Government schemes & initiatives

Answer: (d) 3 only

RAD is the NMSA component for rainfed areas. It takes an area-based, 'watershed plus' approach and promotes integrated farming systems that combine crops with horticulture, livestock, fisheries and forestry, so that farm incomes rise and the risk from erratic rainfall is spread. It works against monoculture and has nothing to do with irrigated rice.

• ✗ 1. RAD pushes diversification by integrating several farm enterprises; monoculture would increase, not reduce, the climate risk in rainfed areas.
• ✗ 2. RAD is meant for rainfed areas; expanding rice in irrigated regions is outside its scope.
• ✓ 3. RAD introduces integrated farming systems with crops, horticulture, livestock, fishery and forestry, plus soil-health-based nutrient management, to raise productivity and cushion climatic risk.

Remember · NMSA (one of 8 NAPCC missions) components: RAD, Soil Health Management, Sub-Mission on Agroforestry, National Bamboo Mission, CCSAMMN. RAD = integrated farming in a 'watershed plus' framework.

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

Answer: (b) 1 and 2

Take the three statements as given and ask how they connect. Statement II reports results showing the port-led approach in statement I is working, and statement III continues the programme in its newer phase, so relationships 1 and 2 hold. Statement I does not contradict III, so relationship 3 fails.

• ✓ 1. Statement II gives outcomes for the strategy in statement I. Official figures show coastal shipping cargo nearly doubling from 87 to 165 million tonnes, and 9 Indian ports among the world's top 100.
• ✓ 2. Sagarmala 2.0 is the programme's next phase, with an outlay of Rs 85,482 crore. It carries forward the port-led goals of statement I, which is an extension and not a change of direction.
• ✗ 3. Statement I is not limited to traditional infrastructure: the programme focuses on cutting logistics costs through smarter, greener transport networks. I and III are complementary, so there is no contradiction.

Remember · Sagarmala: port-led development to cut logistics costs and boost trade; Sagarmala 2.0 (outlay Rs 85,482 crore) is its next phase. Check whether statements support, extend or contradict.

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

Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only

Green hydrogen is made by splitting water with electricity from renewable sources. Hydrogen made from natural gas or coal with carbon capture is a different colour, blue hydrogen. The National Green Hydrogen Mission does list nearly 50 MMT of annual greenhouse gas abatement among its targets.

• ✗ 1. Hydrogen from natural gas or coal combined with carbon capture (CCS/CCU) is blue hydrogen, not green.
• ✓ 2. Electrolysis of water run on renewable electricity is the definition of green hydrogen; its carbon intensity depends on how clean the power is.
• ✓ 3. The Mission's stated outcomes for 2030 include abatement of nearly 50 MMT of annual greenhouse gas emissions, alongside 5 MMT a year of green hydrogen capacity.

Remember · Green = electrolysis + renewable power. Blue = fossil gas/coal + carbon capture. Grey = fossil gas/coal without capture. NGHM 2030: 5 MMT/yr, about 50 MMT emissions abated.

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

Answer: (c) 1 and 2 only

IN-SPACe is the autonomous single-window agency that authorises and promotes private space activity, and Agnikul's Agnibaan SOrTeD (May 2024) was the first flight with a single-piece 3D-printed engine. Skyroot Aerospace is known for its own Vikram launch vehicles; no official record shows it developing liquid fuel for GSLV, which is an ISRO rocket.

• ✓ 1. IN-SPACe acts as an autonomous single-window agency to authorise and promote space activities by government entities and non-government entities.
• ✓ 2. Agnikul's Agnibaan SOrTeD, launched from Sriharikota on 30 May 2024, was the world's first rocket flight with a single-piece 3D-printed engine.
• ✗ 3. Skyroot Aerospace's own work is the Vikram series of launch vehicles; GSLV is ISRO's vehicle, and we found no official statement that Skyroot developed fuel for it.

Remember · IN-SPACe = single-window regulator and promoter for private space. Agnikul: first flight with a single-piece 3D-printed engine (2024). Skyroot: Vikram rockets, India's first private orbital vehicle.

