UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Historic Qadian-Beas Railway Line Project Revived After Nearly 100 Years: Sh. Ravneet Singh Bittu

Q1. Project Unigauge, the ongoing programme to convert and unify almost all rail gauges in India to broad gauge, is implemented by which one of the following?

  • A. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
  • B. Ministry of Railways
  • C. Ministry of Heavy Industries
  • D. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways

Q2. How many distinct track gauge dimensions has Indian Railways historically operated across its Broad, Metre and Narrow gauge categories combined?

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

Q3. The Ravi & Beas Waters Tribunal, set up in 1986 to verify the water-usage claims of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan on the eastern rivers bordering the Majha region, was constituted under which one of the following Acts?

  • A. The Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956
  • B. The River Boards Act, 1956
  • C. The Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966
  • D. The Inter-State Water Disputes (Amendment) Act, 2002

Q4. The Shahpurkandi Dam National Project on the river Ravi, which forms the northern boundary of Punjab's Majha region, is implemented under the nodal authority of which one of the following Union ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Jal Shakti
  • B. Ministry of Power
  • C. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
  • D. Ministry of Earth Sciences

Q5. How many wetlands lying directly on, or created by, the Beas river system are designated as Ramsar Sites of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention?

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

Q6. In the context of the Beas river basin, the term 'Maharana Pratap Sagar' refers to which one of the following?

  • A. The reservoir formed by the Pong Dam on the Beas river in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh
  • B. The reservoir formed by the Pandoh Dam on the Beas river in Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh
  • C. The reservoir formed by the Bhakra Dam on the Sutlej river in Bilaspur district, Himachal Pradesh
  • D. The reservoir formed by the Ranjit Sagar (Thein) Dam on the Ravi river on the Punjab–Himachal border

Q7. With reference to the Rajpura–Mohali New Broad-Gauge Line sanctioned in Punjab in 2025-26, which one of the following is the entity that has sanctioned and is responsible for executing the project?

  • A. Ministry of Railways, through Northern Railway zone
  • B. National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL)
  • C. Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), as a SPV with Punjab Government
  • D. Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL)

Q8. With reference to strategic and border-area railway initiatives in India, consider the following statements. Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

  1. The Bairabi–Sairang broad-gauge line, inaugurated in 2025, placed Aizawl on India's rail map for the first time.
  2. The Ferozepur–Patti rail link, sanctioned by the Ministry of Railways, provides an alternate connection close to the international border in Punjab.
  3. The PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan is a GIS-based digital platform launched in 2021 to integrate infrastructure planning across multiple Ministries and States/UTs.
  4. Bharatmala Pariyojana is the flagship programme of Indian Railways under which new broad-gauge lines in border States are sanctioned.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 4 only
  • D. 3 and 4 only

Q9. Which one of the following best describes the 'PM Gati Shakti — National Master Plan' of the Government of India?

  • A. A GIS-based digital platform for integrated planning of multimodal infrastructure connectivity across central ministries and States/UTs
  • B. A viability-gap-funding window for greenfield expressways executed under the Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-II
  • C. A capacity-augmentation programme exclusively for the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors of Indian Railways
  • D. A unified single-window clearance system for environmental and forest approvals of large infrastructure projects

Q10. The Logistics Division that functions as the Secretariat of the Network Planning Group (NPG) under PM Gati Shakti is housed in which one of the following?

  • A. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry
  • B. Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance
  • C. NITI Aayog
  • D. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways