UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — DST Strengthens India–Netherlands Cooperation in Green Hydrogen Research and Capacity Building

Q1. The India–Netherlands Hydrogen Fellowship Programme, launched in 2026 to deepen bilateral green hydrogen research cooperation, is operationalised by which one of the following?

  • A. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)
  • B. Department of Science and Technology (DST)
  • C. Department of Biotechnology (DBT)
  • D. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)

Q2. The scheme guidelines of the India–Netherlands Hydrogen Fellowship Programme identify its core thematic focus areas as system integration, safety, techno-economic analysis, life-cycle assessment and indigenisation pathways. How many core thematic focus areas are these?

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

Q3. DST hosted the signing of an institution-to-institution MoU between the University of Groningen and how many Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)?

  • A. 16
  • B. 18
  • C. 19
  • D. 23

Q4. Which one of the following best describes the legal-financial character of the MoU signed between the University of Groningen and the participating IITs?

  • A. A binding bilateral funding agreement guaranteeing research grants to each IIT
  • B. An enabling academic framework for exchange and joint research that operates without automatic financial commitments
  • C. A government-to-government treaty requiring parliamentary ratification
  • D. A commercial technology-transfer licence for electrolyser manufacturing

Q5. Within the ₹19,744 crore initial outlay of the National Green Hydrogen Mission, which component has the single largest financial allocation?

  • A. Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) programme
  • B. Pilot projects
  • C. Research & Development
  • D. Other mission components

Q6. Which ministry is the nodal ministry responsible for formulating the scheme guidelines and implementing the National Green Hydrogen Mission?

  • A. Ministry of Power
  • B. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)
  • C. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
  • D. Ministry of Heavy Industries

Q7. In the context of DST's administrative structure, the 'CEST' Division — the nodal division for the hydrogen fellowship — stands for:

  • A. Climate, Energy and Sustainable Technology
  • B. Centre for Energy and Sustainability Transitions
  • C. Clean Energy and Sustainable Transport
  • D. Climate, Environment and Space Technology

Q8. The two national climate missions anchored by DST's CEST Division — on the sustainable Himalayan ecosystem and on strategic knowledge for climate change — are constituted under which overarching national framework?

  • A. National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)
  • B. National Green Hydrogen Mission
  • C. India's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
  • D. National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)

Q9. With reference to India–Netherlands bilateral science cooperation through DST and the Dutch Research Council, consider the following statements: 1. NWO is the Dutch Research Council that partners DST for Indo-Dutch joint research calls. 2. The 'Cooperation India (DST)' programme is run under NWO's Merian Fund. 3. NWO and DST jointly constitute an International Advisory Committee for these joint calls. 4. On the Indian side, the DST–NWO cooperation is administered by the Ministry of External Affairs. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. NWO is the Dutch Research Council that partners DST for Indo-Dutch joint research calls.
  2. The 'Cooperation India (DST)' programme is run under NWO's Merian Fund.
  3. NWO and DST jointly constitute an International Advisory Committee for these joint calls.
  4. On the Indian side, the DST–NWO cooperation is administered by the Ministry of External Affairs.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1 and 4 only

Q10. Green hydrogen is produced by the electrolysis of water using renewable electricity. In this process, each water molecule is split to yield how many distinct gaseous elements?

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

Q11. Among the 'Panchamrit' commitments announced by India at COP26 (Glasgow, 2021), what was India's flagship target for non-fossil (installed) energy capacity to be achieved by 2030?

  • A. 450 GW
  • B. 500 GW
  • C. 175 GW
  • D. 125 GW

Q12. An applicant to the India–Netherlands Hydrogen Fellowship must first secure conditional approval from the University of Groningen; thereafter the fellowship application is processed exclusively by which agency?

  • A. The University of Groningen alone
  • B. The Department of Science and Technology (DST)
  • C. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)
  • D. The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)