Government schemes & initiatives

Answer: (a) 1, 2, 5 and 6 only

The National Policy on Biofuels (2018) allows ethanol to be made from cassava, sugar beet, rotten potatoes and damaged food grains such as wheat that are unfit for human consumption. Groundnut and horse gram are edible crops, and the policy's biodiesel route is limited to non-edible oils.

• ✓ 1. The policy names cassava among the starch-containing materials for bioethanol.
• ✓ 2. It lists damaged food grains like wheat and broken rice that are unfit for human consumption as ethanol feedstock.
• ✗ 3. Groundnut is an edible oilseed; the policy's biodiesel feedstock is non-edible vegetable oil, acid oil, used cooking oil or animal fat.
• ✗ 4. Horse gram is a food pulse and is not named as a biofuel raw material.
• ✓ 5. Rotten potatoes are listed among the starch-containing materials.
• ✓ 6. Sugar beet is named among the sugar-containing materials, along with sugar cane and sweet sorghum.

Remember · Biofuel policy feedstock: sugar (cane, beet, sweet sorghum), starch (corn, cassava, rotten potato), unfit food grains for ethanol; non-edible oils and used cooking oil for biodiesel.

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

Answer: (d) Neither 1 nor 2

Neither statement is correct. A solar panel only supplies electricity, so it can drive any suitable motor-pump: the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy's own specification lists both surface and submersible pump sets for solar water pumping, and piston (positive-displacement) pumps can be powered too.

• ✗ 1. MNRE's specification says solar photovoltaic water pumping systems may use a surface mono-set or a submersible motor-pump set.
• ✗ 2. MNRE's PM-KUSUM material names two types of solar water pump, centrifugal and positive displacement, and MNRE has a separate specification for solar pumping systems with positive-displacement pumps. Solar power is not limited to centrifugal pumps.

Remember · Solar pumps are just electric pumps fed by panels: surface or submersible, AC or DC, centrifugal or positive-displacement can all be used.

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Answer: (c) NITI Aayog

The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) was created in 2016 within NITI Aayog to build a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, from school tinkering labs to start-up incubators.

• ✓ (c) AIM describes itself as 'Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog', set up in 2016; its best-known programmes are Atal Tinkering Labs in schools and Atal Incubation Centres.
• ✗ (a) The Department of Science and Technology runs its own innovation schemes (such as NIDHI), but AIM is not housed there.
• ✗ (d) The Skill Development ministry handles skilling schemes such as PMKVY; the word 'entrepreneurship' in its name is the trap.

Remember · Atal Innovation Mission (2016) sits in NITI Aayog: Atal Tinkering Labs (schools), Atal Incubation Centres, Atal New India Challenges.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, 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

The Aadhaar Act, 2016 settles both. Section 9 says an Aadhaar number is not proof of citizenship or domicile, and Section 23(2)(g) empowers the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to omit and deactivate Aadhaar numbers as specified by regulations.

• ✗ 1. Aadhaar is a proof of identity (and, for residents, of address), but Section 9 expressly says it confers no right of, and is no proof of, citizenship or domicile.
• ✗ 2. One of UIDAI's statutory functions is 'omitting and deactivating of an Aadhaar number', for example where it was obtained fraudulently, under the manner laid down in its regulations.

Remember · Aadhaar Act, 2016: any resident (182 days in the preceding year) can enrol; the number is identity proof, not citizenship proof (Sec 9); UIDAI can omit or deactivate numbers (Sec 23(2)(g)).

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, 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

An open API is a published, standard way for any software to talk to a service. Because UIDAI publishes its authentication APIs, any device that can build a request in that format (phone, PoS terminal, kiosk, PC) can use Aadhaar, and the service accepts biometric checks by fingerprint or iris as well as OTP.

• ✓ 1. UIDAI chose an API-based approach so that demographic and OTP authentication can start from any device able to create a request as per its API specifications; biometric capture only adds the need for a certified sensor.
• ✓ 2. UIDAI verifies a person online by matching the Aadhaar number with demographic data, OTP or biometrics, and the biometrics accepted include fingerprints, iris and face.

Remember · Aadhaar authentication = online yes/no check against UIDAI's CIDR, using demographic data, OTP, fingerprint, iris or face, through published (open) APIs.

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Answer: (b) 2 only

Under Section 23 of the RTE Act, teacher qualifications are set by an academic authority notified by the Central Government, and that authority is the national body NCTE, not any State council. NCTE's 2010 notification made passing a Teacher Eligibility Test, held as per NCTE guidelines, part of the minimum qualification. Most teacher education institutions are privately run, not State-run.

• ✗ 1. The Centre notified the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) as the academic authority under Section 23; there is no State Council that fixes these minimum qualifications.
• ✓ 2. NCTE's notification of 23 August 2010 requires a teacher for Classes I–VIII to pass the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), conducted by the appropriate government in line with NCTE's guidelines.
• ✗ 3. NCTE recognises government, government-aided and self-financing institutions, and the self-financing (private) ones form the great majority; the Justice Verma Commission (2012) put the private share above 90%.

Remember · RTE Act s.23: NCTE (statutory body under the NCTE Act, 1993) is the academic authority for teacher qualifications; TET is mandatory for Classes I–VIII teachers.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) 1 only

Only statement 1 is correct: the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 folded the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 and several older food orders into one law. FSSAI is an independent statutory authority with its own Chairperson, not a body under the Director General of Health Services.

• ✓ 1. The 2006 Act lists the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 among the laws it repeals, along with orders such as the Fruit Products Order, 1955. This gave India a single law and a single authority for food safety.
• ✗ 2. FSSAI is a statutory authority created by the 2006 Act. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is only its administrative ministry, and the FSSAI Chairperson is in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, so it does not sit under the Director General of Health Services.

Remember · FSS Act, 2006 replaced the PFA Act, 1954 and created FSSAI, a statutory authority whose administrative ministry is the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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Answer: (b) 3 only

Only statement 3 is an aim of Digital India, which is about digital infrastructure, on-demand services and digital empowerment of citizens, including broadband to villages and Wi-Fi at public places. Building Indian rivals to Chinese Internet firms or drawing foreign firms' data centres to India is not among its stated aims.

• ✗ 1. The programme's stated vision is a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy, built on three areas: digital infrastructure as a utility, governance and services on demand, and digital empowerment of citizens. Creating national Internet companies is not one of them.
• ✗ 2. Digital India's official aims do not include a policy framework to pull overseas companies' data centres into India. Its infrastructure work is about broadband, mobile coverage and public access.
• ✓ 3. BharatNet, the backbone of Digital India, aims to take Internet services to every corner of the country, and Digital India also covers public Wi-Fi: BSNL set up hotspots at tourist places such as the Ganga Ghats at Varanasi and the Taj Mahal, and the plan includes Wi-Fi in all universities and broadband in all schools.

Remember · Digital India (launched 1 July 2015) has three vision areas: digital infrastructure as a utility, governance and services on demand, and digital empowerment of citizens.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) 2 and 3 only

Statements 2 and 3 are correct, and statement 1 is wrong. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, not the Ministry of Labour and Employment. Its training centres teach soft skills, entrepreneurship, financial and digital literacy, and its Recognition of Prior Learning part brings the unregulated workforce into the NSQF.

• ✗ 1. PMKVY, launched in 2015, is implemented by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship as its flagship scheme.
• ✓ 2. The PMKVY 2016-20 guidelines say that, apart from NSQF-based training, training centres also impart training in soft skills, entrepreneurship, financial and digital literacy.
• ✓ 3. The same guidelines say the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) component aims to align the competencies of the unregulated workforce with the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).

Remember · PMKVY = flagship scheme of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), launched in 2015; short-term training plus Recognition of Prior Learning, both linked to the NSQF.

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Answer: (a) Certifying the skills acquired by construction workers through traditional channels.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) gives a formal certificate to people who already have a skill learnt on the job or from family, without a formal course. Its first pilot was run for construction workers by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, and it later became a component of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY).

• ✓ (a) The Ministry of Labour and Employment launched an RPL pilot in the construction sector to certify skills that informal workers had picked up through experience or other non-formal channels.
• ✗ (d) RPL is meant for people who were never formally trained; trainees who finish a formal skill course are assessed and certified under that course itself, not under 'prior learning'.
• ✗ (b) RPL has nothing to do with university admission or distance education; it assesses existing workplace skills against national occupational standards.

Remember · RPL = certifying skills already learnt informally (on the job, in the family). Piloted for construction workers; now a component of PMKVY under the Skill Development ministry.

