UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — National Workshop on R&D in Water Charts Future Roadmap for Research-Led Water Security

Q1. Which one of the following is the apex research funding body that has partnered with the Ministry of Jal Shakti to jointly launch and co-fund the 'MAHA on Water' Mission?

  • A. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
  • B. Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB)
  • C. Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF)
  • D. Technology Development Board (TDB)

Q2. The ₹200-crore outlay of the recently launched ANRF–MoJS 'MAHA on Water' Mission is projected to be spent over a period of how many years?

  • A. Three years
  • B. Five years
  • C. Seven years
  • D. Ten years

Q3. With reference to the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) and the erstwhile Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), consider the following statements:

  1. The Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act, 2023 repealed the Science and Engineering Research Board Act, 2008 and subsumed SERB into ANRF.
  2. Unlike SERB, the Governing Board of ANRF is headed ex officio by the Prime Minister of India.
  3. While SERB functioned under the Ministry of Education, ANRF functions under the Department of Science and Technology.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q4. Under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act, 2023, which of the following are correctly identified as ex-officio office-holders in the structure of ANRF?

  1. President of the Governing Board — Prime Minister of India
  2. Vice-President of the Governing Board — Union Minister of Education
  3. Chairperson of the Executive Council — Cabinet Secretary
  4. Vice-President of the Governing Board — Union Minister of Science and Technology
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 3 only

Q5. How many Departments function under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, constituted in 2019?

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

Q6. Which one of the following is the nodal Department under the Ministry of Jal Shakti for the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission?

  • A. Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
  • B. Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation
  • C. Department of Land Resources
  • D. Department of Rural Development

Q7. Under the MoU signed between the Ministry of Jal Shakti and ISRO at the National Workshop on R&D in Water (June 2026), which ISRO centre is the principal technical agency providing satellite-based remote-sensing inputs and the Bhuvan platform for water resource assessment, monitoring and management?

  • A. National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad
  • B. Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad
  • C. U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), Bengaluru
  • D. ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), Bengaluru

Q8. In the context of the MoJS–ISRO cooperation on water governance, the term 'Bhuvan' refers to which one of the following?

  • A. An ISRO-developed web-based geoportal that disseminates Indian Earth-observation satellite imagery and value-added geospatial decision-support services
  • B. A constellation of dedicated hydrological satellites jointly operated by ISRO and the Central Water Commission
  • C. A real-time groundwater telemetry network maintained by the Central Ground Water Board using ISRO ground stations
  • D. An AI-based hydrological forecasting model developed by NRSC for the Jal Jeevan Mission

Q9. With reference to the Bharat Water Innovation Network (Bharat-WIN) launched in 2026, consider the following statements:

  1. It was launched during the National Workshop on R&D in Water held on 1 June 2026.
  2. It is anchored by the Ministry of Jal Shakti as an open call for product and prototype development in the water sector.
  3. It is open exclusively to Startups and MSMEs registered under the Startup India initiative.
  4. It offers a reward of ₹1 lakh for developing a detailed Proof-of-Concept (PoC) proposal, which is then considered for further grant-in-aid for a full-scale prototype.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 3 and 4 only

Q10. The Atal Bhujal Yojana, a Central Sector scheme of the Ministry of Jal Shakti supported by the World Bank, is being implemented in how many States of India?

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