Discovery Of Cholera Toxin, Collagen Structure, DNA Fingerprinting, Chandrayaan — India's Science Milestones Since Independence
India's scientific milestones: The Indian scientific community has achieved exemplary scientific milestones since Independence. India recently launched Chandrayaan-3, and aims to send humans to space.
India's legacy of scientific milestones is inexplicable. The nation is recognised on a global level as a key player in science. Indian scientists including Jagadish Chandra Bose, Satyendra Nath Bose, CV Raman, Meghnad Saha, Homi J Bhabha, Abhay Bhushan, Vikram Sarabhai, Anna Mani, Bibha Chowdhuri, Kamala Sohonie, and APJ Abdul Kalam have done groundbreaking work in science. India exhibited climate sensitivity in the 1970s through the Chipko Movement, became the third country to develop its own DNA fingerprinting probe, successfully tested nuclear bombs as part of the Pokhran tests, launched a spacecraft to Mars, and conducted the Chandrayaan missions, among other milestones.
Scientists like CV Raman, who won the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the scattering of light and the discovery of the Raman Effect; Satyendra Nath Bose, who is known for his mathematics which went on to be known as Bose-Einstein statistics, and who proposed a theory on the characteristics of particles called bosons; Meghnad Saha, who gave a mathematical relationship between the observed spectra of stars and their temperatures; Subramanyan Chandrasekhar, who formulated the Chandrasekhar limit in 1930; Bibha Chowdhuri, who worked on particle physics and cosmic rays; Kamala Sohonie, who discovered the enzyme Cytochrome C, which plays an important role in the electron transport chain occuring in plant and animal cells for energy synthesis; Purnima Sinha, who completed her PhD under Satyendra Nath Bose; and Anna Mani, who started her research career at the Indian Institute of Science, under the supervision of CV Raman, were some of the people who demonstrated exceptional scientific brilliance before India became independent.
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India's scientific milestones since Independence
After Independence, scientific discoveries and inventions accelerated. From the discoveries of cholera toxin and the structure of collagen, to the development of a DNA fingerprinting probe and historic space missions, India has made momentous milestones in the field of science.
The following is the list of historic accomplishments made by Indians in the field of science, following Independence, during each decade.
1947-1957
Five-Year Plan
In 1950, the Planning Commission of India was established to plan the actions that must be taken in fields such as science, education, agriculture, and infrastructure, and the following year, in July, the first-ever plan draft was presented. The draft had a chapter on 'Scientific and Industrial Research'. The plan was called the Five-Year Plan.
It was the first plan, and hence, its priority was to lay the foundation of scientific research in the country. Other priorities included initiatives for building and enhancing national laboratories and research centres.
Eleven research institutes were recognised by the plan at the national level. These included the National Chemical Laboratory in Pune, Maharashtra, the Central Electrochemical Research Institute in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, and the National Physical Laboratory of India in Delhi.
The Five-Year Plan prioritised the completion of buildings and installation of necessary equipment to allow the laboratories to become fully operational.
Three new institutes were set up as part of the plan: Central Salt Research Station, Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, and Radio and Electronics Research Institute.
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Discovery of collagen structure
In 1955, GN Ramachandran discovered the triple helical structure of collagen. He gave the Ramachandran plot, which shows the different angles of collagen helices.
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1957 to 1967
Discovery of cholera toxin
In 1959, Dr Sambhu Nath De, a medical scientist and researcher, discovered the cholera toxin. This toxin is produced by Vibrio cholerae, and is the major virulence factor of the bacteria. It causes cholera, and leads to symptoms such as dysentery.
1967 to 1977
Green revolution
India had to pace up agricultural production after Independence. However, not much research about irrigation systems, power sources, crop yield potential of different locations, fertilisers, pesticides, and agricultural equipment had been conducted, because of which the Government pushed scientific research to advance agriculture. This culminated in the Green Revolution, which started in 1967, and ended in 1978. Indian agronomist MS Swaminathan led the Green Revolution in India, and is known as the Father of the Green Revolution.
Due to the Green Revolution, India changed from a food-deficient economy which was on the brink of collapse, to one of the world's leading agricultural economies.
