Why it is in the news
On 21 September 2026, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma laid the foundation stone of the ISTRAC Advanced Radar Research Facility (IARRF) at Chandrapur, Kamrup Metropolitan district, near Guwahati, in the presence of ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan. On 1 October 2026, ISRO said the facility is part of Project NETRA and will strengthen India's Space Situational Awareness (SSA) while also serving atmospheric, weather and space-weather research.
The exam angle
Thesis: Space has become a congested, contested commons; sovereign SSA is now as basic to a space power as launch capability.