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A PIB Backgrounder set out the status of India's Cyber-Physical Systems ecosystem, built around the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS), implemented by the Department of Science and Technology.
The Union Cabinet approved NM-ICPS in 2018 with an outlay of Rs 3,660 crore; 25 Technology Innovation Hubs have been set up as Section 8 companies inside premier academic institutions.
In 2025 four high-performing hubs were upgraded to Technology Translation Research Parks — IIT Kanpur (cybersecurity), IISc Bengaluru (robotics and AI systems), IIT (ISM) Dhanbad (mining technologies) and IIT Indore (digital healthcare).
As of August 2026 the Mission reports 1,146 technologies enabled, 1,329 technology products, 1,136 start-ups and spin-offs incubated, 5,824 CHANAKYA fellowships and 200 international collaborations.
BharatGen, supported under NM-ICPS and led by IIT Bombay, adds a sovereign multilingual AI layer; its Param-2 foundation model has 17 billion parameters and covers all 22 Scheduled languages.
A CPS joins computing to physical machinery through three linked layers — sensors that read the physical world, software that interprets the readings, and communication networks that carry instructions back to actuators. The defining feature is the closed feedback loop running in real time: the system senses, decides and acts on the physical process without waiting for a human. Autonomous vehicles, smart factories that retune production on the fly, patient-monitoring medical devices and buildings that regulate their own lighting and temperature are all CPS. It is distinct from ordinary IoT, where devices mainly report data upward; a CPS closes the loop and controls the physical process itself.
Simple Analogy: A thermometer tells you the room is cold. A cyber-physical system is the thermostat that reads the temperature, decides the room is cold, and turns on the heater by itself — and then keeps adjusting.
A digital twin is a live virtual replica of a real physical object, process or system, continuously fed with real-time data from smart sensors so that it mirrors the behaviour of the real thing. Because the replica moves with its original, engineers can test changes, predict failures and study progression on the model instead of on the asset. Under NM-ICPS, the Drishti CPS Foundation at IIT Indore has built CharakDT, a digital twin of the human body that simulates the lungs, eyes and heart to study how disease progresses and to test treatments virtually.
Simple Analogy: A flight simulator that is wired to a specific real aircraft — every time the real plane flies, the simulator updates itself, so you can crash the copy a hundred times to learn how to save the original.
Implements NM-ICPS; also the nodal department for the National Quantum Mission
Section 8 company hosted by an academic institution; develops technology platforms, translates research into products, incubates start-ups and works with ministries to solve national challenges
Upgraded TIH tasked with pushing proven technologies to deployment and commercialisation; four selected in 2025, each with one strategic domain
Runs India's first dedicated proving ground for autonomous navigation, validating aerial and terrestrial autonomous vehicles before real-world deployment
Cybersecurity hub; runs an IT-OT Security Operations Centre monitoring information and operational technology environments, and has built Crypto-Forensic Tools for law enforcement investigating cryptocurrency crime
Digital healthcare hub; developed CharakDT, a digital twin of the human body simulating lungs, eyes and heart
Mining technologies hub; has developed drones that transmit data up to 50 km, enabling remote monitoring of hazardous mining sites
Robotics and AI hub; its iRASTE application identifies accident-prone locations and issues real-time driver alerts, piloted in Nagpur
Build indigenous CPS research, translation and start-up capability by linking academia, industry, government and international partners
Key: Union Cabinet approval in 2018 with an outlay of Rs 3,660 crore; implemented by DST; 25 TIHs and 4 TTRPs; active period extended to December 2027 without extra funds
Seed and scale scientific and industrial R&D in quantum technologies
Key: Approved by the Union Cabinet on 19 April 2023 with an outlay of Rs 6,003.65 crore for 2023-24 to 2030-31; implemented by DST through four Thematic Hubs — Quantum Computing at IISc Bengaluru, Quantum Communication at IIT Madras with C-DOT, Quantum Sensing and Metrology at IIT Bombay, Quantum Materials and Devices at IIT Delhi
Build India's artificial intelligence compute, data, skilling and safe-AI stack
