price and is helping India to earn a lot of revenue.
  • It has also helped India in launching spy satellites and boosting national security.
  • ISRO launched the maximum number of satellites in the world in a single operation, i.e. 104 satellites using PSLV. 

Side Topic: POEM Platform

  • The PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM) has been designed to use Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle’s final and otherwise abandoned stage for in-orbit research.  
  • In general operations, the PSLV is a four-stage rocket where the first three spent stages fall back into the ocean, and the final stage (PS4) — after launching the satellite into orbit — ends up as space junk.

GSLV / GSLV MK-II

  • GSLV = Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle
  • The first launch using GSLV happened in 2001.
  • ISRO made it to launch Geostationary and Geosynchronous Satellites.
  • It can carry up to 2500 kg till Geostationary Orbit (and 5,000 kg till Low Earth Orbit (LEO)). 
  • It can be used to launch Indian National satellites (INSAT) & GSAT  in Geostationary and Geosynchronous orbits. (but most of the Geostationary Satellites are around 3000 kg to 4000 kg, which GSLV MK II can’t take till Geostationary Orbit & we used to be dependent on Ariane Aerospace for their launches)
  • The next version of this launch vehicle is GSLV MK-3.
  • Stages of GSLV: GSLV is a 3 stage vehicle
First Solid propelled
Second Liquid propelled with hypergolic fuels
Third Liquid propelled 

Stage 1 & 2 are directly taken over from PSLV.

GSLV

GSLV MK-III

Earlier (before June 2017), ISRO was in the position to launch only satellites weighing between 2 & 2.5 tons into geostationary orbits. But most contemporary communications satellites usually are in the weight category of 3 to 5 tons & therefore require a more powerful launcher. Moreover, India’s future missions to the Moon, Mars and Venus also need a powerful launcher. Appreciating this need, ISRO has made GSLV-Mark III a vehicle capable of placing 4-ton satellites in geostationary orbit.

GSLV MK-III

Main Features of GSLV MK-III

  • It is the latest version of GSLV.
  • GSLV MK-III made its maiden flight from Sri Harikota in 2017, placing GSAT-19 in Geostationary Orbit. 
  • Later, ISRO used the GLSV Mk-III to launch Chandrayaan-2 Mission (India’s second Lunar Mission). 
  • GSLV Mk-3 can carry
    • Up to 4 tons till Geostationary Orbit
    • Up to 10 tons till Low Earth Orbit (Polar Satellites) 
  • Hence, it has ended India’s reliance on the EU’s Arianespace launch vehicle to send GSAT satellites into Geosynchronous orbits.

GSLV MK-3 is a three-stage vehicle 

First Solid propellant
Second Liquid Propellant
Third Cryogenic Engine uses the Liquid Oxygen & Liquid Hydrogen as oxidiser and fuel, respectively (this stage differs from GSLV Mk-2). 

Compared to solid and liquid propellants, a cryogenic propellant is more efficient. It provides more thrust by burning the same amount of propellant than Earth-based storable liquid and solid propellants.

Note: India had signed MoU with Russia to transfer Cryogenic Engines to India in starting 1990s, but the USA pressurised Russia not to supply these to India, arguing that it would violate MTCR Treaty (although Cryogenic engines are not used in Missiles). Due to this, India’s program suffered.

Significance

  • GSLV Mark III has made India a competitive player in the multimillion-dollar commercial launch market. It will help in earning substantial foreign exchange. 
  • It will end India’s dependence on foreign launch vehicles to put its heavy satellites (GSAT series) in the geosynchronous orbit. (Earlier, India was dependent on France’s Ariane space ).
  • India can also send its astronauts into space using this.  
  • It will boost India’s communication resources as the cost of launching Communication Satellites will reduce
  • Cryogenic Technology used in it can be further used in making Inter Continental Ballistic Missile.
  • It is a massive step in making India a ‘knowledge-based economy’. Till now, only USA (Saturn V), Russia (Proton M), China (Long March 5) & European Space Agency (Ariane), along with one private player (Space X), can launch geostationary and geosynchronous satellites.

Semi Cryogenic Engine

  • MoU regarding this has been signed between the Russian Space Agency & ISRO.
  • It would be India’s third Rocket Development Program.
  • Project Cost – approx. ₹1,800 crores.
  • It will be able to launch a 6 to 10-ton payload to the height of 36,000 km (more than GSLV-Mk-3). 
  • Currently, only Russia & US has this technology.

Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV)

Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV)
  • Due to the advancement in electronics, small satellites have started to be built on a large scale. Globally, more than 17,000 small satellites are expected to be launched till 2030. Earlier, these satellites were launched as piggybacks with big satellites. But ISRO has developed a Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) to exploit this newly emerging market fully. 
  • India is also building its second launch station in the Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu, and it will house one launchpad exclusively for Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) .
  • SSLV made its first successful flight in 2022 and its second in 2023.
  • India’s SSLV has the following features.
    • Weight = 110 ton
    • Payload = Can launch satellites weighing up to 500 kg.
    • Time to integrate for launch = 72 hours (in contrast to 70 days with present launch vehicles)
    • Cost = Rs. 30 crores per launch
    • Stage: Three solid stages followed by a liquid-fuel-based Velocity Trimming Module (VTM) 
    • New Space India Limited (NSIL) is the nodal agency (not ISRO)
  • The new vehicle has been developed to capture the emerging small and microsatellite commercial market, with launches offered on demand. 
  • JAXA (of Japan) was one of the first space agencies to make this type of launch vehicle. A private company named bluShift is also focused on manufacturing Small Satellite Launch Vehicles. In January 2021, their Satellite Vehicle named Stardust1.0 came into operation with a mass of 250 kg and a carrying capacity of 8 kg. 

Private Sector Launch Vehicle: Vikram-S

  • Skyroot is a Hyderabad-based company that has made a Vikram-S launch vehicle to enter the launch market.
  • Properties of Vikram-S Launch Vehicle
    • It is a single-stage sub-orbital launch vehicle. 
    • It is 3D printed. 
    • The core structure is built using carbon composites. 
    • It can carry between 290 kg and 560 kg payloads into sun-synchronous polar orbits.
    • The engine used in the launch vehicle is named ‘Kalam-80’
  • It made its first successful flight in November 2022. It was launched with support from ISRO and IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre).
  • It is part of Mission Prarambh, which involves the Indian private sector’s entry into the space launch market.

Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV)

  • In 2016, ISRO successfully launched the first technology demonstrator of the indigenously made RLV. After that, ISRO has conducted various Landing EXperiment (LEX) till 2024. However, many more  experiments such as Orbital Re-entry Experiment (ORE) needs to be undertaken before ISRO readies a reusable launch vehicle for commercial use.
  • In simple words, it is a winged vehicle that will take off vertically like a rocket and glide back to land horizontally like a plane.
  • It will have a two-stage-to-orbit configuration. 

Advantages

  • It will cut down the cost of launching satellites to 1/10th. The main launch cost currently comes from building the rocket, which can be used just once, as the rockets get burnt on re-entry into the atmosphere. 
  • A more developed version of the vehicle could be used for human-crewed missions in the future.  
  • It will also help in reducing space debris.

