UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — NMDC Scripts History as India’s First Mining Company to Reach 50 Million Tonnes of Iron Ore Production

Q1. Which one of the following companies became the first in India to produce 50 million tonnes of iron ore in a single financial year (FY 2025-26)?

  • A. NMDC Limited
  • B. Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL)
  • C. KIOCL Limited
  • D. Vedanta Limited

Q2. In the context of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), the conferment of 'Navratna' status on a company such as NMDC primarily signifies which one of the following?

  • A. Enhanced financial and operational autonomy, including the power to make capital investments up to a prescribed ceiling without prior government approval
  • B. A constitutional status that exempts the company from the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act
  • C. A guarantee of a fixed minimum annual dividend payable to the Government of India
  • D. Recognition as a statutory regulator for the mineral sector

Q3. NMDC, which operates the Bailadila and Donimalai iron ore mines, functions under the administrative control of which one of the following Union ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Steel
  • B. Ministry of Mines
  • C. Ministry of Coal
  • D. Ministry of Commerce and Industry

Q4. The 2026 milestone for which NMDC was described as scripting history refers precisely to which one of the following?

  • A. Producing 50 million tonnes of iron ore within a single financial year — a first for any Indian mining company
  • B. Reaching a cumulative iron ore production of 50 million tonnes since the company's inception
  • C. Exporting 50 million tonnes of iron ore in a single year
  • D. Producing 50 million tonnes of crude steel in a single year

Q5. In which financial year did NMDC become the first Indian mining company to cross the 50 million tonne iron ore production mark?

  • A. FY 2025-26
  • B. FY 2021-22
  • C. FY 2023-24
  • D. FY 2024-25

Q6. Which production landmark did NMDC cross for the first time in FY 2021-22, before later reaching the 50 MT mark?

  • A. 40 million tonnes
  • B. 41 million tonnes
  • C. 30 million tonnes
  • D. 50 million tonnes

Q7. With reference to NMDC's iron ore production milestones, which of the following pairings of output level and approximate year are correctly identified?

  1. About 10 million tonnes — around 1978
  2. About 30 million tonnes — around 2015
  3. 40 million tonnes — FY 2021-22
  4. 50 million tonnes — FY 2023-24
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • D. 3 and 4 only

Q8. In NMDC's MoU for the slurry pipeline from Jagdalpur to Visakhapatnam, the partner RINL (Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited) is the corporate entity that operates which steel plant?

  • A. Visakhapatnam Steel Plant
  • B. Bhilai Steel Plant
  • C. Bokaro Steel Plant
  • D. Rourkela Steel Plant

Q9. The target of achieving a crude steel capacity of 300 million tonnes by 2030-31, for which domestic iron ore is the critical feedstock, is set under which one of the following?

  • A. National Steel Policy, 2017
  • B. National Mineral Policy, 2019
  • C. National Steel Policy, 2005
  • D. Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, 2020

Q10. With reference to the regulatory framework governing iron ore mining in India, consider the following statements. Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

  1. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 provides the basic statutory framework for regulating mining in India.
  2. The 2015 amendment to the Act introduced auction as the method for granting mineral concessions for notified minerals such as iron ore.
  3. Iron ore is classified as a notified mineral under the MMDR regime.
  4. The MMDR Act is administered and implemented at the Union level by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 4 only
  • D. 3 and 4
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