Industry and Manufacturing

Pair I: The National Automotive Board – Ministry of Commerce and Industry * Incorrect. It functions under the Ministry of Heavy Industries, not Commerce and Industry.

Pair II: The Coir Board – Ministry of Heavy Industries * Incorrect. The Coir Board is under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

Pair III: National Centre for Trade Information – Ministry of MSME * Incorrect. NCTI is linked to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, not MSME.

Critical minerals are essential for modern technologies and clean energy, but many countries, including India, depend on imports for several of them. To strengthen supply chains, India has joined international partnerships and reformed mining laws.

Statement I: Correct India joined the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) in 2023 to ensure reliable access to critical minerals.

Statement II: Incorrect India is not resource-rich in all 30 critical minerals it has identified and remains import-dependent for several, like cobalt and nickel.

Statement III: Correct In 2023, Parliament amended the Mines and Minerals Act, giving the Central Government power to auction leases for critical minerals.

* Statement I is incorrect: India's share in global merchandise trade is only 1.8% and 4% in global services. India plans to increase its export share in global trade from 2.1% to 3% by 2027 and 10% by 2047.

* Statement II is correct: The PLI scheme is open to both domestic and international manufacturers. Samsung as well as Indian firms such as Dixon Technologies, UTL, Neolyncs, Lava International, Optiemus Electronics and Micromax are also expanding their factories to take advantage of the PLI scheme.

Statement 1 is incorrect: Following the Union Budget 2025-26 and the subsequent notification by the Ministry of MSME (effective April 1, 2025), the classification criteria were significantly revised to account for inflation and encourage scaling. A Medium enterprise is now defined as an unit where the investment in plant and machinery or equipment does not exceed ₹125 crore and the annual turnover does not exceed ₹500 crore. Even under the previous 2020 definition (which set the limit at ₹50 crore investment), the range of ₹15–25 crore mentioned in the statement does not align with the legal thresholds.

Statement 2 is correct: Under the RBI Master Direction on Priority Sector Lending (PSL), all bank loans to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises are eligible for classification under the priority sector. While Micro enterprises have specific sub-targets within the PSL framework, credit extended to Medium enterprises counts toward a bank's overall Priority Sector achievement.

Statement 1 is incorrect. After the 1991 economic liberalization, worker productivity increased both in urban and rural areas. While urban areas experienced higher growth, rural areas also saw improvements, especially with the rise in non-farm activities.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The percentage share of rural areas in the workforce has steadily decreased since liberalization. This is because more people have moved to urban areas for employment in the industrial and service sectors, contributing to the growing urban workforce.

Statement 3 is correct. In rural areas, the growth of the non-farm economy increased significantly. With liberalization, the diversification of rural economies into sectors like manufacturing, construction, and services grew, reducing the dependency on agriculture.

Statement 4 is correct. The growth rate in rural employment decreased after 1991. While the rural economy diversified, the agricultural sector did not provide enough employment opportunities to absorb all the labor, leading to lower growth in rural employment.

Hence, option B is the correct answer.

The Global Competitiveness Report is published by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Option A is incorrect. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) primarily focuses on macroeconomic policies, financial stability, and global monetary cooperation, but it does not publish the Global Competitiveness Report.

Option B is incorrect. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) deals with trade, investment, and development issues but is not responsible for this report.

Option C is correct. The World Economic Forum (WEF) releases the Global Competitiveness Report (GCR), which assesses the competitiveness of countries based on various economic indicators such as infrastructure, macroeconomic stability, health, education, market efficiency, and innovation.

Option D is incorrect. The World Bank publishes reports related to economic development, poverty reduction, and business environments, such as the Ease of Doing Business Report, but it does not release the Global Competitiveness Report.

Statement 1 is Correct: The Quality Council of India (QCI) is a pioneering experiment of the Government of India in setting up organisations in partnership with the Indian industry.

Quality Council of India (QCI) was set up in 1997 jointly by the Government of India and the Indian Industry represented by the three premier industry associations i.e. Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), to establish and operate national accreditation structure and promote quality through National Quality Campaign.

The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, is the nodal ministry for QCI.QCI is governed by a Council of 38 members including the Chairman and Secretary General.

Statement 2 is Correct: The chairman is appointed by the Prime Minister on the recommendation of the industry to the government.

Therefore, both statement 1 and statement 2 are correct.Hence, option C is the correct answer.

Capital-augmenting technological progress: This refers to technological advancements that increase the productivity of existing capital goods. In this case, replacing wooden ploughs (a less efficient capital good) with steel ploughs (a more efficient capital good) increases the productivity of the plough itself. Steel ploughs can till more land, last longer, and require less maintenance compared to wooden ploughs.

About Eight Core Sectors: These comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

The eight core sector industries in decreasing order of their weightage: Refinery Products> Electricity> Steel> Coal> Crude Oil> Natural Gas> Cement> Fertilizers.