UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — IndiaAI and ICMR Sign MoU to Accelerate Responsible AI Adoption in Healthcare

Q1. In the context of the IndiaAI Mission, what is 'AIKosha'?

  • A. A sovereign GPU compute cluster of over 10,000 graphics processing units built under a public-private partnership
  • B. A secured platform serving as a repository of non-personal datasets, AI models and use cases with integrated sandbox capabilities
  • C. A startup financing window providing equity support exclusively to deep-tech artificial intelligence ventures
  • D. A self-assessment framework and indigenous toolkit developed under the Safe & Trusted AI pillar

Q2. On how many strategic pillars is the IndiaAI Mission, approved by the Union Cabinet in March 2024, structured?

  • A. Five
  • B. Six
  • C. Seven
  • D. Nine

Q3. In the context of the institutional history of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), what was the 'Indian Research Fund Association' (IRFA)?

  • A. A statutory body set up under a 1911 Act of the Imperial Legislative Council exclusively to fund university-based scientific research in British India
  • B. A government-established association created in 1911 to sponsor and coordinate medical research in India, which was redesignated as ICMR in 1949
  • C. A philanthropic trust founded by Indian princely states in 1911 to finance vaccine procurement during plague outbreaks, later absorbed into the Ministry of Health in 1949
  • D. A research wing of the Indian Medical Service formed in 1911 to certify indigenous systems of medicine, which became the precursor of the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences

Q4. Which of the following is the nodal administrative Department under which the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) functions at the Union level?

  • A. Department of Health and Family Welfare
  • B. Directorate General of Health Services
  • C. Department of Health Research
  • D. Department of Biotechnology

Q5. With reference to the IndiaAI Mission, under which of the following is IndiaAI operationalised as the implementing vehicle for the Mission's programmes, including the May 2026 MoU with ICMR?

  • A. National Informatics Centre (NIC)
  • B. Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC)
  • C. Digital India Corporation (DIC)
  • D. Software Technology Parks of India (STPI)

Q6. With reference to the IndiaAI–ICMR Memorandum of Understanding signed in May 2026, consider the following statements: 1. Under the MoU, ICMR will contribute anonymised, ethics-approved health research datasets and AI toolkits developed under the MIDAS framework to the AIKosh platform. 2. IndiaAI will provide ICMR access to GPU-based and high-performance computing infrastructure at subsidised rates under defined service-level agreements. 3. The MoU operationalises India's commitments under the HealthAI Global Regulatory Network, a multilateral initiative co-founded by India with Japan and Australia. 4. ICMR is the apex biomedical research body functioning under the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Under the MoU, ICMR will contribute anonymised, ethics-approved health research datasets and AI toolkits developed under the MIDAS framework to the AIKosh platform.
  2. IndiaAI will provide ICMR access to GPU-based and high-performance computing infrastructure at subsidised rates under defined service-level agreements.
  3. The MoU operationalises India's commitments under the HealthAI Global Regulatory Network, a multilateral initiative co-founded by India with Japan and Australia.
  4. ICMR is the apex biomedical research body functioning under the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 4
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1 and 4 only

Q7. Which one of the following institutions has been designated, alongside IndiaAI, as the Indian focal entity recognised by the HealthAI Global Regulatory Network as a 'Pioneer Country' partner and is a signatory to the tripartite MoU with IndiaAI and HealthAI?

  • A. National Institute for Research in Digital Health and Data Sciences (NIRDHDS) under the Indian Council of Medical Research
  • B. National Health Authority under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • C. Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO)
  • D. All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi

Q8. The 'AIKosha' (IndiaAI Datasets Platform), launched in March 2025, is implemented through which one of the following bodies?

  • A. National Informatics Centre (NIC) under MeitY
  • B. Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) under MeitY
  • C. IndiaAI Independent Business Division within Digital India Corporation under MeitY
  • D. National e-Governance Division (NeGD) under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions

Q9. With reference to the IndiaAI Mission, consider the following: 1. IndiaAI Compute Capacity 2. AIKosha — IndiaAI Datasets Platform 3. IndiaAI FutureSkills 4. National Digital Health Mission Which of the above are correctly identified as pillars of the IndiaAI Mission?

  1. IndiaAI Compute Capacity
  2. AIKosha — IndiaAI Datasets Platform
  3. IndiaAI FutureSkills
  4. National Digital Health Mission
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q10. Under which of the following does the ICMR-National Institute for Research in Digital Health and Data Sciences (NIRDHDS) function as a permanent institute?

  • A. Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • B. Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology
  • C. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
  • D. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Ministry of Science and Technology

Q11. With reference to the HealthAI Global Regulatory Network (GRN), consider the following countries: 1. United Kingdom 2. Singapore 3. India 4. Japan Which of the above are correctly identified as 'Pioneer Countries' of the HealthAI Global Regulatory Network?

  1. United Kingdom
  2. Singapore
  3. India
  4. Japan
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q12. Under the leadership of which one of the following Union Ministries was the 'AI Impact Casebook on Education', released at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, developed?

  • A. Ministry of Education
  • B. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
  • C. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
  • D. Ministry of Women and Child Development

Q13. With reference to the Responsible AI projects selected under the 'Safe & Trusted AI' pillar of the IndiaAI Mission through the Expression of Interest (EoI), consider the following themes: 1. Machine Unlearning 2. Synthetic Data Generation 3. Quantum Key Distribution 4. Algorithm Auditing Tools Which of the above is/are correctly identified as themes of these selected projects?

  1. Machine Unlearning
  2. Synthetic Data Generation
  3. Quantum Key Distribution
  4. Algorithm Auditing Tools
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 3 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q14. With reference to the 'India AI Governance Guidelines' and the 'IndiaAI Mission', consider the following statements: 1. The IndiaAI Mission is a Union Cabinet-approved scheme with a financial outlay of over Rs 10,000 crore, whereas the India AI Governance Guidelines are a principle-based, non-statutory framework. 2. Both the Mission and the Governance Guidelines are administered under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. 3. The seven 'Sutras' of the Governance Guidelines include 'Innovation over Restraint' and 'Understandable by Design', while the seven pillars of the IndiaAI Mission include 'Safe & Trusted AI' and 'FutureSkills'. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The IndiaAI Mission is a Union Cabinet-approved scheme with a financial outlay of over Rs 10,000 crore, whereas the India AI Governance Guidelines are a principle-based, non-statutory framework.
  2. Both the Mission and the Governance Guidelines are administered under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
  3. The seven 'Sutras' of the Governance Guidelines include 'Innovation over Restraint' and 'Understandable by Design', while the seven pillars of the IndiaAI Mission include 'Safe & Trusted AI' and 'FutureSkills'.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3