UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Ministry of Steel Signs MoUs for 85 Specialty Steel Projects Involving Investment of ₹11,887 Crore

Q1. Under the third round (PLI 1.2) of the Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Specialty Steel, Memoranda of Understanding were signed at Vigyan Bhawan in February 2026. How many MoUs were signed and with how many companies?

  • A. 57 MoUs with 27 companies
  • B. 67 MoUs with 35 companies
  • C. 85 MoUs with 55 companies
  • D. 79 MoUs with 44 companies

Q2. The PLI Scheme 1.2 for Specialty Steel is operationalised by which of the following Union ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Heavy Industries
  • B. Ministry of Steel
  • C. Ministry of Commerce and Industry (DPIIT)
  • D. Ministry of Mines

Q3. The parent Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Specialty Steel was approved by which authority and in which year?

  • A. Union Cabinet, in 2021
  • B. NITI Aayog, in 2021
  • C. Union Cabinet, in 2020 as part of the umbrella 14-sector PLI approval
  • D. Ministry of Steel by executive notification, in 2020

Q4. The five original product categories of specialty steel (including Electrical Steel/CRGO) under the PLI scheme were notified and are administered by which authority?

  • A. Ministry of Steel
  • B. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)
  • C. Ministry of Heavy Industries
  • D. Ministry of Commerce

Q5. In the context of the PLI Scheme for Specialty Steel, the second round (PLI 1.1) was launched primarily to achieve which of the following?

  • A. To utilise the unutilised/left-over capacity from the first round by inviting fresh participation
  • B. To exclusively incentivise CRGO electrical steel and no other product category
  • C. To raise the parent scheme's total outlay solely to the ₹40,000-crore level
  • D. To convert the scheme entirely from an incentive model into an upfront capital-subsidy model

Q6. Shri H.D. Kumaraswamy, who presided over the launch of PLI 1.2 and the signing of MoUs, holds which of the following ministerial designations?

  • A. Union Minister of Steel only
  • B. Union Minister of Heavy Industries alone, with Steel held by a Minister of State
  • C. Union Minister of both Steel and Heavy Industries
  • D. Union Minister of Commerce and Industry with additional charge of Steel

Q7. Across the 14 sectors covered by the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) umbrella, the term 'Production Linked Incentive' most precisely refers to which of the following?

  • A. An incentive paid on incremental sales of goods manufactured domestically over a defined base year
  • B. An upfront capital subsidy released to firms at the time of setting up a plant, irrespective of output
  • C. A multi-year corporate income-tax holiday granted to eligible manufacturers
  • D. A protective import tariff imposed on competing foreign goods in the covered sector