Minerals, energy & industry

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.

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: (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).

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 basins are assessed to hold shale gas. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas told Parliament in July 2015 that Cambay, Krishna-Godavari and Cauvery are among the basins where agencies have estimated shale gas resources.

• ✓ 1. The Cambay Basin (Gujarat) appears in every agency's list of shale gas basins quoted by the Ministry, including the US Geological Survey assessment.
• ✓ 2. The Cauvery Basin (Tamil Nadu coast) is listed alongside Cambay and Krishna-Godavari in the assessments given to the Rajya Sabha.
• ✓ 3. The Krishna-Godavari Basin (Andhra Pradesh coast) is also listed; the USGS put recoverable shale gas in these three basins at 6.1 trillion cubic feet.

Remember · Shale gas basins named in official lists: Cambay, Krishna-Godavari, Cauvery (plus Assam-Arakan, Damodar and Ganga valley in some estimates).

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: (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