UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Prime Minister witnesses signing of agreement between ASML and Tata Electronics for Semiconductor manufacturing

Q1. The India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) was constituted to implement which one of the following programmes approved by the Union Cabinet in December 2021 with an outlay of about ₹76,000 crore?

• A. Programme for Development of Semiconductors and Display Manufacturing Ecosystem
• B. Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing
• C. Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS)
• D. Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS)

Q2. The India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) has been set up as an Independent Business Division within which one of the following bodies under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology?

• A. Digital India Corporation
• B. Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC)
• C. National Informatics Centre (NIC)
• D. Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) Directorate

Q3. As of 2026, how many companies globally manufacture and supply Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems used in advanced-node semiconductor fabrication?

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

Q4. Which of the following is the nodal agency that operationalises the Semicon India Programme under which projects such as the Tata Electronics–ASML linked Dholera fab are approved?

• A. India Semiconductor Mission, an Independent Business Division of Digital India Corporation under MeitY
• B. Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) under MeitY
• C. Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) under MeitY
• D. National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) under MeitY

Q5. The Dholera Special Investment Region Development Authority (DSIRDA), which is the statutory authority for the planning and development of Dholera SIR, has been constituted under which one of the following?

• A. The Special Economic Zones Act, 2005
• B. The Gujarat Industrial Development Act, 1962
• C. The Gujarat Special Investment Region Act, 2009
• D. The National Industrial Corridor Development Programme guidelines, 2014

Q6. What is the planned monthly wafer-fabrication capacity of the Tata Electronics semiconductor fab being set up at Dholera, Gujarat, in technology partnership with PSMC, Taiwan?

• A. 25,000 wafer starts per month
• B. 50,000 wafer starts per month
• C. 75,000 wafer starts per month
• D. 1,00,000 wafer starts per month

Q7. In the context of India's semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem (e.g., the Tata facility being set up at Morigaon, Assam), the abbreviation 'OSAT' refers to which of the following?

• A. Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test
• B. Optical Sensor and Application Technology
• C. On-chip System Architecture Testing
• D. Operational Standard for Advanced Transistors

Q8. With reference to the India-Netherlands Joint Trade and Investment Committee (JTIC) established through a Memorandum of Understanding in 2025, which one of the following is the nodal Indian ministry that signed the MoU and co-chairs the Committee from the Indian side?

• A. Ministry of External Affairs
• B. Ministry of Commerce and Industry
• C. Ministry of Finance
• D. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

Q9. The Roadmap of the India-Netherlands Strategic Partnership adopted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Rob Jetten at The Hague in May 2026 covers a period of how many years?

• A. Three years
• B. Five years
• C. Seven years
• D. Ten years

Q10. With reference to the semiconductor manufacturing value chain, consider the following activities: 1. Photolithography of silicon wafers using DUV/EUV equipment 2. Wire bonding and plastic encapsulation of individual chips 3. Ion implantation (doping) of silicon wafers 4. Dicing of finished wafers into individual dies Which of the above is/are correctly identified as activities of the 'front-end' (fab) stage of semiconductor manufacturing?

1. Photolithography of silicon wafers using DUV/EUV equipment
2. Wire bonding and plastic encapsulation of individual chips
3. Ion implantation (doping) of silicon wafers
4. Dicing of finished wafers into individual dies

• A. 1 and 3 only
• B. 2 and 4 only
• C. 1, 2 and 4
• D. 3 only

Q11. Which one of the following segments of the global semiconductor value chain accounts for the largest share of value addition?

• A. Chip design (including the fabless segment)
• B. Wafer fabrication at front-end fabs
• C. Outsourced assembly, testing and packaging (OSAT/ATMP)
• D. Supply of raw silicon wafers and process chemicals

Q12. In the context of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, the term 'Domestic Tariff Area' refers to which one of the following?

• A. The whole of India (including its territorial waters and continental shelf) excluding the areas of the Special Economic Zones
• B. The customs-bonded warehousing zones notified by the Central Government under the Customs Act, 1962
• C. The non-processing area within a Special Economic Zone reserved for residential, social and recreational infrastructure
• D. Free Trade and Warehousing Zones which are deemed to be foreign territory for the purposes of trade operations and duties

Q13. Pursuant to the amendments to the SEZ Rules notified by the Department of Commerce in June 2025 to facilitate projects such as the TSMPL Dholera fab, what is the minimum contiguous land area (in hectares) required for a Special Economic Zone set up exclusively for the manufacturing of semiconductors or electronic components?

• A. 5 hectares
• B. 10 hectares
• C. 25 hectares
• D. 50 hectares

Q14. In the global semiconductor supply chain, which one of the following companies is the sole worldwide supplier of Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment that has been the focal point of US-led export controls against China?

• A. Applied Materials
• B. Tokyo Electron
• C. ASML
• D. Nikon Corporation