MentedAhead of ESTIC-2026, a PIB explainer on immersive technologies. Clear definitions of VR, AR, MR and XR, India's push and the UPSC angles.
Immersive technology is one of the themes at ESTIC-2026, which is India’s science, technology and innovation conclave, now in its second year, at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, from 27 to 29 October 2026. A PIB backgrounder released on 26 October sets out terms that UPSC aspirants often mix up.
Key facts
- XR, or Extended Reality, is the umbrella term for VR, AR and MR together.
- VR places the user inside a wholly digital environment.
- AR adds digital content on top of the real surroundings, which stay visible.
- MR goes a step further: digital objects respond to, and interact with, the physical surroundings.
- 360-degree video and haptic technology belong to the same wider family.
- India’s immersive-tech market is projected to grow by about 29.8% a year, to roughly USD 7.8 billion by 2030.
- On the policy side, the AVGC-XR sector covers animation, VFX, gaming, comics and XR, and the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies is in Mumbai. Budget 2026–27 earmarked ₹250 crore to set up AVGC content-creation labs across 15,000 schools and 500 colleges.
What UPSC can ask
- Definitions: the exact line between AR and MR is a favourite trap. AR overlays content; MR makes the content interact with the real world.
- Institutions: CSIR organises ESTIC, and IICT Mumbai is the national centre of excellence for creative technology.
- Uses: be ready with examples from education, health training and tourism for GS3 answers on emerging technology.
Syllabus link: GS3 – Science & technology: developments and their applications; IT. See getmented.com/upsc-syllabus
Full list: forms of Extended Reality
| Term | What it does |
|---|---|
| Virtual Reality (VR) | Fully digital surroundings that replace the real view |
| Augmented Reality (AR) | Digital overlay on the real world, which stays visible |
| Mixed Reality (MR) | Digital objects that interact with real surroundings |
| Extended Reality (XR) | Umbrella term covering VR, AR and MR |
Source: PIB Backgrounder, 26 October 2026.
In the syllabus: Mains GS Paper 3: Awareness in IT, Space, Robotics, Nano/Biotechnology and Intellectual Property Rights
Past UPSC questions on this topic
UPSC Prelims 2026
Consider the following statements relating to the use of the place-value system in India:
1. The earliest epigraphic use of the place-value system in India is found in the Mankani plates from Gujarat (AD 595–596).
2. In the ninth century, place-values become general in inscriptions all over India.
3. The place-values have been found in Sanskrit inscriptions in South-east Asia as early as the seventh century.
Which of the statements given above are correct?UPSC Prelims 2026
Consider the following assertion:
The genesis of political alliances based on community lay in the very nature of the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms, 1919.
Which of the following statements support/supports the above assertion?
1. Reforms retained and extended the principle of separate electorates.
2. Separate electorates were supposed to counter Indian nationalism, which was growing stronger.
3. Deprived classes rallied around the favours inherent in separate electorates.
Select the answer using the code given below:UPSC Prelims 2026
Which of the following statements with regard to genetic medicine is/are correct?
1. Genetic medicines correct/compensate for the faulty genes responsible for disease.
2. Engineered viruses and lipid nanoparticles are used as carriers of the genetic medicine.
3. Genetic medicines alter the entire DNA sequence.
Select the answer using the code given below:UPSC Prelims 2026
Which of the following statements with regard to Large Language Models (LLMs) used in machine learning is/are correct?
1. LLMs assign probabilities to the next possible words and then pick the one with the highest probability.
2. LLMs process data through mathematical optimization to minimise prediction errors.
3. LLMs produce unbiased outputs.
Select the answer using the code given below:UPSC Prelims 2026
Which of the following statements with regard to stealth technology is/are correct?
1. Stealth objects have a very small radar cross-section and are coated with Radar Absorbing Material.
2. Stealth objects can be detected using specific frequencies.
3. Stealth objects are coated with metamaterials to increase the scattering of electromagnetic radiation.
Select the answer using the code given below: