MPPSC 2019 Prelims Paper-I · Question 81 of 99

Correct — A, Dr. Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai (1919-1971). He is universally regarded as the father of the Indian space programme: he founded the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad in 1947 and set up the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) in 1962, which was reorganised into ISRO in 1969. He convinced the government that a developing nation needed space technology for real problems like communication and weather forecasting.

• (b)Dr. Satish Dhawan — He succeeded Sarabhai as ISRO Chairman (1972-1984) and led it through its formative launch-vehicle years; the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota is named after him. He built on the programme but did not found it.
• (c)Dr. Homi J. Bhabha — Bhabha is the father of India's NUCLEAR (atomic energy) programme, not the space programme — a classic swap of the two founding scientists.
• (d)Dr. Krishnaswami Kasturirangan — A later ISRO Chairman (1994-2003) associated with the IRS satellites and early Chandrayaan planning; he headed the organisation decades after it was founded.

India's civilian space effort grew from a small research committee into ISRO. Vikram Sarabhai's vision was 'application-driven' — using satellites for communication, television, weather and resource mapping rather than prestige. The institutional chain is PRL (1947) → INCOSPAR (1962) → ISRO (1969), Department of Space (1972).

The trap here is pairing the right scientist with the right field. Bhabha ↔ atomic/nuclear, Sarabhai ↔ space. Both were friends and pioneers of Indian 'big science', so options deliberately mix them.

• Vikram Sarabhai founded PRL Ahmedabad (1947) and INCOSPAR (1962), the seed of ISRO
• Homi Bhabha = father of India's nuclear/atomic energy programme (a common confusion)
• Satish Dhawan and K. Kasturirangan were later ISRO Chairmen, not founders
• INCOSPAR became ISRO in 1969; the Department of Space was created in 1972

• Swapping Sarabhai (space) with Bhabha (nuclear)
• Assuming the person a centre is named after (Satish Dhawan) founded the programme

MPPSC and UPSC both ask 'father of X programme' or match scientist-to-field; lock Sarabhai↔space, Bhabha↔nuclear.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India's principal satellite-launch site, is located at:

  • (a)Thumba, Kerala
  • (b)Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh
  • (c)Ahmedabad, Gujarat
  • (d)Bengaluru, Karnataka

  Answer(b) Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh — India's main launch pad.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha is regarded as the father of India's:

  • (a)Space programme
  • (b)Green Revolution
  • (c)Nuclear (atomic energy) programme
  • (d)White Revolution

  Answer(c) Nuclear/atomic energy programme.