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

Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only

GenomeIndia is India's own national genomics project, funded by the Department of Biotechnology, and its main goal is a catalogue of genetic variation across the Indian population. It is not a component of the Human Genome Project, which was a separate international effort completed in 2003.

• ✗ 1. The Human Genome Project was an international effort carried out from 1990 to 2003. GenomeIndia is a separate national initiative of 20 Indian institutions, not a part of it.
• ✓ 2. GenomeIndia is funded by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology.
• ✓ 3. Its primary objective is a comprehensive catalogue of genetic variations reflecting the diversity of the Indian population; whole-genome sequencing of 10,000 samples has been completed towards it.

Remember · GenomeIndia = DBT-funded national project cataloguing Indian genetic variation; data released January 2025 through the Indian Biological Data Centre. Not part of the 1990–2003 Human Genome Project.

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

Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2

Both statements match the Cabinet-approved design of the National Quantum Mission: quantum computers of 50–1000 physical qubits within eight years, and four Thematic Hubs at leading academic and national R&D institutes.

• ✓ 1. The Mission targets intermediate-scale quantum computers with 50–1000 physical qubits in 8 years, on platforms such as superconducting and photonic technology.
• ✓ 2. Four T-Hubs are to be set up in top academic and national R&D institutes: quantum computing, quantum communication, quantum sensing and metrology, and quantum materials and devices.

Remember · NQM (2023, eight years): 50–1000 qubit machines; four T-Hubs (computing, communication, sensing & metrology, materials & devices); run by the Department of Science and Technology.

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

Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only

The Deep Ocean Mission belongs to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, not the Ports ministry. Samudrayaan is its manned-submersible project, and the submersible Matsya-6000 carries three people.

• ✗ 1. The Deep Ocean Mission was launched on 7 September 2021 by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), not the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
• ✓ 2. Matsya-6000 is a self-propelled manned submersible designed to carry three people to depths of up to 6,000 metres.
• ✓ 3. Samudrayaan was launched under the umbrella of the Deep Ocean Mission as its first component, deep-sea exploration with a manned submersible.

Remember · Deep Ocean Mission: Ministry of Earth Sciences, launched 2021. Samudrayaan = manned submersible project; Matsya-6000 carries 3 people to 6,000 m (built by NIOT).

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

Answer: (b) 2 only

Only the Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan statement is correct. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act was enacted in 2016, not 2018, and the disability finance corporation was set up by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, not the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

• ✗ 1. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act was enacted in 2016 and came into force in April 2017. The description of its contents is right, but the year 2018 is wrong.
• ✓ 2. The Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) provides accessibility features in three verticals: the built-up environment, the transportation sector and the ICT ecosystem.
• ✗ 3. The corporation (earlier called the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation) was set up by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in 1997 as a not-for-profit company under the Companies Act; the Ministry of Corporate Affairs did not set it up.

Remember · RPwD Act = 2016 (in force April 2017). Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan (Dec 2015): built environment, transport, ICT. NDFDC belongs to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (DEPwD).

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

Answer: (a) 1, 2 and 3

Prime Minister Modi announced Mission Sudarshan Chakra in his 15 August 2025 address as a defence shield with offensive and deterrent strength. Its stated aims are rapid, precise and powerful defence responses that reinforce strategic autonomy, and a nationwide security shield over all public places by 2035. The Defence Minister has described it as a multi-level missile defence system.

• ✓ 1. The Mission is meant to strengthen India's offensive and deterrent capabilities and neutralise enemy defence infiltrations; the Defence Minister calls it a multi-level missile defence system.
• ✓ 2. The official summary says the initiative is designed to enhance rapid, precise and powerful defence responses, reinforcing India's strategic autonomy.
• ✓ 3. The official summary says all public places will be covered by an expanded nationwide security shield by 2035.

Remember · Mission Sudarshan Chakra (announced 15 Aug 2025): multi-level missile defence with offensive strength, strategic autonomy, and a nationwide shield covering public places by 2035.

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

Answer: (c) To break the dominance of large e-commerce platforms by enabling interoperability across networks

ONDC is a government-backed open network under DPIIT. Its first stated objective is to break the dominance of large e-commerce platforms by letting buyers and sellers on different platforms transact through interoperable networks. It does not centralise control, replace private platforms or mandate a payment mode.

• ✓ (c) This is how PIB lists ONDC’s objective under ‘Democratization of Commerce’; the other stated objectives are inclusivity, lower costs and market expansion.
• ✗ (a) Government control over transactions is not among the objectives; ONDC aims to open up commerce, not control it.
• ✗ (b) The aim is interoperability across networks, not replacing private platforms.
• ✗ (d) Mandating UPI is not among the listed objectives.

Remember · ONDC = open, interoperable network to reduce the dominance of a few large e-commerce platforms; it lowers entry barriers for small sellers.

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

Answer: (a) 1 and 3 only

Statements 1 and 3 are correct: REEs feed high-technology products such as magnets for EVs and wind turbines, and the National Critical Mineral Mission was launched in 2025. Statement 2 is wrong because China leads mining by a huge margin but India is far behind several other countries, and statement 4 is wrong because there are 17 rare earth elements, not 13.

• ✓ 1. Rare earth magnets are central to electric mobility, renewable energy, electronics and defence applications, and REEs such as dysprosium and neodymium go into wind-turbine magnets.
• ✗ 2. USGS shows China far ahead in 2025 mine production (270,000 tonnes REO), but India (2,900 tonnes) is well behind the United States (51,000), Australia, Burma and Thailand, so India is not second.
• ✓ 3. PIB records that the Government of India launched the NCMM in 2025 to build a robust framework for self-reliance in critical minerals (Cabinet approval was on 29 January 2025).
• ✗ 4. A Ministry of Mines/DAE reply in the Lok Sabha notes that REE has 17 elements, not 13.

Remember · There are 17 rare earth elements (15 lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium). NCMM was launched in 2025. China dominates mining; India is a minor producer.

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

Answer: (c) Both I and II

The Rashtriya Gokul Mission, run by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying since December 2014, exists to develop and conserve indigenous cattle and buffalo breeds on scientific lines. The Department itself says it matters for the rural poor because more than 80% of low-yielding indigenous animals belong to small and marginal farmers and landless labourers.

• ✓ I The Department describes the scheme as crucial for the rural poor, since more than 80% of the low-producing indigenous animals are with small and marginal farmers and landless labourers.
• ✓ II It was launched in December 2014 to develop and conserve indigenous bovine breeds scientifically, alongside genetic upgradation and higher milk productivity.

Remember · Rashtriya Gokul Mission (Dec 2014, Dept of Animal Husbandry and Dairying): conserve and develop indigenous cattle and buffalo breeds; realigned 2021–22 to 2025–26.

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 · Report an error

Answer: (d) I, II and III

All three statements match the Ministry's own guidelines for the scheme. The programme aims at one crore residential rooftop solar installations, MNRE plans grass-root training in installing, operating, maintaining and repairing rooftop systems, and the capacity-building component targets more than 3 lakh skilled workers.

• ✓ I The first key objective of the programme is to achieve 1 crore rooftop solar system installations in the residential sector.
• ✓ II The Capacity Building guidelines say MNRE intends to train technicians, electricians, installers and others in installation, operation, maintenance and repair of rooftop solar systems at grass-root level.
• ✓ III The capacity-building component aims to create more than 3 lakh skilled workers through fresh skilling and up-skilling, of whom at least 1 lakh are to be solar PV technicians.

Remember · PM Surya Ghar (approved 29 Feb 2024): one crore rooftop solar installations in homes; capacity building targets 3 lakh+ skilled workers, at least 1 lakh solar PV technicians.

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 · Report an error

Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only

A greenfield airport is built on a fresh site. Donyi Polo (Hollongi, Itanagar) and Kushinagar are among the greenfield airports approved under the Greenfield Airports Policy and operationalised in recent years. Vijayawada is an older Airports Authority of India airport at Gannavaram that has been expanded with a new terminal, which makes it a brownfield upgrade.

• ✓ 1. Donyi Polo Airport is the greenfield airport at Hollongi, Itanagar; the Union Cabinet approved the name in November 2022.
• ✓ 2. Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh is one of the greenfield airports given 'in-principle' approval and later operationalised, as an international airport.
• ✗ 3. Vijayawada is an existing AAI airport at Gannavaram; it is not on the list of 21 approved greenfield airports. Recent work there is a new integrated terminal building at the old site.

Remember · Greenfield = new site. Recent greenfield airports include Donyi Polo (Itanagar), Kushinagar, Mopa, Shivamogga, Sindhudurg, Kalaburagi, Orvakal.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2024, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

All three statements are correct. The Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP) is a Central Sector Scheme funded fully by the Centre since 1 April 2016. Digitising cadastral maps is one of its components, and the Government has begun transliterating Records of Rights from local languages into any of the 22 Schedule VIII languages.

• ✓ 1. DILRMP was revamped from the earlier National Land Records Modernization Programme into a Central Sector Scheme with 100% Central Government funding from 1 April 2016.
• ✓ 2. The computerisation of land records under DILRMP includes digitisation of cadastral maps and their integration with the textual Records of Rights.
• ✓ 3. With technical support from C-DAC Pune, the Government has undertaken an initiative to transliterate Records of Rights from the local language into any of the 22 Schedule VIII languages of the Constitution.

Remember · DILRMP: Central Sector Scheme, 100% Central funding since 1 April 2016; components include cadastral map digitisation; Records of Rights are being transliterated into Schedule VIII languages.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2024, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) 2 only

Only statement 2 is correct: PMSMA encourages private doctors to volunteer at government health facilities. Statement 1 goes wrong because PMSMA is an antenatal (before-birth) care programme run at designated government facilities; it has no six-month post-delivery package.

• ✗ 1. PMSMA guarantees a minimum antenatal package for women in the 2nd/3rd trimesters at designated government facilities, on the 9th of every month. Post-delivery care for six months is not part of it, and it is not offered at any government facility.
• ✓ 2. The programme has a systematic approach to engage the private sector, motivating private practitioners to volunteer for the campaign at government health facilities.

Remember · PMSMA (2016): free antenatal check-up on the 9th of every month for 2nd/3rd-trimester women at designated government facilities; private doctors volunteer.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2024, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only

Statements 2 and 3 are correct: PM-SYM is a contributory pension scheme for unorganised workers that assures ₹ 3,000 a month from age 60. The entry age is 18 to 40 years, not 21 to 40, and family pension goes only to the spouse.

• ✗ 1. Workers aged 18 to 40 years, earning ₹ 15,000 a month or less, can enrol. The lower limit is 18, not 21.
• ✓ 2. It is a voluntary, contributory scheme on a 50:50 basis: the worker pays an age-specific amount and the Central Government matches it.
• ✓ 3. Each subscriber receives a minimum assured pension of ₹ 3,000 per month after turning 60.
• ✗ 4. If the pensioner dies, the spouse receives 50% of the pension as family pension. It is applicable only to the spouse, not to unmarried daughters.

Remember · PM-SYM (2019): unorganised workers aged 18–40, income up to ₹ 15,000; 50:50 contribution; ₹ 3,000 monthly pension from 60; family pension only to spouse (50%).

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2024, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) Only two

Only statements 2 and 3 are correct. Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) is a centrally sponsored safe motherhood scheme under the National Health Mission that promotes institutional delivery among poor pregnant women to cut maternal and newborn deaths. Free care for sick infants comes from a different scheme, JSSK.

