UPSC Key: Hybrid Annuity Model, Denotified tribe, and Parasnath Hill

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialisation

Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

What’s the ongoing story: UNDERLINING THAT environment conservation is key to development, the Supreme Court Friday struck down and held as “illegal” a 2017 Ministry of Environment notification that allowed grant of environmental clearance (EC) to projects ex-post facto i.e., after commencement of work. It also struck down a 2021 Office Memorandum (OM) issued by the Ministry in pursuance of the 2017 notification.

Key Points to Ponder:

— What is the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)?

— Environmental clearance (EC) to projects ex-post facto — What do you understand?

— What was the 2017 notification by the Ministry of Environment?

— What is the function of the National Green Tribunal?

— Is the right to live in a pollution-free environment a fundamental right?

— What are the constitutional provisions related to the protection of the environment?

— Does the constitution mandate citizens to protect the environment?

— Environment protection and development can co-exist – what is your opinion?

— Discuss the role of the judiciary in forest conservation with examples.

Key Takeaways:

— A bench of Justices A S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan also restrained the Centre from issuing circulars/ orders/ OMs/ notifications providing for grant of ex-post facto EC or for regularising acts done in contravention of the 2006 Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification.

— The Supreme Court, however, clarified that environmental clearances already granted till date under the 2017 notification and the 2021 office memorandum “shall…remain unaffected.”

— The 2017 notification had offered a one-time amnesty window of sorts, and allowed approvals for projects where work had commenced without obtaining prior environment clearance under the 2006 EIA notification.

— The 2017 amnesty was applicable for six months between March 2017 and September 2017. In 2021, citing compliance of a National Green Tribunal order, the Ministry issued an OM spelling out a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) “for dealing with violation cases”.

— “The 2021 OM seeks to protect the violations of the EIA notification which have taken place or continue to take place 15 years after the EIA notification came into force. Thus, the 2021 OM seeks to protect violators who have acted with full knowledge of consequences of violating the EIA notification,” the court said.

— The SC said, “Under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, the right to live in a pollution-free environment is guaranteed. In fact, the 1986 Act has been enacted to give effect to this fundamental right. In 1977, fundamental duties of all citizens were incorporated in the Constitution which enjoined every citizen of India to protect and improve the environment as provided in Clause (g) of Article 51A. Therefore, even the Centre has a duty to protect and improve the natural environment.”

Do You Know:

Legal framework for forest conservation

— The legal framework on forest conservation in India has evolved from both pre-independence and post-independence laws. The Indian Forest Act of 1927 is the foundational legislation that classifies and regulates the use of forests without defining it. It enables/allows the government to prepare the record of forest land.

— It was enacted to strengthen the colonial power on the Indian forests, restricting the rights of tribal communities and ignoring the conservation aspect of forest governance. After independence, the subject of the forest was placed under the State List of the Constitution, which led to the over-exploitation of forests by the state and rapidly declining forest cover.

— To control the situation, the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution in 1976 transferred the forest from the State List to the Concurrent list. This move of the government was strengthened by the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) of 1980 (amended and renamed in 2023 as Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980), which made the approval of the central government mandatory for diverting forest land for non-forestry purposes.

— The FCA was supplemented by the Wild Life Protection Act of 1973, the Environment Protection Act of 1986, the Biological Diversity Act of 2002, The Forest Rights Act of 2006, and The Compensatory Afforestation Act of 2006.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Rapid development, shrinking green cover: Why forest conservation cannot wait

📍Before doors closed, 55 projects benefited from 2017-2021 environmental amnesty

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(1) At the national level, which ministry is the nodal agency to ensure effective implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006? (UPSC CSE 2021)

(a) Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

(b) Ministry of Panchayati Raj

(c) Ministry of Rural Development

(d) Ministry of Tribal Affairs

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

How does the draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2020 differ from the existing EIA Notification, 2006? (UPSC CSE 2020)

New North-East link to Kolkata will be via sea, giving Bangladesh a miss

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies-II: India and its neighbourhood- relations

General Studies-III: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc

What’s the ongoing story: The proposed highway from Shillong in Meghalaya to Silchar in Assam will become an extension of a key multi-modal transport project in Myanmar, leading to an alternative link via sea between the North-East states and Kolkata, a senior official from National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) told The Indian Express.

Key Points to Ponder:

— What is the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project?

— What is India’s Act East Policy?

— What is the role of North-East India in India’s Act East Policy?

— What is the strategic significance of Silchar?

— Where is the Siliguri Corridor located? Why is it important?

—- What is the significance of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)?

