Schemes, reports, indices and other current affairs: previous-year questions
62 real UPSC Prelims questions (2011–2026) with the official answer and a clear explanation. 32 of them came in the last five papers.
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What is “Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)”, sometimes seen in the news ?
Answer (c) & explanation
THAAD is an American anti-missile system (c). The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, made by Lockheed Martin, destroys short- and medium-range ballistic missiles in their final (terminal) phase, by hitting them directly rather than exploding near them. It was deployed in South Korea in 2017 to counter North Korea, which angered China. It is not Israeli (a), it is not Indian (b), and it is not a Japan–South Korea project (d). Israel's systems are the Iron Dome and Arrow.
The US also deployed THAAD in Israel in 2024. Notice India's air defence: its own two-tier BMD programme (PAD and AAD), the Russian S-400 "Sudarshan Chakra", which was used in Operation Sindoor (May 2025), and the new Mission Sudarshan Chakra (2025).
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
“Rule of Law Index” is released by which of the following ?
Answer (d) & explanation
The World Justice Project releases the Rule of Law Index (d). The World Justice Project is an independent organisation based in Washington, DC. It publishes the Rule of Law Index every year, scoring countries on eight factors: limits on government power, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, and civil and criminal justice. It is not published by Amnesty International (a), the ICJ (b), or the UN human rights office (c).
Denmark and the Nordic countries top it, and India ranks around the 80s. Notice the other indices UPSC links to the wrong body: Corruption Perceptions Index (Transparency International), World Press Freedom Index (RSF) and Democracy Index (EIU).
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
‘Recognition of Prior Learning Scheme’ is sometimes mentioned in the news with reference to
Answer (a) & explanation
RPL certifies skills learnt through traditional channels, such as by construction workers (a). Recognition of Prior Learning is a part of PMKVY under the Skill India Mission. It assesses and certifies skills people picked up informally on the job, such as masons, carpenters, plumbers and electricians, using NSQF standards. The certificate improves their pay and job mobility. It is not about university distance learning (b). It does not reserve jobs in PSUs (c). It does not certify trainees from formal courses (d), whose certification is the main short-term training track.
The Ministry of Skill Development runs it through the NSDC and Sector Skill Councils. Notice how it fits PM Vishwakarma (2023), which also helps traditional artisans with training and credit.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following gives ‘Global Gender Gap Index’ ranking to the countries of the world ?
Answer (a) & explanation
The World Economic Forum ranks countries on the gender gap (a). Its Global Gender Gap Report, published every year since 2006, scores countries on four areas: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. Iceland has topped it for over a decade, and India usually ranks in the bottom third, at 131st in 2025. The UN Human Rights Council (b), UN Women (c) and the WHO (d) do not publish this index.
The UNDP publishes the separate Gender Inequality Index and the Gender Development Index in its Human Development Report. Notice the WEF's other reports to keep apart: the Global Risks Report, the Energy Transition Index and, until 2019, the Global Competitiveness Report.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding Smart India Hackathon 2017?
- 1. It is a centrally sponsored scheme for developing every city of our country into Smart Cities in a decade.
- 2. It is an initiative to identify new digital technology innovations for solving the many problems faced by our country.
- 3. It is a programme aimed at making all the financial transactions in our country completely digital in a decade.
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
Answer (b) & explanation
Only statement 2 is correct (b). Smart India Hackathon, first held in 2017 by the Ministry of Education (then MHRD), AICTE and partners, is a nationwide contest where students build digital and hardware solutions to real problems set by ministries, states and industry (2). Statement 1 is wrong because it is not the Smart Cities Mission (2015), which develops 100 chosen cities. Statement 3 is wrong because it is not a plan to make all financial transactions digital; that was the push behind Digital India, UPI and BHIM.
It is now one of the world's largest open innovation events. Notice how it links with Atal Innovation Mission (Atal Tinkering Labs) and Startup India, as part of building an innovation culture.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following are the objectives of ‘National Nutrition Mission’ ?
- 1. To create awareness relating to malnutrition among pregnant women and lactating mothers.
- 2. To reduce the incidence of anaemia among young children, adolescent girls and women.
- 3. To promote the consumption of millets, coarse cereals and unpolished rice.
- 4. To promote the consumption of poultry eggs.
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
Answer (a) & explanation
Statements 1 and 2 are correct (a). The National Nutrition Mission, or POSHAN Abhiyaan, launched in March 2018 at Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, aims to reduce stunting, undernutrition, low birth weight and anaemia among children, adolescent girls and women (2). It works through convergence of schemes, technology such as the Poshan Tracker, and Jan Andolan campaigns that raise awareness among pregnant women and nursing mothers (1). Statements 3 and 4 are wrong because promoting millets, coarse grains or eggs was not among its stated objectives.
It has since merged into Mission Poshan 2.0 (Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0), which does push millets. Notice the yearly Poshan Maah in September and Poshan Pakhwada in March.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following in respect of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) :
- 1. Inaugural IONS was held in India in 2015 under the chairmanship of the Indian Navy.
