Industry & Infrastructure — UPSC Prelims Economy previous year questions

Statement 1 is wrong. Vizhinjam is not only a domestic cargo hub. It is meant to handle large international container ships with foreign partners.
Statement 2 is wrong. Its main aim is trans-shipment of containers, not cruise tourism.
Statement 3 is correct. Vizhinjam has a natural deep draft and sits close to the main east-west shipping lane. It can cut India's reliance on foreign trans-shipment ports such as Colombo and keep more port revenue in India.
So only 3.
Remember: Vizhinjam in Kerala is India's first deep-water container trans-shipment port and was built in a PPP model.

Source: Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Vizhinjam port project notes; Maritime India Vision 2030

Statement I is a fact. Sagarmala aims at port-led development using low-cost, sustainable coastal infrastructure.
Statement II is a fact. Coastal and inland water shipping have grown, and Indian ports have improved their global ranks.
Statement III is a fact. Sagarmala 2.0 aims to make India a maritime innovation hub, in line with Atmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat 2047.
Relation 1 is correct. The results in II show that the strategy in I works.
Relation 2 is correct. III builds on I by adding innovation.
Relation 3 is wrong. I does not contradict III; III extends I.
Remember: Sagarmala was launched in 2015 under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

Source: Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sagarmala Programme documents

The question asks for the pair that is not correctly matched.
CG Power with Renesas and STARS Microelectronics has its plant in Gujarat. This pair is correct.
Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test is in Assam. This pair is correct.
SicSem is in Odisha. This pair is correct.
The HCL-Foxconn joint venture plant is near Jewar in Uttar Pradesh, not in Madhya Pradesh. So this pair is not correct.
Remember: these plants are approved under the India Semiconductor Mission.

Source: Ministry of Electronics and IT, India Semiconductor Mission; PIB

Statement I is correct. India joined the Minerals Security Partnership in 2023.
Statement II is incorrect. India is not rich in all the 30 critical minerals it has listed. It imports several of them, such as lithium and cobalt.
Statement III is correct. The 2023 Amendment lets the Centre alone auction mining leases and composite licences for certain critical minerals.
So only I and III are correct.
Remember: The 2023 Amendment moved auctions of notified critical minerals to the Central Government.

Source: Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2023; Ministry of Mines on critical minerals

Only two of the four activities are regulated by the PNGRB.
The PNGRB Act, 2006 covers refining, processing, storage, transportation, distribution, marketing and sale of petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas. It excludes the production of crude oil and natural gas.
Activity I, production of crude oil, is not regulated.
Activity II, refining, storage and distribution, is regulated.
Activity III, marketing and sale, is regulated.
Activity IV, production of natural gas, is not regulated.
Remember: Upstream production is outside the PNGRB. The DGH oversees it.

Source: Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Act, 2006

A greenfield airport is built on new land, not by expanding an old one.
Donyi Polo Airport at Hollongi in Arunachal Pradesh is a greenfield project. Kushinagar International Airport in Uttar Pradesh is also greenfield.
Vijayawada airport at Gannavaram is an old airport. It was upgraded and given a new terminal, so it is a brownfield case.
So only 1 and 2 are correct. Every option with 3 is wrong.
Remember: greenfield means new site; brownfield means expansion of an existing airport.

Source: Ministry of Civil Aviation / Airports Authority of India project descriptions

Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) are small units that generate or store power near the point of use. They connect to the local grid, not only to big plants.
Battery storage, biomass generators, fuel cells and rooftop solar units all fit this meaning.
So all four are DERs.
Remember: DERs make the grid more flexible and can feed power back to it.

Source: Ministry of Power / International Energy Agency descriptions of Distributed Energy Resources

Statement 1 is incorrect. Under the FDI policy, a marketplace e-commerce entity cannot own inventory or sell its own goods.
Statement 2 is incorrect as framed. The policy bars marketplace firms from holding equity in sellers on their platform.
So the sellers cannot be owned to any degree, and the statement of 'limited degree' does not match.
This answer follows the book key; the framing of statement 2 is debated.

Source: DPIIT, Press Note 2 (2018) on FDI in e-commerce

Statement 1 is correct. Coking coal mines were nationalised in 1971-72 and non-coking coal mines in 1973, under Indira Gandhi.
Statement 2 is incorrect. After the Supreme Court cancelled earlier allocations in 2014, coal blocks are allotted by competitive auction and bidding. Lottery is not used.
Statement 3 is incorrect. India still imports coal, mainly coking coal for steel and some thermal coal. It is not self-sufficient.
Remember: Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 introduced auctions of coal blocks.

Source: Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act 1973; Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act 2015; Ministry of Coal

UDAY stands for Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana. It was launched in November 2015.
It aimed at the financial turnaround and revival of power distribution companies (DISCOMs).
States took over 75% of DISCOM debt.
DISCOMs had to cut losses and improve efficiency.
Household electrification was the aim of Saubhagya and DDUGJY.
UDAY did not deal with start-ups or replacing coal plants.