Note – No sovereign space agency has RLV for satellite launches. SpaceX is also working on this project.

Scramjet Engine

  • ISRO successfully conducted the Scramjet (or Supersonic Combusting ramjet) engine test. India has become the fourth nation to successfully flight-test a scramjet engine after the United States, Russia and China.
  • The scramjet engine uses natural oxygen present in the atmosphere to burn the fuel stored in the rocket. Hence, it reduces the amount of oxidiser carried along with the fuel, bringing down launch costs. 

Benefits

  • It increases lift-off mass as there will be no need to carry liquified oxygen on board. (Note: propellant accounts for nearly 85% of the weight of a rocket, and in that oxygen accounts for almost 60% .)
  • Scramjet does not have rotating parts, so the chances of failure are also measurably reduced. 

Mains Question: India & Satellite Launch Market

  • Satellite Launch is a multi-billion dollar industry, and NSIL (commercial arm of ISRO ) is emerging as a significant player in this sector. 
  • Among 10 countries that have launch capability to launch satellites, only US, Russia, EU, Japan, China and India (6) make their services available commercially.
  • Satellite launch business has two basic categories:
    • Launching satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO): India provides services here using PSLV.
    • Launching 3-5 tonne satellites in Geostationary Orbit: After making GSLV MK III, hopefully, India will enter this market in the future. But presently, no commercial deal in this category has been made.
  • India launched SAARC/ South Asian Satellite in 2017, indicating that it is now using satellite technology as a foreign policy tool.  
  • ISRO has made a world record with the launch of 104 Satellites in one launch. With this, India has shown its technological prowess to the world. Out of 104, 101 were foreign satellites. 
  • With the entry of private players like SpaceX, Boeing and Blue Origin, the satellite launch market is becoming more competitive. 
  • For becoming more competitive, India needs to take the following immediate steps.
    1. PSLV’s design should be shared with the Indian private industry.
    2. India should develop more launching sites to perform more annual launches. 
    3. Small satellites below 100 kg are becoming popular nowadays, but they are launched as piggyback with large satellites. Countries like the US, Japan, Russia & China and private players like SpaceX are making LV launch these satellites. ISRO should make a conscious decision to develop a new rocket for launching the small satellites.

Challenges

  • The entry of private giants like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing etc., in this field increased the competition.
  • ISRO is a minor player in the global space industry. Although ISRO is launching a large number of satellites on commercial terms, these are nano and microsatellites, while the main revenue comes from launching heavier satellites.  
  • Indian share is just 2% 
  • According to the Economic Survey, Antrix is marketing only medium and coarse resolution data products, but Commercial potential for the medium and coarse resolution data segment is facing a threat due to Free and Open Access to such data from Landsat-8 of US and Sentinel from the European Space Agency (ESA). 

Indian Satellites

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Last Updated: Dec 2024 (Indian Satellites)

Indian Satellites

This article deals with ‘Indian Satellites‘. This is part of our series on ‘Science and Technology’ which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here

Introduction

  • A satellite is a natural (moon) or man-made object that orbits around a planet or star. E.g., the Moon is the satellite of Earth and Earth is a satellite of the Sun. 
  • Artificial Satellites are man-made objects orbiting around the Earth which help us to study, communicate and observe the distant universe. Artificial Satellites include Aryabhata, Bhaskara, Rohini, INSAT, GSAT, AstroSat, CartoSat etc. 

Timeline

1957 Sputnik-1 launched by the Soviet Union
1958 Explorer-1 launched by the USA
1975 Aryabhatta – the first Indian satellite was launched (with Soviet Launch Vehicle).
1980 Rohini – the first satellite was launched using Indian Launch Vehicle. 

Theory

Theory behind working of Satellites

If a stone is thrown with some speed in the horizontal direction, it will follow a curved path as it falls to the ground. If the stone is thrown at a higher speed, it follows a path of a bigger radius.

Conclusion: Greater the speed => Greater the Radius of Curved Path

Theory behind working of Indian Satellite

If somehow we could throw the stone with such tremendous speed that the radius of its path becomes a little greater than the radius of Earth, the stone would never fall on the Earth & would keep revolving around it. This is the principle on which Artificial Satellites work. 

Side Topic: Types of Orbits

1. Low  Earth Orbit (LEO)

  • It is situated 400 to 900 km above the surface of the Earth. 
  • As it is situated closest to Earth, satellites have to overcome massive drag due to the atmosphere. Hence,  satellites located in Low Earth Orbit have a shorter life span of 2-3 years.
  • They appear to be moving in the sky & take approx. 1.5 hours for one revolution. 
  • The maximum time LEO satellites are visible from a fixed point on Earth is 20 minutes.
  • Following are placed in LEO
    • Astronomical Telescopes (eg : India’s Astrosat) 
    • Space Stations (eg : International Space Station (ISS))
Low Earth Orbit


2. Geostationary Orbit

  • There is only one Geostationary Orbit at 36,000 km above the earth surface above the equator. 
  • Satellites placed in the Geostationary Orbit revolves around the Earth with an orbital period of one sidereal day (23hours, 56 minutes, and 4.1 seconds). 
  • It is a circular orbit lying in the equatorial plane. 
  • It has a special property of remaining permanently fixed in the same position in the sky, meaning ground-based antennas do not need to track them but can remain fixed in one direction. 
  • Such satellites are often used for communication and broadcast purposes (due to the above property). 
  • Note:  Single Geostationary Satellite can cover about 40% of the Earth’s surface. If three satellites are placed at proper longitude, the whole Earth can be covered. Arthur C Clarke first conceptualized this & the Geostationary orbit is sometimes referred to as Clarke’s Orbit in his honour.
Geostationary Orbit

3. Geosynchronous Orbit

  • Geosynchronous Orbit is also situated at 36,000 km above the Earth’s surface, but it is non-circular & non-equatorial.
  • Satellites placed in the Geosynchronous orbit also revolve around the Earth in one sidereal day, but they don’t appear to be stationary from Earth. 

4. Polar Orbit

  • Polar Satellites pass above both poles of Earth, i.e. they are inclined at 90 degrees from the equator.
  • They are used for earth mapping, earth observation, surveillance & weather.

How it is used for mapping?

The time period of a polar satellite is nearly 100 minutes, and the Satellite completes many revolutions in a day. A Polar satellite covers a small strip of the area from pole to pole during one revolution. The next revolution covers a different area strip since the Earth would have moved by a small angle. In this way, polar satellites cover the entire surface area of the Earth.

Polar Orbit

5. Sun Synchronous Orbit

  • It is a special type of Polar Orbit. 
  • In this, altitude & inclination are set in such a way that it guarantees the same illumination.
  • It has the same application as polar satellites.

6. Junk Orbit / Graveyard Orbit

  • When the life of Geo-Stationary Satellite completes, they are sent above Geostationary Orbit known as Junk Orbit
  • It is an excellent way to tackle space junk. 