— What are the various Public-Private Partnerships (PPP)? What is the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM)?

— What precautionary and scientific methods need to be followed for infrastructure projects in hill areas?

— For infrastructure projects, how important is Myanmar for India?

Key Takeaways:

— The 166.8-km four-lane highway along NH-6 from Mawlyngkhung near Shillong to Panchgram near Silchar is the first high-speed corridor project in the North-East. It is being implemented by NHIDCL for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), and is expected to be completed by 2030.

— At the other end, the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project in Myanmar is being funded by the Ministry of External Affairs — and connects the Kolkata seaport to the Sittwe port on the Kaladan river in Rakhine state. Further, the Sittwe port connects to Paletwa in Myanmar through an inland waterway and to Zorinpui in Mizoram through a road section.

— Shillong-Silchar is significant as Silchar is the entry point for connecting Mizoram, Tripura and Manipur as well as the Barak Valley region of Assam. Thus, it will become a major connectivity link for the entire North-East and an important milestone for developing the region as a gateway for India’s Act East Policy.

— “With the help of the Kaladan project, cargo will reach from Vizag and Kolkata to the North-East, without being dependent on Bangladesh. The high speed-corridor will ensure transportation of goods via road after that, which will spur economic activity in the region,” the official said.

— Currently, the only access to the seven North-East states is through the Siliguri Corridor, also called the ‘Chicken’s Neck’, for the rest of India. The other two points of entry are through Bangladesh and Myanmar. Bangladesh has, however, curtailed access via Bay of Bengal while maintaining its stronghold on movement through water in the region.

— Hence, the Kaladan project was jointly identified by India and Myanmar as an alternative — the link is expected to be fully operational by the time the Shillong-Silchar highway is completed.

Do You Know:

— On April 30, the Union Cabinet approved the project at a cost of Rs 22,864 crore. Of the total length of the project, 144.8 km lies in Meghalaya and 22 km in Assam. Once operational, the new alignment will reduce journey time from 8.30 hours to just 5 hours

— “While the project is of strategic importance, it is also going to be one of the most challenging ones as the terrain is very difficult and the existing condition of the road is not good,” he said.

— “Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) scanning has been used for topographical surveys. Based on the data collected from surveys, three solutions have been proposed — strengthening by rock anchors, high strength wire mesh panels and protection walls,” the official said.

— “Piezometer, Rain Gauge, Settlement Gauge, Inclinometer, Geophones, etc., are key equipment which will be installed for the monitoring,” the official said.

— Geophones are used for vibration monitoring in seismic and geotechnical projects. Inclinometers are used in hill slope monitoring to detect and measure ground deformation, indicating potential slope instability or landslide movement. Rain gauge helps in measuring rainfall, settlement gauges are used to monitor vertical movement or settlements within hill slopes, and piezometers are used for monitoring pore water pressure in hill slopes.

— The Shillong-Silchar project will be implemented in Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM), one of the forms of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP).

— NHs projects are executed on mainly three modes, i.e., (i) Build Operate and Transfer (BOT), (ii) Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) and (iii) Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC).

— Concession period for projects including maintenance on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) is 15 to 20 years and on Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) is generally 15 years. Concessionaire is responsible for maintenance of the respective NHs stretches within the concession period of the project. Only in case of EPC projects, Defect Liability period (DLP) is 5 years for the bituminous pavement works and 10 years for concrete pavement works.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍PM Modi unveils projects for N-E, says next step is expansion of industries

UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:

Adaptation of PPP model for infrastructure development of the country has not been free from criticism. Critically discuss the pros and cons of the model. (UPSC CSE 2013)

 

EXPRESS NETWORK

ISRO to launch earth observation satellite on Sunday, its 101st mission

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.

What’s the ongoing story: ISRO will launch an earth observation satellite EOS-09 on-board its workhorse PSLV on Sunday (May 18) at 05:59 am from the country’s only spaceport at Sriharikota, a remote sensing satellite mission. This comes four months after the space agency’s 100th launch failed to put the navigation satellite NVS-02 in the intended orbit.

Key Points to Ponder:

— What are the recent space launches of ISRO?

— What are the future space missions of India?

— What are navigation satellites? What is the purpose?

— What are the various launch vehicles of ISRO?

— The satellite will be placed in a Sun-synchronous polar orbit – What is this orbit? Why is it placed here? What are the other orbits where satellites are placed?

— What is space debris?

— What are the national and international steps taken to make space debris free?

— What was SpaDeX mission?