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Answer: (b) 2 only

Smart India Hackathon is a competition, not a scheme or a digitisation target: ministries post real problems and student teams build technology solutions to them. The first edition, SIH 2017, was held on 1–2 April 2017 with 598 problem statements from 29 ministries and departments.

• ✗ 1. The hackathon builds no cities. The centrally sponsored programme for urban renewal is the separate Smart Cities Mission, which covers 100 selected cities, not every city.
• ✓ 2. Its stated aim is to give students a platform to solve pressing everyday problems and to build a culture of product innovation, using problem statements set by government departments.
• ✗ 3. The hackathon sets no target for digital payments; promoting cashless transactions was the work of other initiatives such as Digital India and UPI-based payments.

Remember · Smart India Hackathon (first held 1–2 April 2017): students solve problem statements posted by ministries; a hunt for tech innovations, not a scheme.

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Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only

The National Nutrition Mission (later POSHAN Abhiyaan) targets malnutrition among children, pregnant women and lactating mothers, and sets yearly targets to cut stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia and low birth weight. It works through convergence of schemes and a people's movement for awareness; promoting particular foods such as millets or eggs was not among its stated objectives.

• ✓ 1. The Mission targets the nutrition of children up to 6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers, and involves the public through a Jan Andolan to spread awareness about nutrition.
• ✓ 2. It aims to reduce anaemia among young children, women and adolescent girls by 3% a year, alongside stunting, under-nutrition and low birth weight.
• ✗ 3. Promoting millets, coarse cereals and unpolished rice was not an objective of the Mission as framed; they concern food-grain policy.
• ✗ 4. Encouraging the consumption of poultry eggs was not a stated objective of the Mission.
• • Since then Since then, under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, the guidelines require millets to be served at Anganwadis at least once a week (PIB, 2023).

Remember · National Nutrition Mission / POSHAN Abhiyaan: cut stunting, under-nutrition and low birth weight by 2% a year and anaemia (children, women, adolescent girls) by 3% a year; convergence plus Jan Andolan.

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Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2

The e-National Agriculture Market (e-NAM), launched in 2016, is a pan-India online portal that links regulated mandis. Because buyers across the country can bid on assayed produce, a farmer reaches a nationwide market and better quality can fetch a better price. Both statements are correct.

• ✓ 1. The Union Government launched e-NAM in 2016 as a pan-India online portal connecting mandis and regulated market yards.
• ✓ 2. Linking mandis on one electronic platform lets traders from other markets bid, with quality testing of produce, so farmers get wider access and prices that reflect quality.

Remember · e-NAM (2016): pan-India electronic trading portal networking APMC mandis into a unified national market for farm produce.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Indian Economic Development, Ch 5 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2017, 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

Neither statement is correct. The first APMCHUD was indeed held in New Delhi in December 2006, but its theme was 'A vision for sustainable urbanisation in the Asia-Pacific by 2020'. The conference is biennial and is hosted by different countries, not held annually in India.

• ✗ 1. The inaugural conference met in New Delhi on 13–16 December 2006. Its official theme was 'A vision for sustainable urbanisation in the Asia-Pacific by 2020', not 'Emerging Urban Forms'.
• ✗ 2. The Delhi Declaration of 2006 made it a biennial conference that normally meets every two years, and Iran offered to host the next one. Later editions were held in Solo, Amman, Seoul and New Delhi, so India does not host them all. The statement's partnership with ADB, APEC and ASEAN is also not part of the arrangement.

Remember · APMCHUD: inter-governmental forum for Asia-Pacific housing ministers, launched at New Delhi in December 2006 (theme: sustainable urbanisation by 2020); meets every two years, hosted by different countries.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2017, 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

Neither statement is correct. The National Career Service (NCS) belongs to the Ministry of Labour and Employment, not the Department of Personnel and Training, and it is an employment-service platform for all job seekers, not a scheme aimed at uneducated youth.

• ✗ 1. NCS is a project of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, run through its Directorate General of Employment. It does not belong to the Department of Personnel and Training.
• ✗ 2. Although NCS is indeed a Mission Mode Project, it is meant to transform the National Employment Service into a portal for career counselling, vocational guidance, skill courses, apprenticeships and job matching for all job seekers. It is not restricted to uneducated youth.

Remember · NCS (launched 20 July 2015) is a Mission Mode Project of the Ministry of Labour and Employment that turns employment exchanges into career centres and offers an online job portal.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) 3 only

The Soil Health Card Scheme aims at soil-test-based fertiliser use: each farmer gets a card showing the nutrient status of the soil and the dosages to apply, which discourages overuse. It is not an irrigation scheme and it is not a tool for bank lending.