- 2. IONS is a voluntary initiative that seeks to increase maritime co-operation among navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region.
Which of the above statements is/are correct ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Only statement 2 is correct (b). Statement 1 is wrong because the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium was started by the Indian Navy in 2008 in New Delhi, not in 2015. Statement 2 is right because IONS is a voluntary forum where the navies of the Indian Ocean coastal states share information and cooperate on maritime security, disaster relief (HADR), piracy and information sharing. Its chair rotates among members, and it has about 25 members and 9 observers.
India took the chair again in 2025. Notice India's wider Indian Ocean policies: SAGAR (2015), now MAHASAGAR (2025), the IFC-IOR information centre in Gurugram, and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), which is a separate economic body.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
What is the purpose of ‘Vidyanjali Yojana’ ?
- 1. To enable the famous foreign educational institutions to open their campuses in India.
- 2. To increase the quality of education provided in government schools by taking help from the private sector and the community.
- 3. To encourage voluntary monetary contributions from private individuals and organizations so as to improve the infrastructure facilities for primary and secondary schools.
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
Answer (a) & explanation
Only statement 2 is correct (a). Vidyanjali, launched in 2016 by the Ministry of Education (then MHRD), links volunteers such as retired teachers, professionals, NRIs and community members with government schools. They help with teaching, reading and co-curricular activities, improving quality with the support of the community and private sector (2). Statement 1 is wrong because foreign campuses are governed by separate UGC regulations (2023). Statement 3 is wrong because, when the question was set, Vidyanjali was about volunteering, not money.
The later Vidyanjali 2.0 portal (2021) added donations of assets, equipment and materials. Notice how this fits NEP 2020's focus on community involvement and on school complexes.
Answer for 2017. The later portal's donation feature does not change this key.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
What is the aim of the programme ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’ ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Unnat Bharat Abhiyan connects higher education institutions with local communities (b). Launched in 2014 and coordinated by IIT Delhi, it asks higher education institutions to adopt nearby villages (at least five each). Students and teachers then use suitable technologies to solve local problems in water, energy, farming, sanitation and livelihoods. It is not a literacy mission (a), a science research upgrade (c), or a skill and welfare fund (d).
Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0 (2018) opened it to all higher education institutions, and thousands have joined. Notice how it links with NEP 2020's call for community engagement and with the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, where MPs adopt villages.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
What is/are the purpose/purposes of ‘District Mineral Foundations’ in India?
- 1. Promoting mineral exploration activities in mineral-rich districts
- 2. Protecting the interests of the persons affected by mining operations
- 3. Authorizing State Governments to issue licences for mineral exploration
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (b) & explanation
Only statement 2 is correct (b). District Mineral Foundations (DMFs) were created by the MMDR Amendment Act, 2015 as non-profit trusts in mining districts. Miners pay into them: 10% of royalty for leases after 2015 and 30% for older ones. The money is spent for the benefit of people and areas affected by mining (2) through the PMKKKY, on drinking water, health, education and the environment. Statement 1 is wrong because exploration is funded by the separate National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET). Statement 3 is wrong because licences are issued under the MMDR Act and auction rules, not by DMFs.
PMKKKY was revised in 2024. Notice the idea behind it: people who bear the cost of mining should share in its gains.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
‘SWAYAM’, an initiative of the Government of India, aims at
Answer (d) & explanation
SWAYAM gives free, quality education to all (d). SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds) was launched in 2017 by the Ministry of Education (then MHRD). It is a free MOOC platform with courses from Class 9 to postgraduate level. National coordinators include NPTEL, IGNOU, UGC-CEC, NCERT and NIOS, and universities can count up to 40% of a programme's credits from it. It is not about Self Help Groups (a), start-up finance (b), or adolescent girls (c), which come under schemes like DAY-NRLM, Startup India and SABLA.
Its sister tool SWAYAM Prabha runs free DTH education channels. Notice how this fits the NEP 2020 push for blended learning and the Academic Bank of Credits.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
A recent movie titled The Man Who Knew Infinity is based on the biography of
Answer (a) & explanation
The film is about S. Ramanujan (a). The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015), with Dev Patel, tells the story of self-taught mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887–1920) and his work with G. H. Hardy at Cambridge. It is based on Robert Kanigel's 1991 biography. Ramanujan became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1918 and is famous for work on partitions, infinite series and the "taxicab number" 1729. S. Chandrasekhar (b) is known for the Chandrasekhar limit. S. N. Bose (c) gave his name to bosons. C. V. Raman (d) discovered the Raman effect.
22 December, Ramanujan's birthday, is National Mathematics Day. Notice that 28 February, the day Raman announced his effect in 1928, is National Science Day.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
‘Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan’ is a national campaign to
Answer (c) & explanation
Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan (2001) is a national campaign to eradicate manual scavenging and rehabilitate those freed from it (c). It is led by civil-society groups, with Jan Sahas at its core. It is not about the homeless (a), sex workers (b) or bonded labour (d), which have their own laws and schemes.