• ✗ 1. The Health Ministry describes JSY as a safe motherhood intervention under the National Health Mission and as a centrally sponsored scheme, not a scheme of the State Health Departments.
• ✓ 2. Reducing maternal and neonatal mortality is the stated objective of JSY, which targets poor pregnant women.
• ✓ 3. JSY pursues that objective by promoting institutional delivery, with cash assistance linked to delivery and post-delivery care, and ASHA workers as the link to pregnant women.
• ✗ 4. Treatment of sick newborns and infants up to one year in public health institutions, free of charge, is the job of Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK, 2011), not JSY.

Remember · JSY (2005): centrally sponsored, under NHM, cash aid to poor women for institutional delivery. Sick infants up to one year are covered by JSSK, a separate scheme.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) Only three

Statements 2, 3 and 4 are correct; statement 1 is wrong. Anaemia Mukt Bharat supplies prophylactic iron and folic acid, not calcium, and adds deworming, a behaviour-change campaign that includes delayed cord clamping, and action on non-nutritional causes such as malaria, haemoglobinopathies and fluorosis.

• ✗ 1. The first of the six interventions is prophylactic Iron Folic Acid supplementation (for example, 60 mg iron plus 500 mcg folic acid tablets for pregnant women). Calcium supplementation is not part of it.
• ✓ 2. The year-round Behaviour Change Communication campaign includes promoting the practice of delayed cord clamping.
• ✓ 3. Periodic deworming runs through National Deworming Day, with mass deworming of children and adolescents aged 1 to 19 years twice a year, on 10 February and 10 August.
• ✓ 4. The strategy includes awareness, screening and treatment of non-nutritional causes of anaemia in endemic pockets, with special focus on malaria, haemoglobinopathies and fluorosis.

Remember · Anaemia Mukt Bharat's six interventions: iron-folic acid, deworming, behaviour-change (incl. delayed cord clamping), testing and treatment, fortified foods, non-nutritional causes. No calcium.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) All three

All three statements are correct. Green hydrogen is hydrogen made by splitting water with renewable electricity, and it is chemically the same fuel as any other hydrogen: it can burn in an engine, be mixed into natural gas, or feed a fuel cell.

• ✓ 1. Hydrogen internal combustion engines are in use: India's pilot projects under the National Green Hydrogen Mission include 22 hydrogen internal-combustion vehicles.
• ✓ 2. Hydrogen is already being blended into gas networks in India, for example up to 8% by volume in a piped natural gas network in Surat, for use as fuel.
• ✓ 3. Hydrogen fuel cells power vehicles; the same pilot projects include 15 fuel-cell vehicles, and hydrogen fuel-cell buses already run in Leh and Greater Noida.

Remember · Green hydrogen (made by electrolysis with renewable power) works as engine fuel, as a blend in natural gas, and in fuel cells for vehicles.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I

Both statements are true, and they are connected. National Handloom Day is observed on 7 August because that date marks the anniversary of the Swadeshi Movement of 1905, which urged Indians to boycott foreign goods and use Indian-made ones.

• ✓ Statement-I 7 August is observed as National Handloom Day. It was first celebrated in 2015, when the Prime Minister inaugurated it in Chennai.
• ✓ Statement-II The Swadeshi Movement of 1905 was launched on 7 August, the very day now kept as National Handloom Day. The Ministry of Textiles chose the date to mark that anniversary, so Statement-II explains Statement-I; the movement urged people to boycott foreign goods and back Indian-made ones.

Remember · National Handloom Day is 7 August, first observed in 2015. The date honours the Swadeshi Movement of 1905, launched on 7 August.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 2 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

Statement-I is wrong: India's share of world merchandise (goods) exports in 2022 was 1.8%, not 3.2%. Statement-II is correct: both Indian and foreign firms have been approved for incentives under the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.

• ✗ Statement-I The WTO's World Trade Statistical Review 2023 ranks India 18th among merchandise exporters in 2022, with exports of about US$ 453 billion, a 1.8% share of world exports. The figure of 3.2% does not match.
• ✓ Statement-II The PLI scheme for large-scale electronics manufacturing drew foreign players such as Foxconn, Samsung, Pegatron and Wistron, and domestic firms such as Lava, Micromax, Optiemus and Padget Electronics.