7. Halo Orbit

  • It is a specific type of solar orbit located at three Lagrange points (L1, L2 and L3) between Earth and the Sun.
  • Lagrange point is a point in the space where the combined gravitational force of two bodies is equal to the centrifugal force felt by a third body.

Transponders

  • Transponders are part of the payload of satellites. 
  • Since the radio waves have to transverse long distances, the satellite receives the carrier signals at very low power. Therefore, satellites need to significantly boost the power of these signals before re-transmission back to Earth, ensuring that they are detectable by an Earth-based receiver. Transponders perform this function. 
Transponders

Different Types of Transponders

Transponder Band Frequency Range Application
L 1 to 2 GHz GPS
S 2 to 4 GHz Weather radar
C 4 to 8 GHz Communication 
X 8 to 12.5 GHz Military (defence tracking, maritime and air traffic control) and Meteorological (weather monitoring)
Ku 12.5 to 18 GHz DTH, Internet and VSAT services.
K 18 to 26.5 GHz BSS and FSS (Fixed Satellite Service)
Ka 26.5 to 40 GHz High resolution and close range targeting radars

Satellite Systems

Remote Sensing Satellites

  • Remote Sensing is the acquiring of information from a distance. Satellites that are used for such purposes are called Remote Sensing Satellites.
  • These satellites are
    • Placed in Polar Orbits.  
    • Sun-Synchronous (so that illuminance of the point is the same) 
    • Revolves around the Earth in low earth orbit (900 Km) 
  • Spaceborne remote sensing is better than ground surveys and airborne sensing because it is 
    1. Cheaper
    2. Speedier
    3. More Accurate 
    4. Reliable 
    5. Multidimensional
  • IRS-1A, launched in 1988, was India’s first remote sensing satellite. Present examples include Cartosat, Resourcesat, Scatsat, Oceansat, Saral etc.

Applications of Remote Sensing Satellites

1. Defence

  • These satellites act as the ‘Spy in the Sky’ and are used for reconnaissance.
  • They can easily pick up the troop movement and deployments by the enemy.

2. Agriculture

  • Remote Sensing Satellites can be used to
    1. Assess net crop area.
    2. Movement of locust.
    3. Damage assessments.
  • India is divided into 15 Agro-climatic zones based on data from IRS 1A and 1B.
  • Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana is also using the data of these satellites to estimate crop damages.

3. Disaster Management

  • They are used for
    1. Early warning of cyclones, floods etc. 
    2. Monitoring of forest fires.

4. Natural Resource Management

  • Remote Sensing Satellites are used in
    1. Land use mapping 
    2. Mineral prospecting 
    3. Forest surveys 

5. Urban Studies

  • They are used in
    1. Mapping urban sprawl. 
    2. Structural plans for cities. 

6. Governance

  • Geotagging of all the assets created under schemes like MNREGA, RKVY etc., can be done using these satellites. 

7. Fisheries

  • By analyzing the colour of the ocean, surface temperature and wind conditions from the oceans, it is possible to identify areas in the sea where the fish school will assemble.

Side Topic: BHUVAN

  • BHUVAN is an application developed by ISRO using data provided by Indian Remote Sensing Satellites like Resourcesat, Cartosat-1 and Cartosat-2. National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) played an essential role in its creation. 
  • It provides medium to high-resolution imagery, with spatial resolution ranging from 10-100 metres, of entire India over the internet. 
  • The portal is designed to run even on slow internet. Images of Bhuvan includes weather information, administrative boundaries etc. 
BHUVAN

List of Remote Sensing Satellites

  • Starting from IRS 1A, ISRO has launched many Remote Sensing Satellites, including HysIS, ScatSat, Cartosat etc. 
  • Initially, ISRO used to name its Remote Sensing Satellites as 1A, 1B etc. Later, it started to name these satellites based on the application of the satellites like CartoSat, OceanSat etc. 

Important Indian Remote Sensing Satellites are as follows:-

1 . SARAL

  • SARAL= Satellite with ARgos and ALtiKa.
  • It is an Indo-French satellite. 
  • It was launched from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
  • Application:  meteorology, oceanography, climate monitoring etc.

2. Megha Tropiques

  • It is an Indo-French Joint Venture.
  • It was launched in 2011 using PSLV.
  • Application: Study the tropical atmosphere and climate-related aspects such as monsoons, cyclones, etc.

3. NISAR

  • NISAR = NASA-India Synthetic Aperture Radar 
  • Project was started in 2019. The satellite was completed in 2023 and has been sent to India to be launched from Satish Dhawan Launch Station.
  • It is India’s first radar imaging satellite.
  • NISAR is a combined mission of NASA (of USA) and ISRO (of India).
  • Main features
    • It is a dual-frequency (L and S-Band) Radar Imaging Satellite.
    • NISAR is an Earth-monitoring satellite. NISAR will take images of the Earth every week. It is strong enough to take images of a tectonic plate and small changes in land use patterns.
    • Landslides, volcanoes, drought, flood, etc., can be easily be observed through NISAR.
    • Its application includes mapping and monitoring natural resources, assessing soil moisture, mangroves, surface deformation due to seismic activities, etc.

4. Spadex Mission

  • Spadex Mission constitutes two satellites – SDX01 or Chaser and SDX02 or Target and acts as a technology demonstrator mission to demonstrate in-space docking.
  • Docking is a process where two satellites are aligned and then joined in space. This technology is essential for India’s space ambitions, such as Indian astronauts on the Moon, sample return from the Moon, the building and operation of Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS), etc.
  • The mission will constitute the following.
    1. Align in the same orbit
    2. Reduce distance between each other
    3. Join and transfer electrical power between them.
    4. Then separate.
    5. After they separate, payloads on both satellites will continue to function for two years.
  • Satellites will be launched using a PSLV launch vehicle.
  • India is the fourth country in the world to have space docking technology.

5. Cartosat Series

  • Cartography is the science of drawing maps.
  • Cartosat satellites: Cartosat series are earth observation satellites in a sun-synchronous orbit. They have high-resolution cameras installed on them. The imagery sent by Satellite is useful for cartographic (drawing maps) applications.

5.1 Cartosat-2

  • Cartosat-2 was launched in 2017.
  • In 104 satellite launches, this was the primary Satellite. 
  • It is primarily meant for military requirements (hence, it can be said that ISRO is moving from Civilian to Military uses too).

5.2 Cartosat 2s

  • It was launched in 2018.
  • It was launched using PSLV-40, which was India’s 100th launch, along with 30 other satellites.

5.3 Cartosat 3

  • Cartosat 3 satellite has high-resolution imaging capability.
  • Application: It is used for large scale urban planning, rural resource and infrastructure development, coastal land use and land cover along with Disaster Management Support Programs like Cyclone and Flood Mapping & Monitoring, Landslide Mapping & Monitoring, Agricultural Drought, Forest Fire, Earthquakes etc.

6. RISAT Series

RISAT (Radar Imaging Satellite) is series of Indian satellites providing all weather, day and night imaging.

6.1 RISAT 1

  • Launched in 2012
  • Provide high resolution images for agriculture, forestry, disaster management.