Key Takeaways:

— The EOS-09 satellite, with a mission life of five years, will have a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload, capable of providing images of the earth in all weather conditions. The satellite, which is a repeat of EOS-04 launched in 2022, has been designed to improve the frequency of observations.

— This is the second PSLV — after last December’s launch of Spadex mission — where the vehicle was assembled in ISRO’s new Payload Integration Facility (PIF). This facility allows the integration of the launch vehicle in a separate facility, before being moved to the mobile launch tower for the lift-off, leaving the launch pad free for other launches.

— Sunday’s launch will see the satellite being injected into orbit just over 17 minutes after the lift-off. The satellite will be placed in a Sun-synchronous polar orbit, which means the satellite would pass over a given place at the same time every day.

— Importantly, the satellite will carry fuel that will be reserved for de-orbiting it after the end of its mission-life. The orbit of the satellite will be lowered in a manner that it will enter the earth’s atmosphere and burn up within two years, making it a debris-free mission.

Do You Know:

— On January 16, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) completed the docking process of the SpaDeX (Space Docking Experiment) satellites. India has become the fourth country to achieve the feat after the US, Russia, and China.

— SpaDeX mission was lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on December 30 by PSLV-C60 and successfully placed two satellites in the desired lower earth orbit (below 2000 Km).

— The Union Cabinet on 16th January approved the setting up of a third launch pad at the country’s only spaceport in Sriharikota — a spindle-shaped island on the east coast of Andhra Pradesh.

— The new launch pad will be required for the space agency to become future-ready to use the heavier Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) that it is currently developing. It will also be essential for India’s plan of setting up the Bharatiya Antariksh Station by 2035 and sending a human to the moon by 2040.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Knowledge nugget of the day: SpaDeX Mission

📍Story of NavIC: crucial indigenous SatNav system, a few hurdles in development path

Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(2) The term “Docking” with reference to the space refers to:

(a) when a spacecraft changes its position to prevent collision with other spacecraft.

(b) where two spacecraft are parked at different positions in space.

(c) where two spacecraft moving at extremely high speeds but not relative to each other, are aligned in a precise orbit and joined together.

(d) when two spacecraft are launched together in the same orbit with different purposes.

Mains practise Question Covering similar theme:

Discuss the significance of ISRO’s successful execution of the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX). What are the challenges involved with the docking process and highlight its potential implications for future missions?

‘Madhya Pradesh police influenced investigation, shielded their own’: SC on ‘custodial torture, death’ case

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies-I: Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India

What’s the ongoing story: The Supreme Court on Thursday transferred the probe into the alleged custodial torture and death of a man from a denotified tribe in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna last year from the state police to the CBI, while recording that it “is amply borne out” that the police “influenced the investigation right from the beginning”.

Key Points to Ponder:

— Who are the denotified tribes?

— What are the challenges faced by denotified communities?

— What is the history of denotified tribes?

— What are the constitutional provisions for the protection of tribes?

— Read about Denotified Tribes (DNTs), Nomadic Tribes (NTs), and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (SNTs).

— What are the major committees and commissions formed for DNTs, NTs and SNTs?

Key Takeaways:

— The division bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, disposing a plea for bail to Gangaram Pardhi, the uncle of Deva Pardhi, 25, who died after being arrested in Guna district on July 13, 2024, also granted him liberty to directly move the Madhya Pradesh High Court for bail “in all the cases in which he has been implicated” after the custodial death.

— The apex court also instructed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to immediately direct the registration of a complaint and “ensure fair, transparent and expeditious investigation into the custodial death of Deva Pardhi.”

Do You Know:

— These are communities who are the most vulnerable and deprived. Denotified tribes (DNTs) are communities that were ‘notified’ as being ‘born criminal’ during the British regime under a series of laws starting with the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871. Nomadic and semi-nomadic communities are defined as those who move from one place to another rather than living at one place all the time.

— A National Commission for De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (NCDNT) was constituted in 2006 by the then government. It was headed by Balkrishna Sidram Renke and submitted its report in June 2008, in which it said, “It is an irony that these tribes somehow escaped the attention of our Constitution makers and thus got deprived of the Constitutional support unlike Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.”

— The Renke commission estimated their population at around 10.74 crore based on Census 2001. A new Commission constituted in February 2014 to prepare a state-wise list, which submitted its report on January 8, 2018, identified 1,262 communities as de-notified, nomadic and semi-nomadic.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: State of denotified tribes, and why House panel is critical about a programme for their development

Mains Question Covering similar theme:

What are the two major legal initiatives by the State since Independence addressing discrimination against Scheduled Tribes (STs). (UPSC CSE 2017)

 

EXPLAINED

Story of a sacred Jharkhand hill at the centre of old friction between Jains & Santals

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: History of India and Indian National Movement

Mains Examination: General Studies-I: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times; Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present – significant events, personalities, issues

What’s the ongoing story: The Jharkhand High Court on May 3 directed the state government to enforce a pre-existing ban on the consumption and sale of meat, alcohol, and other intoxicants on a hill considered to be sacred by both the Santal Adivasi and Jain communities.