Remember · India's share of world goods exports in 2022 was 1.8% (18th largest exporter, WTO). PLI incentives have gone to both domestic and global manufacturers.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) Only two

Only pairs 1 and 3 are correct. The Arjuna Award rewards good performance over the previous four years, not lifetime achievement, and the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar goes to corporate entities, sports bodies and NGOs, not to retired sportspersons.

• ✓ 1. The Khel Ratna, the highest sports honour, rewards a sportsperson whose performance has been spectacular and among the very best across the four years before the award.
• ✗ 2. The Arjuna Award rewards good performance across the previous four years, along with leadership, sportsmanship and discipline. Lifetime achievement is honoured by the Dhyan Chand Award.
• ✓ 3. The Dronacharya Award honours coaches whose consistent and meritorious work has helped their trainees perform well at international events.
• ✗ 4. The Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar is given to corporate entities, sports control boards and NGOs (including sports bodies) that have played a visible role in promoting sports. Honouring sportspersons for what they do after retirement belongs to the Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime achievement.

Remember · Khel Ratna and Arjuna: performance over the previous four years. Dronacharya: coaches. Dhyan Chand Award: lifetime achievement. Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar: corporates, sports bodies and NGOs.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) 3 only

The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), launched in September 2021, builds a digital backbone so health records can move with a patient anywhere in India. The government describes it as voluntary, so neither hospitals nor citizens are compelled to join; only the portability statement holds.

• ✗ 1. ABDM is voluntary. Hospitals, clinics and labs, public or private, choose to register on the Health Facility Registry; nothing makes adoption compulsory.
• ✗ 2. Creating an ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) number is a citizen's choice. The mission encourages enrolment through awareness drives but does not require every citizen to be part of it.
• ✓ 3. The ABHA number and linked records are designed to work across providers and states, so a patient can share records and get care seamlessly wherever they are.

Remember · ABDM (2021, run by the National Health Authority): voluntary, consent-based digital health ecosystem; ABHA number gives each person a portable, interoperable health record.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

All four are parts of India's digital public infrastructure (the 'India Stack') and are built on open-source software that the government offers to other countries: DIKSHA on the Sunbird platform, DigiLocker on an open-source stack, Aarogya Setu's code published on OpenForge and GitHub, and CoWIN's certificates on the open-source DIVOC building block.

• ✓ 1. The National Informatics Centre released Aarogya Setu's source code in 2020; its Android, iOS/KaiOS and backend code is hosted on the government's OpenForge platform.
• ✓ 2. At the CoWIN Global Conclave on 5 July 2021 the Prime Minister announced that the CoWIN platform was being made open source and offered to any country; its certificates use the open-source DIVOC building block.
• ✓ 3. MeitY's India Stack portal states that DigiLocker is developed on an open-source stack whose components can be shared with other countries.
• ✓ 4. DIKSHA, NCERT's national platform for school education, is built on Sunbird, a free and open-source platform.

Remember · India Stack (digital public goods): Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, CoWIN, Aarogya Setu, DIKSHA (built on Sunbird) — open-source, interoperable, offered to other countries.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) Neither 1 nor 2

UPSC's key treats both statements as wrong. The India Sanitation Coalition is a multi-stakeholder platform launched at FICCI in 2015; the National Institute of Urban Affairs is an autonomous body of the Ministry, not an apex body of it.

• ✗ 1. The coalition was launched in June 2015 at FICCI (the industry chamber) and brings many organisations onto one platform for sanitation. UPSC's key marks this statement incorrect; we could not confirm the funding detail from an official source, so we do not explain it here.
• ✗ 2. NIUA describes itself as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs — a research and capacity-building institute, registered as a society, that the Ministry funds and works with. It is not an 'apex body of the Ministry': the Ministry has no apex body, and NIUA's advisory role to the Government does not make it one, so UPSC's key marks the statement wrong.