The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 bans the practice. The NAMASTE scheme (2023) focuses on the safety of sanitation workers. Notice how this links to dignity under Article 21 and the abolition of untouchability under Article 17.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
‘Mission Indradhanush’ launched by the Government of India pertains to
Answer (a) & explanation
Mission Indradhanush (December 2014) is about the immunisation of children and pregnant women (a). It targets children under two and pregnant women who were missed or left partly vaccinated under routine immunisation. It has nothing to do with smart cities (b), which come under the Smart Cities Mission, space research for Earth-like planets (c), or the education policy (d).
The seven rainbow colours first stood for seven vaccine-preventable diseases; more vaccines were added later. Intensified Mission Indradhanush pushed coverage further, and the U-WIN portal now tracks doses digitally. Notice how it supports the Universal Immunisation Programme, one of the largest in the world.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to pre-packaged items in India, it is mandatory to the manufacturer to put which of the following information on the main label, as per the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011?
- 1. List of ingredients including additives
- 2. Nutrition information
- 3. Recommendations, if any, made by the medical profession about the possibility of any allergic reactions
- 4. Vegetarian/non-vegetarian
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (c) & explanation
Statements 1, 2 and 4 are correct (c). The FSS (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011 required a list of ingredients including additives (1), nutrition information (2) and the veg/non-veg symbol, a green dot or brown dot in a square (4). Statement 3 is wrong: medical recommendations about allergic reactions were not a mandatory label item in those rules.
Other mandatory items included name of the food, net quantity, batch number, manufacturing and best-before dates, and the FSSAI licence number. These rules were later replaced by the Labelling and Display Regulations, 2020. Notice how labelling turns food safety into a consumer right to informed choice.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following is the best description of ‘INS Astradharini’, that was in the news recently?
Answer (c) & explanation
INS Astradharini is a torpedo launch and recovery vessel (c). Commissioned in 2015, it was indigenously designed with IIT Kharagpur and the DRDO's Naval Science and Technological Laboratory, and built in Visakhapatnam. It is used to test underwater weapons such as torpedoes. It is not an amphibious ship (a), a nuclear submarine (b) or an aircraft carrier (d).
Its twin-hull (catamaran) design gives stability at sea. For contrast, INS Arihant is India's nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, and INS Vikrant is its indigenous aircraft carrier. Notice how such ships show the push for self-reliance in naval technology.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding National Innovation Foundation-India (NIF)?
- 1. NIF is an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology under the Central Government.
- 2. NIF is an initiative to strengthen the highly advanced scientific research in India’s premier scientific institutions in collaboration with highly advanced foreign scientific institutions.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (a) & explanation
NIF-India (set up in 2000 in Gujarat) is an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology (1 correct). Inspired by Anil Gupta's Honey Bee Network, it scouts, documents and supports grassroots innovations and traditional knowledge of ordinary people. Statement 2 is wrong: it does not promote elite research tie-ups with advanced foreign institutions. The answer is (a).
NIF runs the biennial national grassroots innovation awards and helps innovators get patents and reach markets. Notice how it shows that innovation is not only the work of labs, but also of farmers and artisans solving local problems.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2014 was given to which one of the following?
Answer (c) & explanation
The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2014 went to ISRO (c), for using space technology for development and for achievements such as the Mars Orbiter Mission. BARC (a), IISc (b) and TIFR (d) are leading science institutions but did not receive the 2014 award.
The prize is given by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust. Earlier winners include Mikhail Gorbachev, Médecins Sans Frontières and the UNHCR. Notice how India's space programme is framed around development: weather, communication and resource mapping, not just exploration. Mangalyaan made India the first to reach Mars orbit on its first try.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The term ‘IndARC’, sometimes seen in the news, is the name of
Answer (d) & explanation
IndARC (2014) is India's first underwater moored observatory in the Arctic (d), placed in Kongsfjorden near the Himadri research station in Svalbard, Norway. It records ocean data such as temperature and salinity, linked to Arctic climate change and its possible effect on the Indian monsoon. It is not a radar (a), a satellite (b) or an Antarctic base (c).
India's Antarctic stations are Maitri and Bharati, after the first, Dakshin Gangotri. India released its Arctic Policy in 2022. Notice how polar research helps India understand its own monsoon and sea-level rise.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to Agni-IV Missile, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1. It is a surface-to-surface missile.
- 2. It is fuelled by liquid propellant only.
- 3. It can deliver one-tonne nuclear warheads about 7500 km away.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (a) & explanation
Agni-IV is a surface-to-surface ballistic missile (1 correct). It has two solid-fuel stages, so statement 2 is wrong, and it carries a one-tonne warhead about 4,000 km, not 7,500 km, so statement 3 is wrong too.
The longer range of 5,000 km and more belongs to Agni-V, which tested MIRV technology in Mission Divyastra in 2024. The Agni series is built by DRDO and grew out of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme led by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Notice how solid fuel matters: such missiles can be stored ready and launched quickly.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.