UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Cabinet approves Ahmedabad Metro Rail project Phase 2A (Koteshwar Road to Airport corridor)
Q1. The Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project Phase 2(A) (Koteshwar Road–Airport) corridor, approved by the Union Cabinet in June 2026, comprises how many stations?
- A. Four stations, all of which are elevated
- B. Five stations, of which four are elevated and one is underground
- C. Six stations, of which five are elevated and one is underground
- D. Seven stations, of which four are elevated and three are underground
Q2. With reference to the Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project Phase 2(A) (Koteshwar Road–Airport corridor) approved by the Union Cabinet in 2026, vis-à-vis the earlier Phase-II (Ahmedabad–Gandhinagar) project, consider the following statements:
1. The Phase 2(A) corridor is considerably shorter in route length than the total length of the two Phase-II corridors.
2. Phase 2(A) provides the first dedicated metro link to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad.
3. Unlike Phase-II, Phase 2(A) is being implemented entirely by the Government of Gujarat without any equity participation by the Union Government.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The Phase 2(A) corridor is considerably shorter in route length than the total length of the two Phase-II corridors.
- Phase 2(A) provides the first dedicated metro link to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad.
- Unlike Phase-II, Phase 2(A) is being implemented entirely by the Government of Gujarat without any equity participation by the Union Government.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q3. In the context of urban mass transit in Gujarat, the erstwhile entity 'MEGA Company Limited' — later reconstituted as the Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation Limited (GMRC) — stood for which one of the following?
- A. Metropolitan Express for Greater Ahmedabad
- B. Metro-Link Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad
- C. Mass Express Gujarat-Ahmedabad
- D. Multi-modal Express for Gujarat Agglomerations
Q4. Under the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, the Network Planning Group (NPG) — which appraised the Ahmedabad Metro Phase 2(A) corridor before Cabinet approval — is convened under which one of the following?
- A. NITI Aayog
- B. Cabinet Secretariat
- C. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- D. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
Q5. With reference to the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, the term 'Network Planning Group' (NPG) most appropriately refers to which one of the following?
- A. A panel of Union Cabinet Ministers that grants financial sanction to multimodal infrastructure projects above a threshold cost
- B. A standing group comprising the heads of the Network Planning Wings of infrastructure-line Ministries/Departments, which appraises projects for integrated multimodal planning and last-mile connectivity
- C. A council of State Chief Secretaries that prepares State-level logistics master plans and aligns them with the NMP
- D. A technical cell that maintains the geospatial data layers and GIS portal underlying the National Master Plan
Q6. In the context of the Ahmedabad–Gandhinagar Metro Rail Project, the Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation Limited (GMRC), which serves as its implementing agency, is best described as which one of the following?
- A. A 50:50 equity Special Purpose Vehicle jointly owned by the Government of India and the Government of Gujarat
- B. A wholly-owned subsidiary of the Indian Railways under the Ministry of Railways
- C. An autonomous statutory body constituted under the Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002
- D. A public sector undertaking exclusively owned by the Government of Gujarat
Q7. Under the Metro Rail Policy, 2017, which one of the following is the nodal Ministry of the Government of India for sanctioning and overseeing new metro rail projects in the country?
- A. Ministry of Urban Development
- B. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
- C. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
- D. Ministry of Railways
Q8. With reference to the Metro Rail Policy, 2017 and its departures from the earlier approach to metro project sanctioning in India, consider the following statements:
1. Unlike the earlier practice, the 2017 policy makes private sector participation mandatory for new metro projects seeking central financial assistance.
2. The policy introduces a mandatory 'Alternatives Analysis' requiring evaluation of BRTS, Light Rail Transit, Tramways and Regional Rail before a metro project is approved.
3. The policy stipulates a minimum Financial Internal Rate of Return (FIRR) of 14% as the threshold for central financial assistance.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Unlike the earlier practice, the 2017 policy makes private sector participation mandatory for new metro projects seeking central financial assistance.
- The policy introduces a mandatory 'Alternatives Analysis' requiring evaluation of BRTS, Light Rail Transit, Tramways and Regional Rail before a metro project is approved.
- The policy stipulates a minimum Financial Internal Rate of Return (FIRR) of 14% as the threshold for central financial assistance.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q9. The Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project Phase 2A (Koteshwar Road – Airport corridor), approved by the Union Cabinet in 2026, is to be implemented by which one of the following agencies?
- A. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited
- B. Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation Limited
- C. National Capital Region Transport Corporation
- D. National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited
Q10. With reference to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) Public-Private Partnership (PPP) concessions awarded to the Adani Group for 50-year operation, management and development, consider the following airports:
1. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad
2. Mangaluru International Airport
3. Thiruvananthapuram International Airport
4. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad
Which of the above is/are NOT correctly identified as airports awarded to the Adani Group under this AAI PPP round?
- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad
- Mangaluru International Airport
- Thiruvananthapuram International Airport
- Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 3 only
- C. 4 only
- D. 2 and 4 only
Q11. How many Airports Authority of India (AAI) airports — including Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad — were leased out to the Adani Group for operation, management and development under the AAI Public-Private Partnership (PPP) concession round?
- A. Four
- B. Five
- C. Six
- D. Seven