Science, Technology and Environment — CLAT Current Affairs & GK
A passage describes "the spacecraft's successful insertion into lunar orbit." CLAT asks which agency, which mission, or what body it targeted. Science-and-environment passages assume you know the space programme, the climate treaties, and the key technology terms. You do not need deep science — only the anchors the questions hang on. This chapter builds them.
1. India's space programme
- ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) runs India's space programme; its workhorse launch vehicles are the PSLV and GSLV.
- Chandrayaan missions target the Moon; the Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) targeted Mars; Aditya-L1 was launched to study the Sun.
- ISRO is known for cost-effective launches and for placing many satellites in a single mission.
Fix each flagship mission to its target body — Chandrayaan/Moon, Mangalyaan/Mars, Aditya-L1/Sun — a classic CLAT match.
2. Other science bodies
| Body | Field |
|---|---|
| DRDO | Defence research & development |
| BARC | Atomic research |
| CSIR | Scientific & industrial research |
| ICMR | Medical research |
Do not confuse ISRO (space) with DRDO (defence) or BARC (atomic) — the passage's field tells you which.
3. Health and biology in the news
- Passages on outbreaks, vaccines and public health usually link to the WHO (the UN's health agency, Geneva) or the ICMR in India.
- Know the difference between a virus and a bacterium, what a vaccine does (trains immunity), and terms like pandemic and epidemic by definition — enough to follow a health passage.
4. The environment and climate framework
This is the richest static area in the bucket:
| Instrument / body | Concerns |
|---|---|
| UNFCCC | The UN climate convention; parent of the climate talks |
| Paris Agreement (2015) | Limiting global temperature rise (well below 2°C) |
| COP (Conference of the Parties) | The annual UN climate summit |
| IPCC | Assesses the science of climate change |
| Montreal Protocol | Protects the ozone layer |
| Convention on Biological Diversity | Conserving biodiversity |
The classic trap: the Paris Agreement is about climate/temperature; the Montreal Protocol is about the ozone layer. Keep them apart.
5. Technology terms worth knowing
- AI / machine learning, semiconductors (chips), 5G, quantum computing, and cybersecurity recur in tech passages.
- You need the plain meaning of each, not the engineering — enough to answer "what does the passage refer to."
6. Reading a science/environment passage
- Identify the event — a launch, an outbreak, a summit, a report.
- Recall the agency or instrument and what it targets or governs.
- Answer passage questions from the text; mission-target and treaty-subject questions from memory.
- Guard the Paris vs Montreal and ISRO vs DRDO distinctions.
7. Exam protocol
- Fix each flagship mission to its target — Moon, Mars, Sun.
- Keep space (ISRO), defence (DRDO) and atomic (BARC) bodies separate.
- Anchor the climate framework: UNFCCC, Paris Agreement, COP, IPCC.
- Never confuse Paris (climate) with Montreal (ozone).
- Carry plain-meaning definitions of the recurring tech terms.
- Split passage-based from static-linked questions and answer each in kind.
