UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — ICMR-ICAR Launches ‘SEHAT’ to Strengthen Agriculture-Nutrition-Health Convergence and Deliver Measurable Public Health Outcomes

Q1. The SEHAT Mission, launched in 2026 to converge agriculture, nutrition and health research, is jointly implemented under which one of the following pairs of Union Ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare
  • B. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Women and Child Development
  • C. Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare
  • D. Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of Food Processing Industries

Q2. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) functions under the administrative control of which one of the following?

  • A. Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology
  • B. Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • C. Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
  • D. Ministry of AYUSH

Q3. In the context of ICAR's varietal development programmes referenced under initiatives such as SEHAT, the term 'biofortification' most precisely refers to:

  • A. Adding vitamins and minerals to staple foods during industrial post-harvest processing, such as fortifying wheat flour with iron premix at the miller's end.
  • B. Increasing the density of essential micronutrients in the edible portions of food crops through conventional plant breeding, agronomic management or modern biotechnology, so that the harvested grain itself is more nutrient-dense.
  • C. Spraying micronutrient solutions as foliar fertilisers on standing crops primarily to enhance grain yield and pest resistance rather than human nutrition.
  • D. Genetic engineering of livestock and poultry feed to produce animal-source foods (milk, eggs) enriched with vitamins and minerals for human consumption.

Q4. The National One Health Mission, conceived for integrated disease control and pandemic preparedness, is steered by which one of the following bodies of the Government of India?

  • A. Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India
  • B. NITI Aayog
  • C. Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology
  • D. National Centre for Disease Control, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Q5. Which one of the following is the nodal Ministry that anchors the implementation of POSHAN Abhiyaan?

  • A. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • B. Ministry of Women and Child Development
  • C. Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
  • D. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare

Q6. With reference to POSHAN Abhiyaan and Mission POSHAN 2.0, consider the following statements: 1. Mission POSHAN 2.0 was created by merging POSHAN Abhiyaan with the Supplementary Nutrition Programme and the Scheme for Adolescent Girls. 2. Unlike POSHAN Abhiyaan, which was administered by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Mission POSHAN 2.0 is administered by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 3. POSHAN Abhiyaan set a target of reducing stunting among children in the age group 0-6 years from 38.4% to 25% by 2022. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Mission POSHAN 2.0 was created by merging POSHAN Abhiyaan with the Supplementary Nutrition Programme and the Scheme for Adolescent Girls.
  2. Unlike POSHAN Abhiyaan, which was administered by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Mission POSHAN 2.0 is administered by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
  3. POSHAN Abhiyaan set a target of reducing stunting among children in the age group 0-6 years from 38.4% to 25% by 2022.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q7. Which of the following are recognised enterprise components of an Integrated Farming System (IFS) model as developed and promoted by ICAR-IIFSR? 1. Cropping system 2. Dairy and livestock 3. Aquaculture / fisheries 4. Contract manufacturing of synthetic agro-chemicals Which of the statements given above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Cropping system
  2. Dairy and livestock
  3. Aquaculture / fisheries
  4. Contract manufacturing of synthetic agro-chemicals
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4