UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Gradiant expects India business to double next year as PCB demand rises

Q1. The Semicon India Programme is operationalised through a dedicated executing body. Which one of the following correctly identifies that body and its institutional location?

  • A. India Semiconductor Mission, set up as a specialised and independent business division within Digital India Corporation
  • B. Semiconductor Laboratory, Mohali, functioning as an autonomous society for fabrication and chip prototyping
  • C. Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, functioning as a scientific research and development society
  • D. National Informatics Centre, functioning as the attached technology office for programme delivery

Q2. Under the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme of the Semicon India Programme, the 'Deployment Linked Incentive' component means:

  • A. An incentive of 6% to 4% of net sales turnover over five years, subject to a ceiling per application, for eligible semiconductor designs
  • B. An incentive of up to 50% of eligible expenditure incurred on design, subject to a ceiling per application, for eligible semiconductor designs
  • C. A reimbursement of up to 50% of the cost of deploying fabrication equipment, subject to a ceiling per approved fabrication facility
  • D. A grant of 6% to 4% of the project cost released over five years, subject to a ceiling per approved packaging and testing facility

Q3. Consider the following statements about the regulation of industrial water use and effluent in India: 1. Zero Liquid Discharge is being implemented in the textile, bulk drug and distillery industries. 2. General as well as industry-specific effluent discharge standards have been stipulated under the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986. 3. The Central Pollution Control Board categorises industries into Red, Orange, Green and White categories on the basis of a Pollution Index. 4. Attainment of Zero Liquid Discharge is a statutory precondition for grant of consent to operate to every water-consuming industrial unit in India. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. Zero Liquid Discharge is being implemented in the textile, bulk drug and distillery industries.
  2. General as well as industry-specific effluent discharge standards have been stipulated under the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986.
  3. The Central Pollution Control Board categorises industries into Red, Orange, Green and White categories on the basis of a Pollution Index.
  4. Attainment of Zero Liquid Discharge is a statutory precondition for grant of consent to operate to every water-consuming industrial unit in India.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 4 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 4

Q4. A semiconductor fabrication unit, which requires very large volumes of high-purity water, must meet prescribed limits before discharging its treated effluent. The general and industry-specific effluent discharge standards it must comply with derive their legal force from which one of the following?

  • A. The Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, framed under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
  • B. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, which vests all effluent standard-setting powers exclusively in State Pollution Control Boards
  • C. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, which makes compliance entirely a function of the cess rate paid by the unit
  • D. The National Water Policy, which is binding on all industrial units and wholly displaces sectoral effluent norms

Q5. The Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme has been described as offering, for the first time, a 'hybrid' incentive. In this context, the hybrid incentive means:

  • A. A combination of turnover-linked and capital-expenditure-linked support, with a part of the support tied directly to employment generated
  • B. A combination of turnover-linked support and an import-duty concession, with a part of the support tied directly to export earnings realised
  • C. A combination of capital-expenditure-linked support and interest subvention, with a part of the support tied directly to domestic value addition achieved
  • D. A combination of turnover-linked support and a research grant, with a part of the support tied directly to indigenous intellectual property created

Q6. Consider the following product categories: 1. Multi-layer printed circuit boards, including high density interconnect boards 2. Camera modules and connectors for mobile phones and IT hardware 3. Silicon wafer fabrication lines for logic and memory chips 4. Capital goods required for electronics manufacturing Which of the above is/are correctly identified as target segments of the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme?

  1. Multi-layer printed circuit boards, including high density interconnect boards
  2. Camera modules and connectors for mobile phones and IT hardware
  3. Silicon wafer fabrication lines for logic and memory chips
  4. Capital goods required for electronics manufacturing
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2, 3 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 1 and 4 only

Q7. Gradiant, recently in the news for its expanding India operations, is best described as a firm engaged in:

  • A. Designing, building and operating systems that treat, recycle and recover industrial water and wastewater
  • B. Designing, building and operating assembly and test lines that package and validate finished semiconductor devices
  • C. Designing, building and operating cleanroom air-handling and contamination-control systems for advanced manufacturing
  • D. Designing, building and operating desalination plants that supply municipal drinking water to coastal urban bodies

Q8. As reported in August 2026, Gradiant's current annual global revenue lies in which one of the following ranges?

  • A. $500 million to $750 million
  • B. $150 million to $300 million, its entire revenue arising from Indian projects
  • C. $1 billion to $1.5 billion, being wholly attributable to semiconductor clients
  • D. $2 billion to $2.5 billion, matching in full its latest funding-round valuation

Q9. A hyperscale data centre proposing to draw ground water for evaporative cooling in India requires a No Objection Certificate. The authority that grants such NOCs for industrial and infrastructure projects was constituted under which one of the following?

  • A. Section 3(3) of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
  • B. Section 3 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974
  • C. Section 3 of the River Boards Act, read with the National Water Policy
  • D. Article 262 of the Constitution, read with the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956

Q10. According to recent Indian estimates of the water intensity of data centres, roughly how much water does one megawatt of data centre capacity consume in a year?

  • A. About 25 million litres
  • B. About 25 lakh litres, this being the ceiling permitted for all evaporatively cooled facilities
  • C. About 150 million litres, this being the figure uniformly reported by every operator in India
  • D. About 358 million litres, this being the mandated design limit for hyperscale campuses

Q11. Coimbatore is one of the nodes identified for the development of the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor. How many nodes in all have been identified for this corridor?

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

Q12. Which one of the following is the Government of India's principal instrument for creating gigawatt-scale domestic manufacturing capacity in high efficiency solar PV modules and cells?

  • A. The Production Linked Incentive scheme for the National Programme on High Efficiency Solar PV Modules
  • B. The PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, under which all domestic module requirements are compulsorily manufactured in India
  • C. The PM-KUSUM scheme, which is the sole route for procurement of all indigenously manufactured solar cells
  • D. The Development of Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects scheme, which alone determines national cell manufacturing capacity