UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Update on National HPV Vaccination Programme

Q1. From which city did the Prime Minister flag off the nationwide National HPV Vaccination Programme on 28 February 2026?

  • A. Ajmer, Rajasthan
  • B. Jaipur, Rajasthan
  • C. Vadodara, Gujarat
  • D. Indore, Madhya Pradesh

Q2. Which Union Ministry is the nodal ministry implementing the National HPV Vaccination Programme?

  • A. Ministry of Women and Child Development
  • B. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • C. Ministry of AYUSH
  • D. Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology

Q3. CERVAVAC is significant as India's first indigenously developed vaccine of which one of the following kinds?

  • A. First indigenously developed quadrivalent HPV vaccine
  • B. First indigenously developed mRNA vaccine
  • C. First indigenously developed bivalent HPV vaccine
  • D. First indigenously developed rotavirus vaccine

Q4. Which expert body recommended the introduction of the HPV vaccine into India's Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP)?

  • A. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
  • B. National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI)
  • C. Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO)
  • D. NITI Aayog

Q5. In the context of the programme's delivery network, the term 'Ayushman Arogya Mandirs' refers to which one of the following?

  • A. Rebranded Health and Wellness Centres / Primary Health Centres delivering primary healthcare
  • B. Specialised tertiary cancer-care hospitals set up under the programme
  • C. Mobile vaccination vans deployed for the 90-day drive
  • D. District-level vaccine cold-chain storage depots

Q6. How many doses constitute the HPV vaccination schedule adopted under India's national programme?

  • A. One
  • B. Two
  • C. Three
  • D. Four

Q7. Approximately how many adolescent girls were administered the HPV vaccine in the 2009-10 PATH demonstration projects in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat before they were suspended?

  • A. About 2,300
  • B. About 23,000
  • C. About 2.3 lakh
  • D. About 23 lakh

Q8. The National HPV Vaccination Programme launched in 2026 primarily targets which single age cohort of girls?

  • A. 9-year-old girls
  • B. 14-year-old girls
  • C. 11-12 year-old girls
  • D. 15-16 year-old girls

Q9. Consider the following pairings of institution and its role in India's HPV vaccination effort. Which of the pairs are correctly matched?

  1. NTAGI — technical body that recommended HPV inclusion in the UIP
  2. DBT-BIRAC — supported indigenous development of the CERVAVAC vaccine
  3. MoHFW — nodal ministry implementing the national programme
  4. SEBI — statutory regulator fixing the vaccine's retail price
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1, 2 and 4
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4