Science & Technology
Computers and Information Technology
Computers and Information Technology — Quick Revision
One-page CGPSC quick revision for Computers and IT: hardware, internet, 5G, cyber laws, Digital India, rural IT and Chhattisgarh e-governance in tables.
Computers, the internet, cyber law, Digital India, rural IT and Chhattisgarh e-governance on one page. For explanations, go back to the chapter.
How to use this sheet
Scan it top to bottom in the week before Prelims. Bold entries are the facts examiners return to most often. Figures for schemes and portals carry their year; update them from the latest budget before Mains.
Computer Basics
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Father of the computer | Charles Babbage (Analytical Engine) |
| First programmer | Ada Lovelace |
| Generations | Vacuum tubes → transistors (1947) → ICs (1958–59) → microprocessors (Intel 4004, 1971) → AI |
| CPU | ALU (calculates) + Control Unit (directs) + registers |
| Memory speed order | Registers > cache (SRAM) > RAM (DRAM) > secondary storage |
| Volatile | RAM |
| Non-volatile | ROM, PROM, EPROM (UV erase), EEPROM, flash |
| Units | Bit; nibble = 4 bits; byte = 8 bits; 1 KB = 1,024 bytes |
| Optical discs | CD ~700 MB; DVD 4.7 GB; Blu-ray 25 GB (blue-violet laser) |
| Readers | OMR answer sheets; OCR printed text; MICR cheques |
| Translators | Assembler (assembly); compiler (whole program); interpreter (line by line) |
| Codes | ASCII 7-bit (128 characters); Unicode includes Devanagari |
| Universal gates | NAND, NOR |
| C-DAC / PARAM 8000 | Pune, 1988 / 1991, first Indian supercomputer |
| NSM | 2015; MeitY + DST; C-DAC and IISc |
| National Quantum Mission | Approved April 2023 (to 2030-31) |
| IndiaAI Mission | Approved March 2024 |
| India Semiconductor Mission | December 2021 |
Internet and Communication
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| ARPANET | 1969 (US Defense Department) |
| TCP/IP | 1 January 1983; Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn |
| World Wide Web | Tim Berners-Lee, CERN, 1989 |
| India | ERNET 1986; VSNL public internet 15 August 1995; first mobile call 31 July 1995 |
| Optical fibre | Total internal reflection; Charles Kao (Nobel 2009) |
| Transmission modes | Simplex (radio), half-duplex (walkie-talkie), full-duplex (phone) |
| Router vs switch | Between networks vs within a LAN |
| Protocols | HTTP(S) web; FTP files; SMTP sends, POP3/IMAP receive; DNS names → IP; DHCP assigns IP |
| IPv4 / IPv6 | 32-bit / 128-bit |
| NFC / RFID | Tap-to-pay / FASTag |
| 5G in India | 1 October 2022 |
| 6G | Bharat 6G Vision, March 2023 |
| Geostationary orbit | About 35,786 km |
Cyber Security and Law
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Worm vs virus | Worm spreads on its own; virus needs a host file |
| Phishing / vishing / smishing | Email or site / voice call / SMS |
| CERT-In | Incident response; Sec 70B IT Act |
| NCIIPC | Critical infrastructure; Sec 70A |
| Helpline | 1930; cybercrime.gov.in (I4C, MHA) |
| IT Act | 2000; UNCITRAL Model Law; e-records and digital signatures |
| IT (Amendment) Act | 2008: 66C, 66D, 66E, 66F (cyber terrorism), 69A blocking |
| Shreya Singhal (2015) | Section 66A struck down; 69A upheld |
| Puttaswamy (2017) | Privacy is a Fundamental Right |
| DPDP Act 2023 | Data Fiduciary, Data Principal, Data Protection Board; Rules notified November 2025, phased |
| Telecommunications Act 2023 | Replaced Telegraph Act 1885; USOF → Digital Bharat Nidhi (rules in force 31 Aug 2024) |
E-Governance and Digital India
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| NIC | 1976 |
| SMART | Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive, Transparent (2nd ARC, 2008) |
| Models | G2C, G2B, G2G, G2E |
| NeGP | May 2006; 27 MMPs (later 31); SWAN, SDC, CSC |
| e-Kranti | NeGP 2.0, 2015 |
| Digital India | 1 July 2015; MeitY; 3 vision areas, 9 pillars |
| Aadhaar | UIDAI 2009; first number 29 September 2010; Aadhaar Act 2016 |
| DBT | 1 January 2013; runs on JAM |
| UPI | NPCI, April 2016 |
| DigiLocker / GeM / UMANG | 2015 / 2016 / 2017 |
| ONDC / ABDM / Bhashini | 2021 / 2021 / 2022 |
IT in Rural India
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| BharatNet | NOFN 2011 → BharatNet 2015; fibre to gram panchayats; Amended Programme 4 August 2023, about ₹1.39 lakh crore, BSNL as project management agency |
| CSC | NeGP 2006; run by a VLE; CSC 2.0 (2015): one per GP |
| PMGDISHA | 2017; target 6 crore rural households; 6.39 crore trained, ~4.78 crore certified; ended 31 March 2024 |
| e-NAM / PM-KISAN | 2016 / 2019 |
| SVAMITVA | 2020; drone survey, property cards |
| DILRMP | Begun 2008 (as NLRMP); land records |
| Digital divide | Rural–urban, gender, age, language, literacy; biometric exclusion |
Chhattisgarh
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Nodal agency | CHiPS (Chhattisgarh Infotech Promotion Society) |
| CHOiCE | Chhattisgarh Online information for Citizen Empowerment; pilot in Raipur; CSI e-Gov Award 2009–10 |
| Best e-Governed State | CSI–Nihilent awards 2007–08 |
| PDS / paddy procurement | Computerised from 2007; end-to-end; SMS alerts; bank payments |
| Chhattisgarh Food Security Act | 2012 (before NFSA 2013) |
| Bhuiyan | Land records: B-1 (khatauni), P-II (khasra) |
| Lok Sewa Guarantee Act | 2011 |
| Sanchar Kranti Yojana | 2018; smartphones mainly for rural women |
| Bastar Net | About 832 km optical fibre, Bastar division |
| e-Office | August 2024 |
| Seva Setu | Upgraded April 2026 (as reported) |
Don’t Confuse
| This | vs | That |
|---|---|---|
| RAM (volatile) | vs | ROM (non-volatile) |
| Cache (fast, small, SRAM) | vs | Main memory (DRAM) |
| Compiler (whole program) | vs | Interpreter (line by line) |
| Internet (Cerf and Kahn, TCP/IP) | vs | WWW (Berners-Lee) |
| SMTP (send) | vs | POP3 / IMAP (receive) |
| Section 66A (struck down) | vs | Section 69A (upheld) |
| CERT-In (70B) | vs | NCIIPC (70A) |
| UIDAI (Aadhaar) | vs | NPCI (UPI) |
| NeGP (2006) | vs | Digital India (2015) |
| BharatNet (national, GPs) | vs | Bastar Net (state, Bastar division) |
| Chhattisgarh Food Security Act 2012 | vs | NFSA 2013 |
| CHiPS (agency) | vs | CHOiCE (project) |
Favourite MCQ trap
“UPI was developed by the Reserve Bank of India.” Wrong. UPI was developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an RBI and Indian Banks’ Association initiative. The RBI regulates; NPCI built and runs it.
Second favourite trap
“Tim Berners-Lee invented the internet.” Wrong. He created the World Wide Web (1989), a service that runs on the internet. The internet’s TCP/IP foundation came from Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn and was adopted on 1 January 1983.
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