UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — How exposed is India to foreign tech?

Q1. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. In 2026, NavIC could not support standalone positioning in India even though some of its satellites were still functioning.
  2. A satellite navigation receiver must resolve four unknowns, three spatial coordinates and its own clock offset, and so needs ranging signals from at least four satellites.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q2. With reference to the entry of a foreign-owned satellite broadband operator into India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Authorisation to operate a space-based system and a licence to provide telecommunication services to Indian users are distinct permissions, so holding one does not confer the other.
  2. Once such an operator holds the requisite telecom licence, foreign investment in its Indian entity needs no separate approval.
  3. The national space research agency, in its role as launch provider, is the body that licenses private satellite communication services.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 only

Q3. Consider the following facts: First-generation NavIC satellites carried atomic clocks imported from a European firm, and one such clock later failed. NavIC receivers have largely used chipsets supplied by foreign firms. Second-generation NVS satellites carry indigenously built atomic clocks. Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above?

  1. Indigenising components in the space segment alone does not remove dependence at the user-device layer.
  2. NavIC's degradation was caused by the foreign supplier deliberately disabling the imported clocks.
  3. Strategic autonomy in a navigation system requires domestic capability in more than one layer of its technology stack.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 3 only

Q4. With reference to the protection of India's cyber infrastructure under the Information Technology Act, 2000, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Act gives the protection of critical information infrastructure and the national response to cyber security incidents in general to two distinct agencies.
  2. The incident-response mandate of CERT-In is confined to computer resources that have been formally designated as critical information infrastructure.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 only
  • C. Both 1 and 2
  • D. Neither 1 nor 2