Source: Ministry of Power UDAY

Statement 1 is incorrect. A District Mineral Foundation does not promote exploration. Exploration is handled under separate provisions and agencies.
Statement 2 is correct. The Foundation is a trust set up by the State Government in mining-affected districts. It works for the benefit of persons and areas affected by mining.
Statement 3 is incorrect. Licensing power already lies with State Governments under the MMDR Act. The Foundation gives no such authority.
Remember: DMFs were created by the MMDR Amendment Act, 2015 (Section 9B).

Source: Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957, s. 9B (as amended 2015)

A Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) mixes features of a company and a partnership.
The LLP Act, 2008 sets no upper limit on the number of partners. At least two partners are needed. So option (a) is not a feature.
Partners themselves can manage the LLP. So option (b) is a feature.
The LLP agreement among partners decides internal governance. So option (c) is a feature.
An LLP is a body corporate with perpetual succession. So option (d) is a feature.
Remember: In an LLP, a partner's liability is limited to the agreed contribution.

Source: Limited Liability Partnership Act 2008, ss. 3, 6, 23

Statement 1 is correct. Molasses is the thick syrup left after sugar crystals are removed.
Statement 2 is correct. Mills burn bagasse, the cane fibre, to make steam and power.
Statement 3 is incorrect. Sugar is also made from sugar beet.
Remember: Molasses is used to make ethanol.

Source: NCERT Class XII, Geography (India: People and Economy); Department of Food and Public Distribution

Statement 1 is correct. Small units are labour-intensive. They create more jobs for each rupee of capital.
Statement 2 is correct. Small units can be set up in rural and backward areas. This spreads industry across regions.
Statement 3 is incorrect. Small units are not shown to have out-performed large firms in manufactured exports.
Statement 4 is left out of the published key, so the option pairing 4 with 1 is not accepted.
Remember: Employment per unit of capital and regional dispersion are the classic arguments for small industry.

Source: Published UPSC 1999 solution; Ministry of MSME

Assertion (A) is false. The National Infrastructure Pipeline covers 2019-20 to 2024-25, a five-year period. It was not planned for 2020-30.
Reason (R) is true. NIP aims to improve quality of life and give equitable access to infrastructure for all citizens.
So (A) is false and (R) is true.
Remember: NIP was announced on 31 December 2019.

Source: Ministry of Finance, Report of the Task Force on National Infrastructure Pipeline, 2019

List-II gives the number of states in each dispute.
Mahadayi: three states (Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra), so A-1.
Godavari: five states, so B-2.
Narmada: four states (Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan), so C-3.
Mahanadi: two states (Odisha, Chhattisgarh), so D-4.
The code A-1, B-2, C-3, D-4 matches.
Remember: The Mahadayi tribunal gave its award in 2018.

Source: Ministry of Jal Shakti, Inter-State River Water Disputes Tribunals

Railway equipment is made at Bhilai (3). Bhilai Steel Plant makes rails and wagons.
Automobile is linked with Jabalpur (4), where the Vehicle Factory Jabalpur is located.
Ship-building is at Cochin (1). Cochin Shipyard is India's largest.
Bicycle is linked with Ludhiana (2), the cycle manufacturing hub of Punjab.
The code is 3 4 1 2.

Source: NCERT Class XII, India: People and Economy, Ch. 6; standard Indian industrial geography

Tilaiya Dam is on the Barakar river, so A matches 3.
Panchet Hill Dam is on the Damodar river, so B matches 1.
Rana Pratap Sagar Dam is on the Chambal river in Rajasthan, so C matches 2.
Matatila Dam is on the Betwa river in Uttar Pradesh, so D matches 4.
The code is 3 1 2 4.
Remember: Tilaiya, Konar, Maithon and Panchet were the first four dams of the Damodar Valley Corporation.

Source: Damodar Valley Corporation; Ministry of Jal Shakti dam records

The Chambal project is a joint venture of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, not Punjab and Haryana. So this match is wrong.
Mahi Bajaj Sagar serves Rajasthan and Gujarat.
The Beas project serves Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana.
The Indira Gandhi Canal starts in Punjab and runs mostly in Rajasthan.
Remember: Gandhi Sagar, Rana Pratap Sagar and Jawahar Sagar are the Chambal dams.

Source: Ministry of Jal Shakti; Chambal Valley Project records

Assertion (A) is true. Coastal Gujarat is among India's most industrialised regions.
Reason (R) is true. It has many textile, pharmaceutical and petrochemical units.
The presence of these manufacturing units is the reason for the description. So R explains A.
Remember: Ahmedabad and Surat are major textile centres of Gujarat.

Source: NCERT Class XII, India: People and Economy, Ch. 6