• ✗ 1. Expanding the area under assured irrigation is the aim of a different scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (launched 2015-16). A soil health card only reports what nutrients the soil has.
• ✗ 2. The card gives nutrient recommendations to the farmer. None of the scheme's stated objectives concerns banks assessing loan amounts from soil quality.
• ✓ 3. The card lets a farmer apply only the recommended dosage of nutrients, and the scheme was designed to correct deficiencies and wasteful fertiliser practices, so it checks overuse.

Remember · Soil Health Card (launched 2015): a soil-test report for each farmer, with crop-wise nutrient advice. It is meant to promote balanced fertiliser use, not irrigation or credit.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) 2 only

Vidyanjali is a school volunteer programme that brings community and private-sector volunteers into government schools to improve the quality of learning. It has nothing to do with foreign university campuses, and it works through volunteers' time, skills and materials, not cash donations.

• ✗ 1. Vidyanjali concerns volunteers in government schools. It has no link to foreign educational institutions opening campuses in India.
• ✓ 2. The programme, launched in June 2016, involves volunteers from different walks of life in government schools and rests on the idea that community engagement improves the quality of learning.
• ✗ 3. The Vidyanjali guidelines define a volunteer's contribution as non-monetary, in the form of service or of assets, materials or equipment. Money is not accepted through the platform.

Remember · Vidyanjali (launched June 2016): a school volunteer programme that brings community and private-sector volunteers into government schools. Contributions are non-monetary.

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Answer: (b) Connecting institutions of higher education with local communities to address development challenges through appropriate technologies.

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan links higher educational institutions with villages so that they use their knowledge to help solve local development problems. Its stated aim is to bring suitable technologies and solutions from institutions to rural communities.

• ✓ (b) The Ministry of HRD (now Education) flagship programme links each participating institution with at least five villages so it can contribute to their economic and social betterment. It also seeks to identify, customise and apply technologies for local needs.
• ✗ (a) UBA is not a literacy campaign and does not centre on voluntary organisations; the partners are higher educational institutions.
• ✗ (c) UBA does not aim at strengthening research institutions as such. It sends knowledge from institutions out to villages.
• ✗ (d) UBA is not a funding scheme for health care and education of the poor. Its channel is higher educational institutions working with adopted villages; skill training is only one of the ways they help.

Remember · Unnat Bharat Abhiyan: higher educational institutions adopt villages (at least five each) and help solve local problems with appropriate technology.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) Providing for financial turnaround and revival of power distribution companies

UDAY (Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana), approved by the Union Cabinet on 5 November 2015, was a rescue-and-reform package for the loss-making State power distribution companies (DISCOMs). Its stated aim was their financial turnaround and revival.

• ✓ (d) States were to take over 75 per cent of DISCOM debt as on 30 September 2015 over two years, cutting the interest burden, while DISCOMs committed to reduce losses and costs.
• ✗ (b) Electrifying villages and households was the task of separate schemes such as the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, not UDAY, which dealt with the finances of distribution companies.
• ✗ (c) UDAY did not decide the fuel mix of power generation; it worked at the distribution end of the power sector.

Remember · UDAY (Nov 2015) = Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana: States take over 75% of DISCOM debt; DISCOMs cut losses. Target: financial turnaround of power distribution companies.

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Answer: (b) 2 only

PMFBY, approved by the Cabinet on 13 January 2016, fixed different farmer premiums by season and crop type (2% kharif, 1.5% rabi, 5% annual commercial and horticultural crops), so there is no single 2% rate for all crops. It did, however, extend post-harvest loss cover from cyclonic rain to unseasonal rain as well, across India.

• ✗ 1. The 2% rate applies only to kharif crops; rabi crops carry 1.5% and annual commercial or horticultural crops 5%, with the government paying the balance premium.
• ✓ 2. PIB's comparison table shows PMFBY covering post-harvest losses all over India for cyclonic and unseasonal rain, whereas the earlier modified scheme covered only cyclonic rain in coastal areas.

Remember · PMFBY (2016) farmer premium: kharif 2%, rabi 1.5%, commercial/horticultural 5%. Covers prevented sowing, localised risks and post-harvest losses (cyclone, unseasonal rain).

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, 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

Stand Up India, approved by the Union Cabinet on 6 January 2016 and launched on 5 April 2016, asks every bank branch to back at least one Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe borrower and at least one woman borrower for a new non-farm enterprise. Its support structure includes a refinance window through SIDBI (initially ₹10,000 crore) and credit guarantees through NCGTC, so both statements are correct.

• ✓ 1. The Cabinet approved the scheme specifically to promote entrepreneurship among SC/ST and women entrepreneurs, with bank loans of ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore for greenfield enterprises.
• ✓ 2. The scheme provides a refinance window through the Small Industries Development Bank of India, with an initial amount of ₹10,000 crore.

Remember · Stand Up India (2016): loans of ₹10 lakh–₹1 crore to SC/ST and women for greenfield enterprises; SIDBI refinance, NCGTC credit guarantee, handholding support.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) immunization of children and pregnant women

Mission Indradhanush is the Health Ministry's catch-up vaccination drive, launched in December 2014 under the Universal Immunization Programme. It targets districts and pockets where many children are unvaccinated or partly vaccinated, and also vaccinates pregnant women, with the aim of raising full immunisation coverage of children to 90%.

• ✓ (a) In its first three phases the mission reached more than 2.1 crore children and also vaccinated 55.9 lakh pregnant women against tetanus (MoHFW).
• ✗ (b) Urban development of 100 cities is the Smart Cities Mission (2015) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• ✗ (c) Indradhanush ('rainbow') refers to the several vaccine-preventable diseases the drive targets; it has no link to astronomy or exoplanet searches.

Remember · Mission Indradhanush (December 2014, MoHFW): intensified vaccination of unvaccinated/partly vaccinated children and pregnant women in low-coverage areas; goal of 90% full immunisation.

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Answer: (a) production and use of solar energy by the households/consumers

Net metering lets a household or other consumer with a grid-connected rooftop solar system send its surplus power to the grid and offset it against the power it draws. A single two-way meter records both flows, and the consumer is billed (or credited) only for the net amount, which makes rooftop solar more attractive.

• ✓ (a) Under India's electricity consumer rules, solar energy exported by a 'prosumer' is deducted from energy imported, in kWh, through a single bidirectional meter at the point of supply.
• ✗ (b) Piped natural gas is metered by gas volume consumed; there is no export back to the network, so 'net' metering does not arise.
• ✗ (c) CNG kits in cars are about cleaner transport fuel and involve no electricity metering.

Remember · Net metering: one bidirectional meter; rooftop solar exports minus grid imports = net bill. Gross metering: generation and consumption billed separately at feed-in and retail tariffs.

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Answer: (c) 1 and 2 only

INSIMP was a sub-scheme of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, launched in 2011-12 with Rs 300 crore for 16 States, to demonstrate improved millet production and post-harvest technologies in an integrated way. Millets are a small-farmer crop, so statements 1 and 2 hold; nothing in the official description makes it a scheme to move commercial-crop farmers into millets.

• ✓ 1. The Ministry's operational guidelines say the scheme aims to demonstrate improved production and post-harvest technologies in an integrated manner, that technical assistants are placed in production and post-harvest clusters, and that processing and value addition are meant to create consumer demand for millet foods. UPSC's key accepts the statement.
• ✓ 2. The guidelines note that small millets are taken up by resource-poor tribal farmers in remote areas, and millets in general sustain the livelihood of over 60% of small and marginal farmers (NAAS paper). UPSC's key accepts this.
• ✗ 3. The guidelines offer free demonstration kits of nutrients and plant-protection inputs (micro-nutrients, fungicides, bio-fertilizers, DAP, urea, potash, pesticides) for farmers in the millet units, up to 2 hectares each. The kits contain no micro-irrigation equipment, and nothing in the guidelines makes it an aim to pull farmers of commercial crops into millets.

Remember · INSIMP (2011-12): a Rs 300 crore sub-scheme of RKVY in 16 States to demonstrate millet production, post-harvest and value-addition technologies, mainly benefiting small farmers.

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Answer: (b) 2 only

A District Mineral Foundation (DMF) is a non-profit trust in a mining-affected district that works for the interest and benefit of the people and areas affected by mining, funded by contributions from miners. It does not promote exploration or license anyone, so only statement 2 is correct.

