π Science in India Β· Part 4
Space, nuclear and technology milestones
From the first printed newspaper and railways to Apsara, Tarapur and the fast breeder at Kalpakkam; from Aryabhata and SLV-3 to Chandrayaan, AstroSat and Aditya-L1 β with the dates the official records give.
Space
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1962
INCOSPAR: Indiaβs space research begins
The Indian National Committee for Space Research was set up by the Government of India, as envisioned by Vikram Sarabhai.
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15 August 1969
ISRO is formed
The Indian Space Research Organisation superseded INCOSPAR with an expanded role to harness space technology.
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19 April 1975
Aryabhata, Indiaβs first satellite
π Launched from the Soviet UnionNamed after the astronomer, it was completely designed and fabricated in India and launched by a Soviet rocket.
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7 June 1979
Bhaskara-I: first Indian remote-sensing satellite
π Volgograd launch station (now in Russia)The first experimental remote-sensing satellite built in India; its TV camera images were used in hydrology and forestry.
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18 July 1980
SLV-3 puts Rohini in orbit
π SriharikotaIndiaβs first experimental satellite launch vehicle placed the Rohini satellite RS-1 in orbit, making India the sixth member of an exclusive club of space-faring nations.
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19 June 1981
APPLE, the first Indian communication satellite
π Launched from KourouISROβs first indigenous experimental communication satellite, designed and built in two years in industrial sheds and launched on an Ariane rocket.
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30 August 1983
INSAT-1B
A communication satellite that reached full operational capability in October 1983 and worked into 1990, with all its 4,375 two-way voice circuits in use; it returned around 36,000 Earth images.
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5 May 2005
Cartosat-1: maps in stereo
π SriharikotaThe first Indian remote-sensing satellite able to take stereo images in orbit, at 2.5 m resolution β used for elevation models and maps. NCERT notes that Cartosat images feed the Bhuvan mapping platform.
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22 October 2008
Chandrayaan-1
π SriharikotaIndia's first mission to the Moon, launched from Sriharikota.
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1 July 2013
IRNSS-1A: Indiaβs own navigation system begins
π SriharikotaThe first of the seven satellites of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, carrying a rubidium atomic clock in its navigation payload.
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5 November 2013
Mars Orbiter Mission
π SriharikotaIndia's first interplanetary mission; ISRO became the fourth space agency to reach Mars orbit.
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28 September 2015
AstroSat, Indiaβs space observatory
π SriharikotaIndiaβs first dedicated space astronomy observatory, with five payloads that observe the same source at once from far ultraviolet to gamma rays.
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22 July 2019
Chandrayaan-2
An orbiter, lander and rover to explore the unexplored south pole of the Moon β a significant technological leap for ISRO. It entered lunar orbit on 20 August 2019.
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2 September 2023
Aditya-L1 studies the Sun
A satellite dedicated to the comprehensive study of the Sun, with seven indigenously developed payloads, placed near the L1 point between the Earth and the Sun.
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23 August 2023
Chandrayaan-3 lands on the Moon
π The MoonA successful soft landing, followed by the rover rolling out onto the lunar surface.
Nuclear science and energy
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late 1940s
Indiaβs nuclear programme begins
Initiated under the guidance of Homi J. Bhabha, to generate atomic energy for peaceful purposes.
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3 August 1954
Department of Atomic Energy set up
Set up under the direct charge of the Prime Minister by a Presidential Order.
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4 August 1956
Apsara, Asiaβs first research reactor
π TrombayApsara achieved criticality and was the first research reactor in Asia to do so.
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1 March 1958
Atomic Energy Commission set up
An Atomic Energy Commission with full executive and financial powers was set up to plan and expand the atomic energy programme; it makes the policy of the Department of Atomic Energy.
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10 July 1960
The CIRUS research reactor
π TrombayA 40 MWth reactor built with Canada, used for neutron research, testing fuel and making radioisotopes for medicine, agriculture and industry; it trained the engineers of Indiaβs heavy-water reactor programme and ran for 50 years.
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28 October 1969
Tarapur: Indiaβs first nuclear power station
π Tarapur, MaharashtraUnits 1 and 2 of the Tarapur Atomic Power Station, boiling-water reactors of 160 MWe each, began commercial operation β the first entries in NPCILβs list of nuclear power plants.
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May 1974
Indiaβs first nuclear test
π PokhranThe first nuclear explosion undertaken by India.
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October 1985
Fast Breeder Test Reactor goes critical
π KalpakkamWith the 40 MWth FBTR at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, India entered the small club of countries with fast-breeder technology β the second stage of its three-stage nuclear programme. It runs on an indigenously developed uraniumβplutonium carbide fuel.
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May 1998
Nuclear tests at Pokhran
π PokhranIndia conducted nuclear explosions at Pokhran.
How India plans to use its large thorium reserves, as BARC explains it.
- 1Pressurised heavy-water reactors
Indigenously built PHWRs burn Indiaβs natural uranium (0.7% fissile U-235), with heavy water as moderator and coolant.
- 2Fast breeder reactors
Plutonium-239 recovered from spent fuel runs fast breeders, which make more plutonium than they use (FBTR, 1985; then the 500 MWe PFBR).
- 3Thorium
Indiaβs abundant thorium-232 is turned into fissile uranium-233 in fast reactors; U-233 will fuel the third stage.
Computing and communication
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1780
Indiaβs first printed newspaper
The Bengal Gazette β the start, in NCERTβs timeline of communication, of printed news in India.
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1930
Radio broadcasting begins
NCERTβs timeline of communication marks 1930 as the start of All India Radio (AIR) broadcasting in India.
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1954β1960
TIFRAC: India's first working computer
π TIFR, MumbaiDesigned and built at TIFR β the first electronic digital computer to become operational in India.
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1988
C-DAC and the PARAM supercomputer
C-DAC was set up to build supercomputers after the USA denied their import; it has built generations of them, starting with PARAM.
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25 August 2016
UPI: instant digital payments
π IndiaLaunched by NPCI; now the world's largest real-time payment system.
Engineering, transport and industry
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16 April 1853π Engineering, water and towns
The first passenger train
π Bombay (Mumbai) β ThaneRailways in India began with a passenger train between Bombay and Thane.
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1879β Physics
Electric light arrives
π Calcutta (Kolkata)Electric lighting was demonstrated in Calcutta, the start of electricity in India.
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1881π Engineering, water and towns
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
π Darjeeling, West BengalThe first hill passenger railway, with bold engineering across mountain terrain.
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1897β Physics
First commercial electricity: Sidrapong
π Darjeeling, West BengalA 130 kW hydroelectric station began India's first commercial generation of electricity.
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16 February 1912β Metals and materials
Steel from Jamshedpur
π Jamshedpur, JharkhandThe blast furnace was first blown on 2 December 1911; steel production began weeks later.
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1957π Engineering, water and towns
Diesel locomotives: the WDM-1
In NCERTβs timeline of Indian trains, the WDM-1 diesel locomotive (1957) follows steam, and the WAM-4 electric locomotive follows in 1970.
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2019π Engineering, water and towns
Vande Bharat trains
The electric Vande Bharat train β the latest step in NCERTβs timeline of Indian trains, after steam, diesel and electric locomotives.
How we check: dates and facts come from the official pages of ISRO, DAE, BARC, NPCIL and C-DAC and from NCERT textbooks, and our build fails unless their key phrases are found in the source itself. Missions are dated by launch; where the source gives only a year, so do we.