6.2 RISAT-2

  • Launched in 2009
  • Launched in aftermath of 2008 Mumbai attack, it was intended to provide border surveillance and deter terrorist infiltration

6.3 RISAT-2B

  • Launched in 2019
  • Provide earth observation intended to improve agriculture, forestry, and disaster management services.

6.4 RISAT-2BR1

  • Launched in 2020
  • Applications same as RISAT-2B

7. EOS-01

  • EOS = Earth Observation Satellite .
  • Launched in November 2020 in Polar Orbit using PSLV launch vehicle (PSLV-C49).
  • Applications: Agriculture, forestry and disaster management. 

8. EMISAT

  • DRDO developed EMISAT under Project Kautilya. 
  • It is India’s first Electronic Intelligence Satellite. 
  • Application: EMISAT is meant for electromagnetic spectrum measurement and provides information to armed forces about hostile radars placed at the borders.

9. SCATSAT

  • It is a weather satellite that mainly focuses on Cyclone formation.
  • It has replaced the (earlier) Oceansat.

10. Oceansat Series

  • Oceansat 1 (1999) , Oceansat 2 (2009) and Oceansat 3 (2022) have been launched till date. Latest, Oceansat 3 was launched in 2022.
  • It is a sun-synchronous satellite.
  • Oceansat satellites are designed and developed for ocean studies.

11. Kalam Global Sat

  • It is a global satellite for Disaster Risk Reduction.
  • It was launched at UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held at Sendai in Japan in March 2015.

12. HySIS

  • HySIS is India’s first Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite (HySIS).
  • It was launched with PSLV in Polar Orbit. 
  • Hyperspectral Imaging Technology combines the power of digital imaging and spectroscopy. Hence, every pixel in the image contains much more detailed information about the scene than a standard colour camera. It is used for mineral prospecting, soil survey, coastal water studies etc.

Side Topic: Indian Data Relay Satellite System (IDRSS)

  • ISRO plans to launch a set of satellites that will track, send and receive information from other Indian Satellites.
  • IDRSS satellites will be of  2,000 kg class and will be launched using GSLV launcher to geostationary orbit around 36,000 km away.
  • In the coming years, these satellites will be vital to ISRO, whose roadmap includes advanced LEO missions such as space docking, space station, and distant expeditions to the moon, Mars and Venus.

Geosynchronous Satellites 

INSAT and GSAT are the backbones of Indian Geosynchronous Satellite systems.

  • Ford Aerospace Corporation of USA built the INSAT series under contract.
  • GSAT series is an indigenous system developed by ISRO to make India self-reliant in broadcasting services. 

Applications

India is considered a leader in the application of space technology to solve problems on Earth.

1. Telecommunication

  • Satellites are responsible for the communication revolution in India.
  • Using satellites, remote and far-flung areas have been effectively connected.

2. Television

India uses geostationary satellites to provide DTH (Direct to Home) services all over the country.

3. Disaster Management & Meteorology

Satellites can be used to provide

  • Warning mechanism for the cyclone.
  • Short term weather forecasting.
  • Impact assessment for droughts and floods.
  • Geosynchronous satellites can also be used in satellite aided search & rescue.

4. Navigation

  • All the navigation systems like GPS, GLONASS, NAVIC, Galileo etc., use geosynchronous and geostationary satellites. 

Important Geosynchronous satellites of ISRO

Earlier, India used the INSAT series, but now the GSAT series is used. INSAT 1 and 2 series (except INSAT 2E) has expired, but many INSAT 3 and 4 series satellites are still functional.

1. INSAT-3

  • INSAT-3A was launched in 2003 using the Arianne launch vehicle, followed by INSAT-3B and 3C.
  • INSAT-3 satellites have C and Ku band transponders and were meant for communication purposes.

2. INSAT-4

  • INSAT-4A was launched in 2005 using the Arianne launch vehicle, followed by INSAT-4B.
  • These satellites are used for telecast purposes. E.g., INSAT-4A is used by TATA Sky and INSAT-4B is used by Sun Direct and DD Direct.

3. CMS-01

  • CMS-01 is the communication satellite launched by ISRO in December 2020.
  • It has replaced GSAT-12, which was launched by India in 2011 and was India’s primary communication satellite. 
  • It will provide telecommunication services to mainland India as well as Andaman-Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands. 

4. Kalpana 1

  • It was launched in 2002 using PSLV (weighing around 1060 kg).
  • It is India’s exclusive meteorological Satellite and was initially named MetSat.

5. GSAT-7

GSAT 7 series satellites are advanced satellites developed by ISRO to meet the communication needs of the defence services. The satellites of GSAT 7 series include

  1. GSAT 7 satellite (launched in 2013) is mainly used by the Indian Navy for its communication needs.
  2. GSAT 7A (launched in 2018) helps in boosting the connectivity between the ground radar stations, airbases and the airborne early warning and control aircraft (AEW&C) of the IAF (Indian Air Force).
  3. GSAT 7B (to be launched shortly) will primarily fulfil the communication needs of the Army and enhance surveillance in border areas.

6. SAARC or South-Asian Satellite / GSAT-9

  • PM Narendra Modi announced it at the SAARC Summit of 2014, and it was launched in 2017 using a GSLV launch vehicle.
  • It points to India’s having started to use space diplomacy to strengthen the “neighbours first policy”. 
  • It is a communication satellite with Ku band transponders. South Asian countries, namely Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives and Afghanistan, will get at least 1 Ku transponder each. It will provide the nations with capability in teleeducation, telemedicine, broadcasting, Direct-to-Home services (DTH) and VSAT capacity. 
  • It was the first Indian Satellite to use Electric Propulsion. 
  • India has borne all the other costs for the launch of the satellite.

7. GSAT-11

  • It was launched in Dec 2018. 
  • It is the ISRO’s heaviest Satellite (5855 kg).
  • GSAT-11 is aimed at providing broadband internet from space to untouched areas.

8. GSAT – 29

  • It was launched in  2017 with Indian Launcher GSLV Mk – III with operational Cryogenic Stage from Sriharikota (first Satellite to be launched with GSLV MK III – Earlier all GSATs were launched with the help of French Agency Ariane Aerospace.) 
  • Application: Drive India’s Broadband Internet from space to the untouched areas by providing the throughput data rate of 16 Gbps.

Some Satellites of other countries

1. Amazonia 1

  • Amazonia-1 is a Brazilian satellite launched by ISRO using PSLV (C51).
  • It is a sun-synchronous remote sensing satellite that will be preliminary used for monitoring deforestation in the Amazon forests.

2. Laser Communication Relay Demonstration (LCRD) Satellite

  • NASA has launched the LCRD, the first Satellite to use a laser communication system. Till now, radio communication has been used to transmit data via satellites. 
  • It is advantageous because it uses optical communication, which uses a shorter wavelength can transmit more data in a shorter time. Moreover, optical communication systems are lighter and are cheaper to launch.

3. Ravana 1

  • The Sri-Lankan satellite was launched with Japanese (JAXA) help.

4. Ibuki 2

  • Japanese satellite to observe Greenhouse Gases.