• ✗ 1. Detailed exploration is the job of a different body, the National Mineral Exploration Trust, created by the same 2015 law and funded by a 2% levy on royalty.
• ✓ 2. The DMF's object is to work for the interest and benefit of persons and areas affected by mining related operations; miners pay into it, up to one-third of the royalty.
• ✗ 3. A DMF is a welfare trust financed by miners' contributions; it is not a body that authorises States to issue licences.

Remember · DMF (MMDR Amendment Act, 2015): a non-profit trust in each mining-affected district; miners contribute up to one-third of royalty; funds PMKKKY. Exploration is NMET's job (2% of royalty).

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Answer: (d) providing affordable and quality education to the citizens for free

SWAYAM is the Government of India's online-course platform that takes teaching resources for classes 9 to post-graduation to anyone, anywhere, free of cost, with the aim of access, equity and quality in education. So option (d) fits.

• ✓ (d) SWAYAM's objective is to take the best teaching-learning resources to all, including the most disadvantaged; its courses are free of cost to any learner.
• ✗ (b) SWAYAM is an education platform, not a scheme of finance or technical help for start-up entrepreneurs.
• ✗ (a) It has nothing to do with organising Self Help Groups in rural areas; it hosts online courses.
• • Since then Courses on SWAYAM are still free to study, but a SWAYAM certificate now requires a proctored exam for which a fee is charged (SWAYAM website, 2026).

Remember · SWAYAM: Ministry of Education's free online-course (MOOC) platform for class 9 to post-graduation, built on the principles of access, equity and quality.

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Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

Statements 1 and 3 are correct; statement 2 is wrong. Atal Pension Yojana gives a Government-guaranteed monthly pension after age 60 to subscribers, especially unorganised-sector workers, and the same pension continues to the spouse; but every eligible family member can join separately.

• ✓ 1. APY is a voluntary scheme with a guaranteed monthly pension of Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 from age 60, meant for all citizens but especially the poor and unorganised-sector workers.
• ✗ 2. One person can hold only one APY account, but all eligible family members aged 18 to 40 can open their own accounts.
• ✓ 3. After the subscriber's death, the spouse receives the same pension for life; after both have died, the accumulated pension wealth goes to the nominee.

Remember · Atal Pension Yojana: guaranteed Rs 1,000 to 5,000 a month from 60; spouse gets the same pension; one account per person, but every eligible family member may join.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, 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 carry the BEE Star Label. In the Bureau of Energy Efficiency's 2016 list, tubular fluorescent lamps were under mandatory star labelling, while electric storage water heaters (geysers) and ceiling fans were under voluntary labelling.

• ✓ 1. Ceiling fans were covered by the BEE Star Label under the voluntary scheme.
• ✓ 2. Electric storage water heaters, that is, electric geysers, were covered under the voluntary scheme.
• ✓ 3. Tubular fluorescent lamps (tube lights) were labelled under the mandatory scheme.

Remember · BEE Star Label (Standards and Labelling programme, from 2006) rates appliances by energy efficiency; more stars mean less energy used. Fans, geysers and tube lights all carry it.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, 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 are correct. DigiLocker is a Government of India digital document wallet run under the Digital India programme, and because it is cloud-based, you can reach your documents from the web or a mobile app wherever you are.

• ✓ 1. DigiLocker is a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) under the Digital India programme.
• ✓ 2. It is a secure cloud-based platform for storing, sharing and verifying documents, accessible through the web portal and the mobile app, so no physical copies need to be carried.

Remember · DigiLocker = MeitY's cloud-based document wallet under Digital India; documents can be issued, stored, shared and verified digitally, from anywhere.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) Rajasthan

Rajasthan is the State that proposed an artificial inland shipping port at Jalore, to be linked to the Arabian Sea by a channel along the Kutch Creek. The Ministry of Shipping said in 2015 that a pre-feasibility study would be done by the Rajasthan Government with support from the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).

• ✓ (d) The Press Information Bureau (13 August 2015) records a proposal from the Government of Rajasthan for an inland shipping port at Jalore, connected to the Arabian Sea by a channel along the Kutch Creek.
• ✗ (a) Andhra Pradesh has a long coastline and its own sea ports, so it needs no artificial channel to reach the sea.
• ✗ (b) Chhattisgarh is landlocked, but the government's inland-port proposal of 2015 came from Rajasthan, not Chhattisgarh.

Remember · Rajasthan's proposed Jalore inland port would be joined to the Arabian Sea by a channel along the Kutch Creek; a pre-feasibility study was agreed with IWAI in 2015.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error