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