Mission Shakti – Anti Satellite Missile

What is Mission Shakti?

  • Mission Shakti is an Anti-Satellite Missile. 
  • It is made by DRDO (not ISRO). 
  • It is the modified version of the Ballistic Interceptor Missile. 
  • It can detect, target & destroy space objects. 
  • To show it’s working, an obsolete (Indian) satellite at 300 km was tracked with sensors and destroyed. 
Mission Shakti
  • Note: Outer Space Treaty prohibits placing any weapon in earth orbit or on the celestial body. But none of the treaties is against such tests. 

Importance

  • It has made India a Space Power as India is the 4th country after the US (1958), Russia (1964) & China (2007) to have this capability.
  • It will create a ‘credible deterrence‘ against attacks on India’s growing space assets (especially China).
  • It will help India to avoid any chance of repeating the experience of what happened in the nuclear domain. If NPT-like mechanisms come in the space domain, India will be on the safer side.

Against

  • It has created huge space debris. Earlier, 2007 Chinese tests produced 2000 space debris. NASA criticized India for the creation of Space Debris.
  • It will lead to Arms Race in Asia. Pakistan will get an excuse to get this technology from China to claim parity.

ISRO and Indian Space Program

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Last Updated: Jan 2025 (ISRO and Indian Space Program)

ISRO and Indian Space Program

This article deals with ‘ISRO and Indian Space Program.’ This is part of our series on ‘Science and Technology’ which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here

Evolution of World Space Journey

Timeline of developments in the Space Technology

Space Program of India

  • Indian Space Program is operated by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
  • Vikram Sarabhai is known as the father of the Indian Space Program. 

Objectives of Space Program

India has historically viewed space technology applications primarily for societal development. Hence, the objectives of the Indian Space Program are

  1. Using Space Technology for the socio-economic benefit of people.
  2. Make India self-reliant in space technology.
  3. Peaceful use of outer space.

Indian Space Policy, 2023

Vision behind the Policy

  1. To augment space capabilities
  2. Unlocking India’s potential in the Space sector through enhanced private participation. 
  3. Use space as a driver of technology development.

Under the policy, different stakeholders are assigned the following roles to achieve the above vision

Government– Encourage advanced research & development.
– Provide a stable and predictable regulatory framework. 
Non-Govt Entities (NGEs)– Offer space-based communication services.
– Establish and operate ground facilities for space object operations.
Dept of Space– Nodal department for implementation of the Indian Space Policy-2023.
ISRO– Focus primarily on research and development.
– Share products, processes, technologies,  and best practices with Non Government Entities (NGEs).
IN-SPACe– Work with industry to establish India as a preferred service provider at the global level.
NSIL– Responsible for commercializing space technologies and platforms created through public expenditure.

Department of Space (DoS)

  • Nodal Agency for Space-related activities in India is the Department of Space (DoS). 
  • ISRO is the primary R&D wing of DoS.
  • Other Agencies of DoS include
Physical Research Lab (PRL) Ahmedabad
Semi Conductor Lab Chandigarh
National Atmospheric Research Lab Chittor
North Eastern Space Applications Centre Shillong

ISRO

  • It is the primary body of Space Research under the Department of Space. 
  • Present Chairman  = Dr S Somnath
  • It is headquartered in Bangalore.

Timeline

1961 Space Research started under the Department of Atomic Energy under Homi Bhabha.
1962 Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCSR) established & worked to establish TERLS (Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Centre) started.
1969 ISRO was formed.
1972 – Department of Space (independent department) formed.
– ISRO was brought under the Department of Space.
1975 Aryabhatta – the first Indian satellite was launched (with Soviet Launch Vehicle).
1980 Rohini – the first satellite was launched using Indian Launch Vehicle. 

Regional Centres of ISRO

ISRO has its various regional centres like

  1. ISRO Satellite Application Centre, Bengaluru (ISAC): Design and fabricate satellites. 
  2. Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram (VSSC): Develop satellite launch vehicles (like PSLV and GSLV).
  3. Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota (SDSC): Satellite launching station of India. 
  4. Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad (SAC): Conceptualize and carry out different space research projects. 
  5. Liquid Propulsion System Centre, Mahendragiri, TN (LPSC): Development of satellite propulsion systems. 
  6. ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network, Bengaluru (ISTRAC) 
  7. Master Control Facility, Bhopal and Hassan (Karnataka): Observe and control all geostationary satellites.
  8. National Remote Sensing Agency, Hyderabad: Act as a key player in earth observation program and disaster management.
ISRO and Indian Space Program

Side Topic: Equivalent of ISRO of other nations

USA NASA
Russia RKA
China CNSA
Europe ESA
Japan JAXA

Antrix

  • Antrix is the private arm of ISRO. 
  • It was incorporated in 1992 and awarded ‘Miniratna‘ status in 2008. 
  • Its main functions include
    1. Promotion and commercialization of space products.
    2. Providing technical consultancy services.
    3. Deals with the transfer of technologies developed by ISRO.  
    4. It also offers various services and space products to international customers worldwide.

New Space India Limited (NSIL)

  • NSIL is the commercial arm of ISRO. 
  • It was incorporated in 2019 as a Government-owned enterprise.
  • It is responsible for commercializing space technologies and platforms created through public expenditure. E.g, Providing launch services for satellites.
  • The launch of a Brazilian satellite named ‘Amazonia-1’ in 2021 was the first commercial deal of NSIL.

Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACE)

  • It is headquartered in Ahmedabad.
  • It is an independent nodal agency.
  • IN-SPACE has its own directorates for technical, legal, safety and security, monitoring and activities promotion.
  • IN-SPACE acts as an interface between ISRO and Non-Government entities.
  • It aims to stimulate private investment and innovation in the space industry.
  • The government has also set up Rs. 1000 crore Venture Capital Fund under IN-SPACE to fund space start-ups.

Satellite Launching Stations / Launch Pads

  • Presently, India has only one launch station at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh with two launch pads.
  • India is building its second rocket launch station in the Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu. 
  • Note: Satellite launching stations (including that of India) is located on the east coast and as close to the equator as possible due to the following reasons:-
    • The Earth’s rotation provides an additional boost, and the strength of the boost is higher closer to the equator.
    • In case of failure, debris would fall into the Bay of Bengal, potentially saving property and lives.

Side Topic: Satellite Launch Stations of other countries

USA Cape Canaveral (Florida)
France French Guyana (in South America)
Iran Emamshahr
China Jiquan
Japan Uchinoura
Russia Kapustin Yar

Achievements of Indian Space Program

  • India has emerged as one of the 6 most important countries in the field of space research. 
  • India is self-reliant in launching remote sensing and communication platforms.
  • With GSLV MK-III, India is now in the elite club which can launch heavy Geo-Stationary Communication Satellites. 
  • World Record was created by ISRO by launching 104 Satellites in a single launch.
  • ISRO is launching satellites for other countries as well and earning foreign exchange (Eg: Amazonia-1 (Brazil).
  • Space program contributes to national security in the form of improving surveillance capability.
  • The space program is helping India emerge as technological power and knowledge-based economy. 

Challenges to Indian Space Program

  • Indian Space Program needs to move from research and development to a commercial level.
  • India should boost the frequency of launches. This will reduce the cost & make it cost-competitive.
  • There is a need to develop capabilities to build a much larger number of satellites than the current 3-4 per year. 
  • Most of the space launches are for socio-economic development. ISRO needs to move ahead and work for the country’s military and defence needs as well.

Side Topic: Cases in news

Nambi Narayanan Case

In 1994, Nambi Narayanan, who was working on Cryogenic Engine and was on the verge of making it, was arrested for selling secrets. CBI later found that the charges were false, and he was discharged in 1996. The case was fabricated by IB Officials in connivance with the CIA because the US didn’t want India to develop a Cryogenic Engine as it would have challenged the monopoly of the US, Russia, and France.

Devas Antrix Case

In 2005, Antrix Corporation signed an agreement with Devas Multimedia to lease S-band transponders on two ISRO satellites (GSAT 6 and GSAT 6A) for a price of ₹1,400 crore, which is significantly lower than the market price. In 2009, the Devas – Antrix deal was exposed. This was named Antrix – Devas S-band spectrum scam. After a CBI investigation, the deal was annulled. Subsequently, Devas made an appeal in the International Court, which has declared that the annulling of the agreement by the Government of India was “unfair” and inequitable”. 

Glance at ISRO’s flagship missions

1 . Indian Regional  Navigation Satellite System  (IRNSS) 

  • IRNSS or NAVIC is India’s indigenous GPS.
  • It is already operational.  

2. Reusable  Satellite  Launch Vehicle 

  • This mission will reduce the cost of delivering satellites into orbit to 1/10th of the present cost.  

3. Cryogenic  Engine (GSLV MK III)

  • GSLV MK III with Cryogenic Stage has been developed successfully.
  • It can be used to launch payloads of up to  4 tonnes into the geostationary orbit. 

4. Chandrayaan 2

  • After the unprecedented success of Chandrayaan-1, ISRO decided to launch Chandrayaan-2 in July 2019. 
  • It had Rover and Lander.
  • Mission achieved a partial success.

ISRO-CHANDRAYAAN 2 (3D Animation)

CHANDRAYAANØ Expanding the boundaries Of human knowledge

5. Aditya  Space  Satellite

  • Aditya Mission aims to  study the Corona of Sun.
  • It has been successfully placed in the halo orbit around L1 (Lagrangian Point)

6. Venus  Exploration Program/ Shukrayaan

  • Mission was approved in 2024 and is scheduled to be launched in March 2028
  • The Venus mission is meant to study the planet from an orbit around it.
  • Venus is often called Earth’s twin because it is similar in mass, density, and size. Therefore, studying Venus may offer scientists clues about the evolution of Earth.
  • France is also collaborating with India on its mission to Venus. 

7. Gaganyaan

  • Gaganyaan is a 3-ton ISRO spaceship to carry a 3-member crew to 400km for 3 days and safe return to the Earth after a few orbits to two days. Mission is likely in 2026.
  • The extendable version of the spaceship will allow flights up to 7 days and have docking capability with space stations. 

8. Second Launch Station

  • India is building its second rocket launch station in the Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu. 
  • The project will house one launchpad exclusively for Small Satellite Launch Vehicles (SSLV).
  • Presently, India has only one launch station at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh with two launch pads.

9. Space Parks

  • The government is making a 100-acre Space Park in Bangalore.
  • Private industry players would be allowed to set up facilities to make subsystems and components for satellites. 

10. Village Resource Centre

  • 473 Village Resource Centres (VRCs) have been established by ISRO.  
  • It uses Satellite Communication (SATCOM) network and Earth Observation (EO) satellites.
  • VRCs provide services like telemedicine (by connecting sick people in villages through VSAT network to the doctors), Tele-education (providing a virtual classroom facility to far-flung villages), and providing advisories related to agriculture. 
  • There is a need to upscale VRCs and link all village Panchayats. 

Outreach Programs of ISRO

  • YUVIKA Program: Program aims to inculcate and nurture space research enthusiasm in young minds. Under this 1-month program, 3 students from each of state and UT is selected provided that the student has just finished 9th standard and is waiting to join 10th standard.
  • Young Scientist Program: It is an ISRO program for school students aiming to teach and nurture space research fervour in young minds.
  • Samvad with Students: Under the ISRO program called Samvad with Students, the ISRO chairman meets the students during his outstation visits, addresses their queries, and quenches the scientific thrust.
  • ISRO-Student Collaborations: ANUSAT (Anna University Satellite), Student Satellite (STUDSAT), SRMSAT (SRM University), Jugnu (IIT Kanpur) etc.

This marks the end of the article titled ‘ISRO and Indian Space Program.’ For the rest of the articles, CLICK HERE.

India-Russia Relations

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Last Updated: Jan 2025 (India-Russia Relations)

India-Russia Relations

India-Russia Relations

This article deals with ‘India-Russia Relations.’ This is part of our series on ‘International Relations’ which is an important pillar of the GS-2 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.

History of Relations

Timeline of India-Russia Relations

Pre-Independence Relations

  • In the early 19th century, the Russian Tsar expanded to Central Asia. Britishers perceived this as a threat to British Indian Empire. To stop Russian advancement, they started Anglo-Afghan wars, aiming to make Afghanistan a buffer between the Russian and British Empire. This whole episode culminated with the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907, under which Russians accepted the British as the paramount power in Afghanistan. 

Initial years after Indian Independence

  • India adopted the policy of non-alignment. 
  • Till 1953, when Stalin was alive, he wasn’t very keen on India. Stalin did not appreciate the non-aligned posturing of India.
  • After the death of Stalin, Indians and Soviet interests started to converge on the following issues
    • Indian protest at the UN about extending the Korean War north of the 38th parallel.
    • Indian support for the People’s Republic of China to enter the UN. 
    • Finally, the formation of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) in 1954 and the Baghdad Pact in 1955 under the leadership of the USA was perceived by India as an attempt by the US to encircle India. India also condemned American support to Pakistan with arms. These events brought India closer to USSR. These events brought India closer to USSR.

Relations during 1962 War

  • Nikita Khrushchev favoured the improvement of ties with the US, while Mao tried to criticize it and promote his image as the sole representative of revolutionary movements. This difference between the Soviets and China led to the Soviets favouring India during the 1962 Chinese aggression. 

Relations during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965

  • After 1962, India adopted the path of defence modernization. The Soviets decided to use it as an opportunity to build ties with India before any western country could fill this strategic space and emerged as the topmost defence supplier for India by the late 1960s. 
  • In the 1965 Indo-Pak war, India appreciated the role of the Soviets during mediation through the Tashkent Declaration. 

Relations post 1965 and leading up to War of 1971

  • In the 1970s, the US explored options of undertaking rapprochements with China and India began to fear a Beijing-Washington-Islamabad axis. 
  • India acted hastily. Since 1969, India and the USSR negotiated a diplomatic and strategic engagement. India speeded up the negotiations and, in 1971, concluded a twenty-year ‘India-Soviet Treaty of Peace and Friendship‘ with the clause of Collective Security  (i.e. if India is attacked, Soviet Union will come to help & vice versa). Shipments of arms began to arrive from Russia to India. 2021 marks the 50 years of the signing of the Indonesia-Soviet Treaty.
  • USSR has sided with India on the Kashmir issue and vetoed all resolutions against India in UNSC. 