Remember · India Sanitation Coalition: FICCI-hosted, multi-stakeholder platform (2015). NIUA: autonomous research institute of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (est. 1976), not a department.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) 2 only

Only statement 2 is correct: Cochin International Airport in Kerala was the world's first fully solar powered airport. In the exam year the largest solar park was Bhadla in Rajasthan, not a Gujarat park, and Goa did not host India's largest floating solar project.

• ✗ 1. The Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan has a total capacity of 2,245 MW, which made it the largest operating solar park in India when this question was set.
• ✓ 2. UNEP calls Cochin International Airport, in Kerala, the world's first solar powered airport.
• ✗ 3. In the exam year (2022) India's largest floating solar project was NTPC's 100 MW plant at Ramagundam in Telangana, which the Ministry of Power announced as fully operational on 1 July 2022. It is not in Goa.
• • Since then A Central Electricity Authority report of September 2025 shows Gujarat's planned solar-park capacity (12,150 MW, including the Khavda parks) now above Rajasthan's (11,355 MW). The answer for 2022 is unchanged.

Remember · Bhadla (Rajasthan, 2,245 MW) was India's largest operating solar park in 2022; Cochin Airport (Kerala) is the world's first fully solar powered airport.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

WaterCredit is a loan programme created by the non-profit Water.org, not by the WHO or the World Bank. It works with local lenders so that poor households can borrow small sums for a tap connection or toilet and repay over time, instead of waiting for subsidies or charity.

• ✓ 1. Water.org describes WaterCredit as the first programme to apply microfinance to water and sanitation, through partner financial institutions that add such loans to their offerings.
• ✗ 2. The initiative was created by Water.org, a non-governmental organisation; it is not a WHO or World Bank programme.
• ✓ 3. Its premise is that poor families already spend heavily on water and, given affordable credit, will pay for lasting household solutions themselves, a market-based route rather than a subsidy.

Remember · WaterCredit = Water.org's microloan model for household water and toilets; market-driven, repaid by borrowers, not a WHO/World Bank subsidy scheme.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) Ministry of Tribal Affairs

Section 11 of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 names the Central Government's Ministry dealing with Tribal Affairs as the nodal agency for implementing the Act. So it is the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, not the environment ministry, even though the Act concerns forest land.

• ✓ (d) The Act itself makes the Ministry of the Central Government dealing with Tribal Affairs the nodal agency for its implementation.
• ✗ (a) The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change manages forest and wildlife laws, and it is the tempting wrong answer. It is not the nodal agency for this Act.
• ✗ (b) The Ministry of Panchayati Raj deals with local-government institutions, not the Forest Rights Act.
• ✗ (c) The Ministry of Rural Development runs rural livelihood and housing schemes, not this Act.

Remember · Forest Rights Act, 2006: Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the nodal agency (Section 11); Gram Sabha starts the recognition of rights.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 4 only

Only statement 3 is wrong. MPLADS money is non-lapsable: whatever is left with the district, or not released by the Centre in a year, is carried forward. The scheme's other rules are as stated — durable community assets, a fixed share for SC and ST areas, and inspection of at least 10% of works by the district authority.

• ✓ 1. The scheme lets MPs recommend developmental works with the emphasis on creating durable community assets such as drinking water, education, health and sanitation infrastructure.
• ✓ 2. The guidelines earmark at least 15% of each MP's annual fund for works in areas inhabited by Scheduled Castes and 7.5% for areas inhabited by Scheduled Tribes.
• ✗ 3. MPLADS funds are non-lapsable. Money left with the district is carried forward to later years, and funds not released by the Centre in a year are released in subsequent years.
• ✓ 4. The district authority supervises the works and must inspect at least 10% of the works under implementation every year, involving MPs where feasible.

Remember · MPLADS (1993, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation): durable community assets; funds non-lapsable; 15% SC areas, 7.5% ST areas; district authority inspects at least 10% of works a year.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2020, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error