Key Points to Ponder:

— Learn about the Santhal tribes- where they reside? Santhal revolt.

— What is the significance of the Santhal revolt in tribal history?

— What is the significance of Parasnath Hill for Jainism?

— What is the Sendra festival?

— Who are dikus?

— What are the areas included in the Fifth Schedule?

Key Takeaways:

— Referred to as Marang Buru by Santals and Parasnath by Jains, the hill in Jharkhand’s Giridih district has been the site of a century-old inter-community conflict.

— Jains believe that 20 of the 24 Jain tirthankaras (divine teachers) attained nirvana (liberation) on Parasnath Hill. The name “Parasnath” is derived from Parshvanatha, the 23rd tirthankara. Today, there are more than 40 Jain temples and dhams on the hill.

— Marang Buru (literally “the Great Mountain”) is the supreme animist deity in the Santal tradition. The Jug Jaher Than (sacred grove) on the hill is the most sacred dhorom garh (religious site) of the Santals, akin to what Mecca means for Muslims. Also significant is the Dishom Manjhi Than on the hill, the symbolic seat of the dishom manjhi (the traditional Santal leader) where customary rituals are performed.

— Its religious significance aside, Marang Buru is the supreme seat of justice for Santals. The Lo Bir Baisi, a tribal council that resolves disputes which cannot be handled at the village level, convenes at Boda Darha in Sohraiya village, on the eastern part of the sacred mountain.

— It was with a resolution of this council that the historic Santal Hul was launched in 1855. Led by Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu, the rebellion targeted the oppressive dikus, literally “outsiders”, including zamindars, mahajans, and British officials.

— Jains believe that an ancient king donated the Parasnath Hill to the community. But revenue department official P C Roy Choudhury in the 1957 Hazaribagh District Gazetteer wrote that “the oldest of the [Jain] temples appears to date only from AD 1765.”

— It was in 1911 that the conflict between Adivasis and Jains over Marang Buru/Parasnath officially entered state records.

— This account describes the Sendra festival which has been a frequent flash point in the Santal-Jain conflict over the hill. During the three-day-long Sendra, all male members of the Santal community head into the forest to hunt. “It’s a rebirth for Santal men. Either die or hunt to survive,” Arjun Marandi, a community elder, told The Indian Express.

— For Jains, who follow a rigorous spiritually-motivated vegetarian diet, Sendra has long caused consternation. But initial attempts to ban hunting on the hill were unsuccessful.

— Continuing pressure from dikus and concerns regarding India’s depleting forests gradually eroded Adivasi rights over the hill post-Independence.

— In 1972, the year in which the Indira Gandhi government passed the Wildlife Protection Act, Adivasi villages around Marang Buru lost their status under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution.

— Areas included in the Fifth Schedule give Scheduled Tribes certain special rights with regards to administration and control of resources. The forested area on and around the hill was designated as a wildlife sanctuary in 1978, which further reduced Adivasi rights over it.

— As a result, rituals at the Jug Jaher Than in Marang Buru were halted from the 1970s to 2000, the year Jharkhand attained statehood. Ajay Tudu, a prominent Santali activist who led the movement for the resumption of Adivasi rituals at Marang Buru, was shot dead by unknown assailants in 2008.

— Most recently, a 2023 memorandum by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change ordered that no alcohol or meat be served within a 25 km radius of the hill — an area encompassing 99, mostly Adivasi, villages — out of respect for the sentiments of the Jain community.

— Nonetheless, earlier this week, Santals celebrated the Sendra festival in the jungles of Marang Buru. The Marang Buru Sanvta Susaar Baisi (MBSSB), a local Santal association led by Sikandar Hembrom, has also filed a counter-petition asserting Santals’ traditional rights over the hill.

Do You Know:

Santhal Rebellion: On June 30, 1855, over 10,000 Santhals were mobilised by their leaders — Kanho Murmu, Chand Murmu, Bhairab Murmu, and Sidho Murmu – to revolt against the East India Company over oppression by revenue officials, zamindars, and corrupt moneylenders. The landmark event in tribal history, referred to as Santhal Hul, took place in Bhognadih village in present-day Jharkhand.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Knowledge nugget of the day: Birsa Munda

📍Knowledge Nugget: Mahavir Jayanti 2025 — Why is Jaina philosophy important for UPSC?

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(3) With reference to ancient Jainism, which one of the following statements is correct? (UPSC CSE 2004)

(a) Jainism was spread in South India under the leadership of Sthalabahu

(b) The Jainism who remained under the leadership of Bhadrabahu were called Shvetambaras after the council held at Pataliputra

(c) Jainism enjoyed the patronage of the Kalinga king Kharavela in the 1st century BC

(d) In the initial stage, of Jainism, the Jain worshipped images unlike Buddhists

(4) After the Santhal Uprising subsided, what were the measures taken by the colonial government? (UPSC CSE 2018)

1. The territories called ‘Santhal Parganas’ were created.

2. It became illegal for a Santhal to transfer land to a non-Santhal.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

EDITORIAL

If you build, they will come

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology

What’s the ongoing story: Vikram Patel writes: Over the past few months, I have watched, with profound anguish, the foundations of the knowledge economy in the United States, the jewel in its crown and the envy of the world, being systematically dismantled.

Key Points to Ponder:

— What are the VAIBHAV and VAJRA fellowship programmes?

— What is the status of the government expenditure for scientific research in India?

— How significant is the private investment for the development of research and development in India?

— What are the key highlights of the India Philanthropy Report (IPR) 2025?

— Why does a country need to invest in R&D?

— Learn about the National Research Foundation (NRF)

Key Takeaways:

— It dawned on me that this may be a once-in-a-lifetime moment for India to reap a rich harvest in pursuit of the country’s ambition to become a world leader in science.

— To do so, India would need to recognise that high-quality science is the result of the confluence of a number of key factors, the most important being the scientists themselves, equipped with the right skills and driven by the hunger to generate knowledge.

— And finally, we need the money to pay for the scientists, for creating the environment and for the actual research that will be conducted. In my reckoning, India has both the environment and the money, and the current moment offers the country a historic chance to replenish and enrich its knowledge economy.

— I identify at least two strategies for India to respond to this opportunity.

— The first is to fund the ongoing research being conducted in India that is funded by the US government institutions. The abrupt freeze on international research by the National Institutes of Health, for example, has grave implications for some of these projects, not only in relation to the scientific outputs but also healthcare.

— The second strategy is a dramatic expansion of the current Indian government’s VAIBHAV and VAJRA fellowship programmes to attract diaspora and foreign scientists for collaborative research with Indian institutions and build strong international research networks.

— The first batch of VAIBHAV fellows was selected in early 2024, with a total of about 75 diaspora scientists expected to participate over three years, supported by an outlay of approximately Rs 80 crore. Now is the time to expand the scope of these programmes, going beyond short-term visits to India to relocating permanently to the country…

— None of this will happen without additional money, of course, and while the primary funder for these strategies will necessarily be the government (as is already the case in India and most other countries), there is obviously an opportunity for the several philanthropic foundations that operate in India…

— The Indian Philanthropy Report 2025 documents how private spending on the social sector reached Rs 131,000 crore in 2024, and is expected to accelerate to 10–12 per cent over the next five years, largely driven by family philanthropy.

Do You Know:

— Private spending stood at around Rs 1.3 lakh crore ($16 billion), according to the India Philanthropy Report (IPR) 2025 from venture philanthropy firm Dasra and management consultancy Bain & Co.

— As defined in the 2025 report, UHNIs refer to ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNIs) with a net worth of Rs 1,000 crore and more. HNIs have a net worth of Rs 200 to 1,000 crore, while the “Affluent” category includes those ranging between Rs 7 to 200 crore. On average, the three categories of private individuals gave Rs 5 crore, Rs 0.4 to 5 crore, and less than Rs 0.4 crore to philanthropy in FY 2024, respectively.

— Within the UHNIs, just the top 4 family-owned/run firms (Tata, Ambani, Adani, and Birla) constituted around 20% of family-owned/run firms’ CSR spending — at around Rs 800 to 1,000 crore per family.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍‘High growth not possible if we don’t do our own science, produce own tech’: Principal Scientific Advisor Ajay Kumar Sood

📍India’s spending on philanthropy to jump by 10 to 12% in next 5 years: What new report found

UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:

(5) Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding National Innovation Foundation-India (NIF)? (UPSC CSE 2015)

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:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

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PRELIMS ANSWER KEY

1. (d)  2. (c)  3. (c)   4. (c)  5. (d)

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