Initial hiccups in the post-fall of the USSR

After the Cold War ended, the initial years of Boris Yeltsin’s rule were not smooth. Due to the fall of the USSR, both India and Russia were attracted towards the west without any convergence. During this period 

  • Rupees-Rouble Trade suffered as the value of Rouble declined steeply. In response, Russia asked India to pay in Dollars. 
  • Russia denied the cryogenic engine under USA pressure due to MTCR. 
  • Militancy in Chechnya and Kashmir presented a problem to both nations. 

End of the 1990s

  • Nuclear Tests of 1998 brought India Russia closer.
  • At that time, the world was divided into two groups.
    1. USA, Japan and EU: placed sanctions on India. 
    2. Russia: Supported India arguing that India is surrounded by China & Pakistan & had the right to protect using Nuclear deterrence.

Putin’s Visit in 2010

  • During this visit, India and Russia signed a “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership” (SPSP). 
  • One of the critical drivers for this move was India’s assertion for a multipolar world. The resurgence of Russia in the world to project itself as an independent pole in the international system suits India as it will prevent any form of unipolar assertion by either the US or China.

Crimea Issue

  • Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, where the Russian Black Sea Fleet is placed permanently and has been an outlet of Russia to the Mediterranean Sea. Although Western countries placed sanctions on Russia due to Russian expansionist policy, India supported the Russian decision.

Present Collaborations

India and Russia are presently collaborating on the following projects

  1. International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC)
  2. BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
  3. S-400 Triumf Air Defence Systems
  4. Joint development of Kamov-226 helicopters
  5. Development of Far East Russia
  6. Sputnik – V vaccine against Corona developed by Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology was used by India.

Convergence of Interests

Russia needs India

  • To bypass western sanctions, Indian help is required.  
  • Act as a hedge against forthcoming Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)  driven by the US & EU.
  • India is the market for the Defence Industry of Russia. 
  • India is a significant market for oil.

India needs Russia

  • To secure energy supply at a cost-effective price.  
  • To get cutting edge defence technology (no country provide its new technology). 
  • Russia is a good market for Indian pharmaceuticals, manufactured goods, dairy products etc.  
  • Russian Veto at UN matters for India. 

India-Russia Economic Cooperation

India-Russia Economic Cooperation
  • Indo-Russian trade flourished during the Cold War based on the Rupee-Rouble agreement. However, the foundation of this agreement was dismantled in 1992, which led to a decline in trade.
  • Annual Indo-Russian trade is $8.1 billion (2021).  The target is to increase it to $30 Billion in a decade. 
  • ONGC Videsh has invested $5 billion in Sakhalin I project in Siberia and Imperial Energy Ltd. 
  • Russia has developed Kudankulam nuclear energy project (1000 MW).
  • India and Russia are also in the advanced stages of talks of signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Indian and Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).

Problems in trade with Russia

  • There are no direct overland trade routes possible today, though the International North-South Transit Corridor (INSTC) will try to establish that connectivity.
  • Supreme Court in 2012 declared 2G licenses as null and void after Russian AFK Sistema had teamed up with Shyam Telecom. It sent negative sentiments in Russian business houses.
  • Custom clearances and inspections are complex & time-consuming.
  • Russian importer needs to get a license to import. Russian businessmen demand Indian exporters to pay for these charges.
  • Product-specific approvals are required. 
  • Banking & finance issues due to strict norms in Current Account & Capital Account convertibility. 

Defence Relation

  • Defence Cooperation is more important than economic cooperation. India is going for massive weaponization, and Russia is the most crucial ally in this regard as 2/3rd of Indian military hardware comes from Russia. 
  • Following weapons of India are of Russian origin
Defence Cooperation in India-Russia Relations

1 . IAF

  • 32 out of 41 fighter Indian Air Force squadrons are Russian. These include
    1. MIG 21,23,27 and 29
    2. Sukhoi 30- MKI
  • New Deals have been signed for the following systems
    1. Joint Production of Kamov -226 Helicopter
    2. India has started receiving deliveries of S-400 Air Defence Systems

2. Army

  • T-72 & T-90 constitute 60% of 4168 battle tanks .
  • Indian army personnel will use AK-203, and a joint production facility to manufacture more than 600,000 Kalashnikov rifles will be set up in Korwa. 

3. Navy

  • INS  Vikramaditya (Gorshkov:) Aircraft Carrier 
  • Akula II class (INS Chakra): Nuclear Submarine
  • India and Russia conduct Joint Armed exercises known as  INDRA. 
  • Even after increased bonhomie with the US, the Indian government has already declared that Russia is India’s primary defence supplier.

Defence relations are changing

  • India is trying to diversify its arsenal because dependence on one nation in defence is a strategic liability. MMRCA (Rafale) Deal with France vouches for that.  
  • Russia is also trying to diversify its relations in response to the Indian position & is engaging with Pakistan to sell weapons. 

Issues in Indo-Russian Defence Relations

  • CAATSA, i.e., Countering American Adversaries through Sanctions Act of US, has the provision of Sanctions against American adversaries if they are doing trade with them. These adversaries include Russia, Iran and North Korea. It is presenting difficulty in payments. 

Space Cooperation

Space Cooperation in India-Russia Relations
  • Space cooperation between two countries goes back four decades. 2015 marked the 40th anniversary of India’s first satellite “Aryabhatta” on a Russian ( USSR) launch vehicle ‘Soyuz.’ 
  • In 1984, Indian astronaut Rakesh Sharma visited space in the Soyuz T-10, an issue of great political prestige for India. 
  • After the fall of the USSR, relations deteriorated for some time. In 1992, Russia denied providing cryogenic rocket engines to India as a non-signatory to MTCR. The sudden suspension of the deal came as a severe setback to the Indian space program. But relations have been stabilized again. Various MOUs have been signed between ROSCOSMOS and ISRO since then.
  • Earlier, India was using GLONASS as an alternate to US-controlled GPS. 

Energy Cooperation

  • Russia is an energy supplier, while India has a huge energy demand. As India is a net importer of energy, Russia is in a strategic position to cooperate.
  • The former Soviet Union played a significant role in building India’s energy sector in the following way
    1. Developing tens of hydropower stations
    2. Developing India’s coal industry
    3. Finding oil in Indian soil 
    4. Helping in setting up India’s energy major ONGC.  
  • India has invested 
    1. $5 billion in the Sakhalin-1 project, controlling 20 per cent stakes in the venture. 
    1. Purchased Imperial Energy, a London-listed oil major in the Tomsk region. 
    2. India is also interested in the Timon Pechora basin and Vankor in East Siberia. 
  • Both India and Russia are extending civil nuclear cooperation to 3rd countries, e.g. Bangladesh.

Indo-Russian Cooperation to develop Russia’s the Far East

About Russian Far East

  • The region consists of 1/3rd of Russian territory
  • It is resource rich region with
    1. 98% of Russian diamonds
    2. 90% of Russian Borax reserves
    3. 50% of Russian Gold reserves
    4. 40% of seafood and fish resources
    5. Abundant reserves of coal and petroleum
  • It is located at the strategic location and with the melting of Arctic ice due to global warming, it can act as Europe’s Gateway into Asia.
  • But the region is underdeveloped and sparsely populated due to harsh climatic conditions.
  • Despite being rich in resources, the region contributes just 5% to Russian GDP. Hence, Russian is looking for partners to develop this region.

Eastern Economic Forum

  • With the aim of developing the Russian Far East, Russia established Eastern Economic Forum in 2015.
  • Various countries have shown interest in investments in the Russian Far East. The notable among them are
    1. China: China has proposed to extend One Belt, One Road to Russian Far East
    2. South Korea: Shipbuilding projects, gas liquefying plants etc
    3. Japan: Japan is also keen to invest but the US sanctions are making it difficult.
  • India participated in the 5th Eastern Economic Forum (2020), which aims to support the economic development of Russia’s resource-rich the Far East. 

Indian Strategy for Russian Far East

  • India has unveiled the “Act Far East” policy to boost India’s engagement with Russia’s Far East region. 
  • India has extended a $1 billion line of credit for the development of this region. 
  • Eastern Maritime Corridor (EMC): India and Russia has operationalised maritime route between Chennai and Vladivostok to bypass Europe to reach Russia. This has reduced the time for cargo to reach Russia to 24 days from the current 40 days.
  • Several Indian companies have been successfully set up in the Russian Far East region, such as KGK in Vladivostok in the field of diamond cutting and Tata Power in Kamchatka in coal mining. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation purchased stakes in the Sakhalin-1 project in the region.
  • Geopolitical interests: Involvement in RFE will help India to counterbalance China’s influence in Russia and in the Indo-Pacific region. 
Far East Russia and India

Initiatives of Other Countries in the Russia’s Far East

China– Polar Sea Route has Russian Far East as important component.
– China is connecting its Heilongjiang province with the Russian Far East.
South KoreaInvested in Ship building, gas liquefaction plants etc.
JapanInvestments in petroleum sector as Japanese dependence on Russian oil has increased post Fukushima incident.

Multilateral Engagements

  • Russia has supported India’s bid for a permanent seat in UNSC. 
  • Russia has been favouring Indian entry to the Nuclear Supplier Group. 
  • Both countries are on the same page regarding the reform of multilateral institutions like IMF and the World Bank.  
  • Both countries are a member of important international organizations like
    1. BRICS
    2. Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) 
    3. G-20  

People to People Cooperation

  • Programs like ‘Namaste Russia’ have been run in Russia.
  • Institutes like Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Centre, both the countries have had good cultural links. 

Downturn in Relations

  • During the Cold War, defence ties were the most important elements of our relationship. In the post-Cold War era, the US, France and Israel have emerged as direct competitors to Russia in providing defence supplies to India. Russian share in India’s defence imports has decreased from 79% (2008) to 62% (2017).
Defence Relations between India and Russia
  • India’s growing proximity to the United States: Rapidly expanding ties and growing defence relationship between India and the US corroborated by the fact like joining Quad led by the USA, signing of logistic agreements like BECA, LEMOA, COMCASA etc. with the US has impacted the India-Russia Relations. 
  • One dimensional trade: Trade has been one-dimensional, i.e. defence based. The trade between India and Russia in 2017-18 was $11 billion, which is far below potential.  
  • Russian leaning towards China: Russia has sold advanced military technology to Beijing and endorsed China’s One Belt One Road. There has also been concern about Moscow leaning toward Beijing in forums like the BRICS. Also, China and Russia inaugurated the first cross-border pipeline to China from Russia’s far-east regions. Russia accounted for 77% of Chinese arms imports in 2016-2020.
  • Increasing bonhomie between Russia and Pakistan: In 2014, Russia lifted the arms embargo on Pakistan and is the second-largest weapons supplier to Pakistan, accounting for 6.6% of its arms imports.  
  • Issues wrt Taliban: Russia showing an inclination towards Taliban in Afghanistan while India continues to have concerns about the group. Hence, India and Russia have divergent interests in Afghanistan.
  • Issues with Quad: Russia is critical towards the concept of Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and has termed it as Asian NATO designed to contain China and Russia.

Steps taken to address this

  • Despite the threat of US sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), India has remained firm on buying the S-400 Triumf air defence missiles system. 
  • Reinforcement of Defence Ties: India has finalized the following defence deals with Russia in recent times
    1. Joint production of Kamov-226 helicopters.
    2. S-400 Air Defence System
    3. Nuclear-powered submarine (Chakra III)
    4. AK-203 Guns
  • INDRA upgraded to Tri-Services Joint Exercises.
  • Improving trade relations: In 2017, trade between countries increased by 20%. Two countries decided to reach the $30 billion investment goal by 2025.
  • Indian Prime Minister participated in the Eastern Economic Forum of 2020 and announced to make substantial investments in Far East Russia.
  • Indian Defence Minister undertook a trip to Russia for its ‘Victory Day’ parade even during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
  • India and Russia are developing the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) to address connectivity issues. 

Is Russia still important?

  • Russia is a time-tested friend who has helped India on numerous occasions earlier. Increasing Russo-Pak Ties is just a symbolic gesture by Russia to tell India that they can find friends. 
  • Russian Defence partnership is important because they give Transfer of Technology in cutting edge technology which other countries including the US willn’t offer. In the US, all the defence system manufacturing is under private companies, while in Russia, they are state-controlled. Hence, the way in which Russia can help by supplying arms to set diplomatic relations on the right track can be done by the US (INS Vikramaditya, Nuclear Subs, Sukhoi, etc.) 
  • Along with that, joint production deals in high-end products like Kamov Helicopters, Brahmos Missiles etc., matter to India if it wants to develop the domestic defence industry. US and western powers never agree to such agreements.
  • In Civil Nuclear Aspects, only Russia has given the best deals, like in Kundankulam. Other nations care too much about financial aspects and want to increase profits. 
  • If India wants to book its seat in UNSC, Russian support is critical. 
  • On various multilateral forums, Russia and India share space. BRICS & SCO are the most important.   
  • Russia has significant energy resources, and India needs Russia to satisfy its hunger for energy. 
  • Overall, as mentioned by PM Modi, Russia remains our principal Defence Partner. About 70 per cent of our weapons and equipment are of Russian or Soviet origin. 
  • Military Exercise with Pakistan should not be seen from a narrow perspective. In the age of Realpolitik, every nation wants to have maximum manoeuver space. India conducts military exercises with China too.

=> Overall, it can be concluded that, as Modi said in his joint statement (2016 meet) Old friend is better than two new friends, India shouldn’t abandon Russia because of what Russia can provide, no other nation in the world can do that. India should diversify its defence partnership, but Russia should remain India’s topmost priority, who was always there when India needed.