Key: Approved on 7 March 2024 with an outlay of Rs 10,371.92 crore under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology; seven pillars — Compute Capacity, Innovation Centre, Datasets Platform, Application Development Initiative, FutureSkills, Startup Financing and Safe & Trusted AI. Note the split: NM-ICPS and NQM sit under DST, IndiaAI under MeitY
Build sovereign, multilingual and multimodal Indian AI foundation models
Key: Launched on 30 September 2024 under DST and supported through NM-ICPS; led by IIT Bombay with an academic consortium. Spans text, speech and vision-language; Param-2 has 17 billion parameters covering all 22 Scheduled languages; Shrutam (speech-to-text) and Sooktam (text-to-speech) cover 12 Indian languages; Patram under the DocBodh framework enables multilingual access to complex documents; domain models include Ayur Param, Agri Param and Legal Param
Build specialised CPS research talent
Key: Comprehensive and Holistic Advancement of National Knowledge Yield and Analytics; funds UG, PG, PhD and post-doctoral researchers working on real-world CPS problems through the TIHs; 5,824 fellowships awarded as of August 2026
| Host Institution | Strategic Domain | Flagship Work Cited |
|---|---|---|
| IIT Kanpur | Cybersecurity | IHUB NTIHAC Foundation — IT-OT Security Operations Centre; Crypto-Forensic Tools for law enforcement |
| IISc Bengaluru | Robotics and AI Systems | I-Hub for Robotics and Autonomous Systems — iRASTE road-safety alerts, piloted in Nagpur |
| IIT (ISM) Dhanbad | Mining Technologies (exploration to mineral beneficiation) | TEXMiN — drones transmitting data up to 50 km for hazardous-site monitoring |
| IIT Indore | Digital Healthcare | Drishti CPS Foundation — CharakDT digital twin of the human body |
TIHs are registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 — the not-for-profit form for entities promoting science, research, commerce or charity, which may not pay dividends and must apply profits to their objects. The choice lets a hub hold IP and contract commercially while remaining non-profit.
The other DST-run deep-tech mission, approved 2023 with Rs 6,003.65 crore for 2023-24 to 2030-31. Both use the same hub model, and C-DOT co-anchors NQM's Quantum Communication hub with IIT Madras.
The AI counterpart, but under MeitY rather than DST — a distinction exams test. BharatGen sits on the DST side, funded through NM-ICPS.
BharatGen's Param-2 covering 'all 22 Scheduled languages' means the languages listed in the Eighth Schedule — the same list that governs official-language policy and recruitment examinations.
Indigenous CPS capability is framed as strategically necessary because CPS increasingly runs critical infrastructure — power grids, telecom, transport — where dependence on foreign control systems is a security exposure.
GS Paper 3 > Science and Technology > Developments and Applications; Indigenisation of Technology
General Awareness > Science and Technology > National Missions
General Awareness > Government Schemes and Missions
General Awareness > Science and Technology
Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding Smart India Hackathon 2017? 1. It is a centrally sponsored scheme for developing every city of our country into Smart Cities in a decade. 2. It is an initiative to identify new digital technology innovations for solving the many problems faced by our country. 3. It is a programme aimed at making all the financial transactions in our country completely digital in a decade. Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Answer: 2 only
Atal Innovation Mission is set up under the
Answer: NITI Aayog
An electric iron of 1kW power operating on 220V requires a fuse of what rating to prevent short-circuiting?
Answer: 5 A
National technology missions (Quantum, AI, Supercomputing, CPS) have appeared in UPSC Prelims and in SSC/Railway general awareness in most recent cycles.
A system that closes a real-time feedback loop between computation and a physical process using sensors, software, communication networks and actuators.
A live virtual replica of a physical object or process, continuously updated by real-time sensor data from the original.
A not-for-profit company under the Companies Act, 2013 formed to promote science, research, commerce, art or charity; it cannot pay dividends and must apply income to its objects.
A high-performing Technology Innovation Hub upgraded in 2025 and given a single strategic domain, to move proven technology to deployment and commercialisation.
The stage between a working prototype and a sellable product — validation, certification, manufacturing and market entry — which the TTRPs were created to fund.