Minimalist IAS
Economy & social development

Prelims · Economy & social development · 32 questions

Industry, infrastructure & investment

Every UPSC Prelims question on this topic, 2016–2026, newest first. Tap an option to check yourself; the answer and explanation open below it.

Industry, infrastructure & investment questions per year: 2016: 1, 2017: 5, 2018: 0, 2019: 1, 2020: 1, 2021: 0, 2022: 2, 2023: 2, 2024: 2, 2025: 2, 2026: 4 Asked in 9 of 11 years · most in 2017 (5)

Practising Economy & social development? Take it as timed sets of 25 →

UPSC syllabus: “Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.” Sub-topics in the detailed syllabus →

निम्नलिखित प्रकार के वाहनों पर विचार कीजिए :

  1. I.पूर्ण बैटरी विद्युत् वाहन
  2. II.हाइड्रोजन ईंधन सेल वाहन
  3. III.ईंधन सेल-विद्युत् हाइब्रिड वाहन

उपर्युक्त में से कितने वैकल्पिक पॉवरट्रेन वाहन माने जाते हैं?

Read this question in English

Consider the following types of vehicles:

I. Full battery electric vehicles

II. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles

III. Fuel cell-electric hybrid vehicles

How many of the above are considered as alternative powertrain vehicles?

(a) Only one · (b) Only two · (c) All the three · (d) None

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (c) सभी तीन

An alternative powertrain vehicle is one driven by something other than a conventional internal combustion engine running on petrol or diesel. Battery-electric cars, hydrogen fuel-cell cars and fuel-cell hybrids that pair a fuel cell with an electric drive all fit, so all three are alternative powertrain vehicles.

  • ✓ I A full battery electric vehicle has a battery charged from the grid and always operates in all-electric mode (US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center); the World Bank lists battery electric vehicles among the alternative technologies countries are adopting.
  • ✓ II A hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle is powered by hydrogen and produces no harmful tailpipe pollutants, unlike a conventional internal combustion engine vehicle; the World Bank treats it as another alternative to battery-powered vehicles.
  • ✓ III A fuel cell-electric hybrid is built around a fuel cell supplying an electric motor, with a battery storing braking energy (US DOE), so it too replaces the conventional engine and counts as an alternative powertrain.

Remember · Alternative powertrains replace the conventional petrol/diesel engine: battery electric, hydrogen fuel cell and fuel cell-electric hybrid vehicles all count.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2025, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिए :

  1. I.भारतीय रेलवे ने 2028 तक ‘भविष्य के लिए तैयार’ रेलवे प्रणाली सृजित करने हेतु एक राष्ट्रीय रेल प्लान (NRP) तैयार किया है।
  2. II.‘कवच (Kavach)’ जर्मनी के सहयोग से विकसित एक स्वचालित ट्रेन सुरक्षा प्रणाली है।
  3. III.‘कवच (Kavach)’ प्रणाली में स्टेशन सेक्शन के ट्रैक पर लगे हुए RFID टैग होते हैं।

उपर्युक्त कथनों में कौन-कौन से सही नहीं हैं?

Read this question in English

Consider the following statements:

I. Indian Railways have prepared a National Rail Plan (NRP) to create a 'future ready' railway system by 2028.

II. 'Kavach' is an Automatic Train Protection system developed in collaboration with Germany.

III. 'Kavach' system consists of RFID tags fitted on track in station section.

Which of the statements given above are not correct?

(a) I and II only · (b) II and III only · (c) I and III only · (d) I, II and III

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (a) केवल I और II

Statements I and II are wrong, so they are the ones that are not correct. The National Rail Plan aims at a 'future ready' system by 2030, not 2028, and Kavach is an indigenously developed system, not one built with Germany. Only Statement III, about RFID tags on the track, is correct.

  • ✗ I Indian Railways' National Rail Plan is titled 'for India – 2030' and targets a future-ready railway system by 2030, not 2028.
  • ✗ II Kavach is described by the Ministry of Railways as an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection system; it was not developed in collaboration with Germany.
  • ✓ III Kavach uses RFID tags laid along the track, including station sections, so the train's exact position can be tracked. This statement is correct, so it is not part of the answer.

Remember · National Rail Plan: future-ready railway system by 2030. Kavach: indigenous Automatic Train Protection system using track-side RFID tags.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2025, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

The Syllabus X-Ray of this topic

3 of its 8 sub-topics are Core

3 Core · 0 High · 1 Steady · 4 Rare

  • Core #39Infrastructure: transport, power & logistics · 7 questions
  • Core #56Business models, standards & commodity boards · 6 questions
  • Core #58Industrial policy, MSMEs & manufacturing · 6 questions

The X-Ray ranks all 928 sub-topics of the UPSC syllabus by what UPSC has asked since 2016. The 60 Prelims Core sub-topics are behind 51% of Prelims questions.

See the whole X-Ray →

The same topic in Mains