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Indian space programme
In 1962, the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was set up under the Department of Atomic Energy, to spearhead space research activities, due to the efforts of Vikram Sarabhai, who went on to be known as the Father of the Indian Space Programme. In August 1969, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was established in place of INCOSPAR.
The Indian space programme had three distinct elements — satellites for communication and remote sensing, the space transportation system, and application programmes.
Since the inception of the Indian space programme, ISRO has designed and developed satellites for a wide variety of applications, such as communication, meteorology, Earth observation, space science, and navigation.
Aryabhata
The Indian satellite programme commenced on April 19, 1975, with the launch of India's first experimental satellite Aryabhata. Launched using a Soviet launcher, Aryabhata was placed in low-Earth orbit. The satellite carried out communication with ground stations in the very high frequency range. It also executed X-ray astronomy and solar physics.
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1977-1987
Agni
In the 1980s, India successfully developed strategic missile systems, and tested Agni-I, the first strategic missile, on May 22, 1989. After this, Indian scientists learnt to demonstrate techniques such as atmospheric re-entry, manoeuvering two-stage propulsion and stage separation. The latest Agni missile to be launched is Agni Prime. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) launched this on June 7, 2023.
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1987-1997
DNA Fingerprinting
In 1987, scientists from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) developed indigenous probes for DNA fingerprinting, leading India to become the third country in the world to develop its own DNA fingerprinting probe. DNA fingerprinting probes can find unique DNA sequences and produce a DNA profile which is specific to a particular individual.
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1997-2007
Pokhran Nuclear Tests
On May 11, 1998, India conducted three successful nuclear tests of advanced weapon designs at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range under Operation Shakti. In 1999, Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared May 11 as National Technology Day.
The Pokhran nuclear tests of 1998 are known as the Pokhran-II tests. India's first successful nuclear bomb was conducted on May 18, 1974, as part of Pokhran-I or Operation Smiling Buddha.
The Pokhran-II tests, which were a series of five nuclear bomb test explosions, were conducted at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range in the Rajasthan Desert in 1998, on May 11 and 13, and marked the second instance of nuclear testing conducted by India.
The first three detonations took place simultaneously at 3:45 pm IST on May 11, according to a statement issued by the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, in 2009. The nuclear devices detonated included a 45 kiloton thermonuclear device, a 15 kiloton fission device, and a 0.2 kiloton device, which is a sub-kiloton device. The two nuclear devices detonated simultaneously on May 13 were also in the sub-kiloton range — 0.5 kiloton and 0.3 kiloton.
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The tests, led by former President APJ Abdul Kalam, made India an official member of the elite club of nuclear power nations. For his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology, Kalam came to be known as the Missile Man of India.
Vajpayee had said in the Parliament that India will not take the first step in the use of nuclear weapons. He had said that atomic weapons can be used for defence purposes.
The Atomic Energy Commission said in a statement that the yield of the thermonuclear tests were further confirmed through comparison of ground motion and displacement simulation with actual observations on the field.
The Pokhran-II tests were fully successful in achieving their scientific objectives and the capability to build fission and thermonuclear weapons with yields up to 200 kilotons. Since May 1998, a great deal of further scientific and technical development work has taken place.
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Sood Effect
In 2003, Indian physicist Ajay Sood produced electrical signals by passing fluids over solids. The phenomenon is known as the Sood Effect. Practical applications include highly efficient gas sensors and wind generators without moving parts. The concept of the Sood Effect is that when gas is directed onto an inclined wire, a pressure gradient is generated, which results in a temperature change of the wire, and produces a slight electrical current.
The two principles of physics which are at play in the Sood Effect are the Bernoulli Principle, and the Seebeck Effect.
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According to NASA, the Bernoulli Principle states that the speed of a fluid determines the amount of pressure that a fluid can exert.
The Seebeck Effect is a phenomenon in which a voltage difference is created between two electrical conductors or semiconductors when there is a temperature difference between them.
Therefore, in the Sood Effect, the speed of the gas determines the pressure exerted on the wire, and the higher the pressure, the higher the temperature will be, and the higher will be the potential difference.
Sood is currently llserving as the fourth Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.
2007 to 2017
Chandrayaan-1
Chandrayaan-1, India's first mission to the Moon, was launched successfully on October 22, 2008, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The spacecraft orbited the Moon at a height of 100 kilometres from the lunar surface for chemical, mineralogical, and photo-geologic mapping of Earth's satellite. It mapped the Moon in various wavelengths from lunar orbit. The spacecraft played an important role in the discovery of water molecules on the Moon.
Cell Membrane Dynamics
In 2012, Satyajit Mayor and Madan Rao provided a picture of the cell membrane as an active composite of the lipid bilayer, and a dynamic cortical actin below it.
Polio-Free India
In 1994, India accounted for about 60 per cent of polio cases worldwide. There was a dedicated government campaign to vaccinate every child against polio, as a result of which India became polio-free within two decades. This was known as the Polio Immunisation Drive.
On March 27, 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared India 'Polio-free'.
Mars Orbiter Mission
The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also known as Mangalyaan, is India's first interplanetary mission. The space probe was launched on November 5, 2013. It orbited Earth from September 24, 2014, to April 2022.
Mangalyaan made India the first Asian nation to reach Martian orbit, and the first nation in the world to do so on its maiden attempt.
Mangalyaan carried out observations of the physical features of the Red Planet.
Startup India Programme
On January 16, 2016, the government launched the Startup India programme to develop an ecosystem to encourage indigenous scientific and technological developments. This initiative boosted the number of Indian startups manifold.
Healthcare and life sciences, professional and commercial services, agriculture, technology hardware, IT services, educational services, food and beverages, finance technology, construction, and green technology are the top ten sectors for Indian startups. Now, India is one of the largest startup ecosystems in the world.
2017 to present
Chandrayaan-2
Chandrayaan-2 is the second lunar exploration mission developed by ISRO. The spacecraft consisted of a lunar orbiter, the Vikram lander, and the Pragyan lunar rover. It was launched on July 22, 2019.
However, the lander crashed when it deviated from its intended trajectory while attempting to land on the Moon on September 6, 2019.
Covid-19 Vaccine Research And Vaccination Drive
India has been at the forefront of Covid-19 vaccine research ever since the pandemic began. Pune-based pharmaceutical firm Serum Institute of India (SII) manufactured the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine under the trade name Covishield.
Covaxin, India's first indigenously developed Covid-19 vaccine, was approved for emergency use in adults in January 2021.
Biological E's Corbevax is India's first indigenously developed receptor-binding domain (RBD) protein subunit vaccine against Covid-19. The RBD is a part of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. The virus uses the spike protein to attach itself to host cells. Corbevax was approved for emergency use in adults on December 28, 2021.
SII's Covovax is a nanoparticle-based vaccine manufactured by technology transfer from Novavax. It was approved for emergency use in adults on December 28, 2021.
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Bharat Biotech's intranasal Covid-19 vaccine iNCOVACC is the world's first nasal Covid-19 vaccine. It was approved for emergency use in adults on September 9, 2022.
Other Covid-19 vaccines manufactured in India include HGCO-19 vaccine, known as Gemcovac, and Cadila Healthcare's ZyCoV-D.
As of 8:00 am IST on August 14, 2023, over 220 crore Covid-19 vaccines have been administered under India's Covid-19 vaccination programme.
Indian Space Policy 2023
The Indian Space Policy 2023 aims to encourage advanced research and development in the space sector to sustain the space programme, provide public goods and services using space technology for national priorities, create a stable regulatory framework to allow non-government entities in the space sector a level playing field through Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), to promote space-related education and innovation, to provide support to space startups, and to use space as a driver for overall technology development, nurture scientific temperament in the country, and increase awareness on space activities, among others.
Chandrayaan-3
ISRO successfully launched its third lunar exploration mission, Chandrayaan-3, on July 14, 2023. Chandrayaan-3’s voyage towards the Moon began after ISRO's largest and heaviest rocket, the Launch Vehicle Mark III (LVM3), carried the spacecraft from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
Chandrayaan-3 is expected to reach the lunar surface on August 23, at 5:47 pm IST.
Chandrayaan-3 left Earth orbit on August 1, about half-a-month after launch, and entered lunar orbit on August 5.
Chandrayaan-3 entered the orbit circularisation phase at 11:50 am IST on August 14, 2023. The spacecraft will perform the next Moon-bound manoeuvre on August 16, at around 8:30 am IST.
The fact that Chandrayaan-3 entered the orbit circularisation phase means that the spacecraft has started taking a path which is “nearly” round in shape. In other words, the orbit of Chandrayaan-3 around the Moon is now almost round. After a precise manoeuvre, Chandrayaan-3 is in a near-circular orbit of 150 kilometres × 177 kilometres.
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The next operation, which will occur on August 16, will make Chandrayaan-3's orbit completely circular. After this manoeuvre, Chandrayaan-3 will enter a lunar circular orbit of 100 km × 100 km.
ISRO aims to land Chandrayaan-3's lander softly on the Moon's south pole. If this is achieved, India may become the fourth nation to complete the soft landing of a spacecraft on the Moon, and also the first country to land a spacecraft on the Moon's south pole.
However, Russia’s Luna 25 spacecraft, which was launched on August 11, is expected to land on the lunar south pole on August 21, which is two days before Chandrayaan’s tentative landing date. Therefore, a lunar race has ensued. The country whose spacecraft lands first on the lunar south pole will become the first nation to achieve this milestone.
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Gaganyaan Programme milestones
The Gaganyaan programme aims to demonstrate indigenous capability to undertake human spaceflight missions to low-Earth orbit. The Gaganyaan mission will be carried out in three phases: Gaganyaan 1, Gaganyaan 2 and Gaganyaan 3. The third instalment will be India’s first human spaceflight mission. ISRO will send Indian astronauts to space for a three-day mission, as part of Gaganyaan 3. They will return to Earth by splashing down in Indian waters. A team will recover the astronauts from the crew module.
ISRO successfully performed a series of three drogue parachute deployment tests for the Gaganyaan mission, from August 8 to 10, 2023.
Drogue parachute deployment tests are important because these help determine whether the drogue parachutes are functioning properly. Drogue parachutes play an important role in stabilising the crew module and reducing its velocity to a safe level before atmospheric re-entry.
On July 26, 2023, ISRO successfully conducted the second and third hot tests of the Gaganyaan Service Module Propulsion System. A week before that, on July 19, the first hot test of the system was performed. These tests are important because they will help determine the performance of the orbital module.
On February 7, 2023, ISRO, along with the Indian Navy, conducted the recovery trials for the Gaganyaan mission. The safe recovery of the crew marks the final step of any successful human spaceflight mission.
ISRO successfully completed the Integrated Main Parachute Airdrop Test of Gaganyaan's crew module deceleration system on November 18, 2022.
The Integrated Main Parachute Airdrop Test is important because it simulated a scenario in which one main parachute failed to open. This parachute test was the first in a series of tests planned to simulate different failure conditions of the Gaganyaan Parachute system. The system will be deemed qualified to be used in the first human spaceflight mission if all the tests are successful.
Gaganyaan 1
Gaganyaan 1 is the first of the test flights, and is expected to be launched in late 2023 or early 2024. It will be an uncrewed test flight in which the Gaganyaan crew capsule will be launched.
As part of Gaganyaan 1, the spacecraft will be launched to an altitude of 15 kilometres. Space scientists will simulate an abort scenario to ensure the return of the crew capsule to Earth, using parachutes.
Gaganyaan 2
Gaganyaan 2, the second uncrewed mission of the Gaganyaan Programme, is likely to be launched in 2024. A spacefaring humanoid robot, called Vyommitra, will be sent to outer space, as part of Gaganyaan 2.
Gaganyaan 2 will take the crew capsule to an altitude higher than that for Gaganyaan 1. An abort scenario similar to its predecessor will be simulated to perfect the system for Gaganyaan 2.
Gaganyaan 3
Gaganyaan 3, the first crewed Gaganyaan mission, will be launched no earlier than 2024. ISRO will send at least two astronauts into low-Earth orbit, after assessing the outcome of the two orbital flight tests, Gaganyaan 1 and 2.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has identified four fighter pilots as the potential crew for Gaganyaan 3. The potential crew has undergone basic training in Russia.
The astronaut trainees will be selected from a pool of test pilots, and will have to undergo fitness tests, and psychological and aeromedical evaluation.
If Gaganyaan 3 is successful, India will become the fourth nation to independently send humans to space, after the Soviet Union, United States, and China.
India's next focus will be towards achieving a sustained human presence in space.
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