UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — PM-SETU: One Year of Transforming India’s ITIs

Q1. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. PM-SETU has been approved as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme rather than as a Central Sector Scheme.
  2. Half of the Union Government's share of PM-SETU's outlay is co-financed by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q2. A Union Ministry is designing a new development scheme. Which one of the following features would make it a Central Sector Scheme rather than a Centrally Sponsored Scheme?

  • A. A part of the Union's share of the cost is co-financed by multilateral development banks.
  • B. The Union frames the guidelines and monitors progress through a national steering committee.
  • C. The Union meets the full cost and implements it through its own agencies in a Union List sector.
  • D. The Union meets most of the cost, while State Governments implement it in a State List sector.

Q3. With reference to the governance of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Because Government ITIs are under State control, each State designs the curricula and sets the affiliation norms for the ITIs in its territory.
  2. A trainee certified under the Craftsmen Training Scheme is certified under a nationally set framework, whichever State's ITI the trainee attended.
  3. Even though ITIs are under State control, the Union has run schemes that give States financial assistance to upgrade ITI infrastructure.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q4. Consider the following facts about PM-SETU: (i) each ITI cluster is managed by a Special Purpose Vehicle in which the anchor industry partner holds 51% equity and the Union and the State Government hold 24.5% each; (ii) Government ITIs remain under the administrative and financial control of the State; (iii) curriculum, affiliation and certification norms for ITIs are set at the national level. Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above facts?

  1. Setting up the SPV transfers ownership of the ITIs' land and buildings to the anchor industry partner.
  2. The anchor industry partner, through its majority stake, can on its own change the trade curriculum followed in the cluster's ITIs.
  3. The State Government has a role both as the authority controlling its ITIs and as a shareholder in the SPV managing the cluster.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q5. Consider the following assertion: Making ITI training respond to industry's skill requirements is critical if India is to turn its large youth population into a demographic dividend. Which of the following statements support/supports the above assertion?

  1. A large share of India's population is young, and many of these young people lack the skills a modern economy requires.
  2. The number of ITIs in India rose by about 42% between 2014 and 2026.
  3. Young people raise economic growth when they are educated and employed in decent work, not merely because there are more of them.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 only
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q6. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Under PM-SETU, each of the 1,000 Government ITIs covered is to house its own innovation centre, production unit and incubation facility.
  2. A hub-and-spoke model concentrates costly specialised facilities at a hub that serves several spokes, while the spokes extend access to learners in the surrounding area.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q7. With reference to the World Bank, which co-finances PM-SETU, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The International Development Association (IDA) is the World Bank's arm that provides financing to the poorest countries.
  2. The 'World Bank', as distinct from the wider World Bank Group, consists only of the IBRD and the IDA.
  3. India has graduated from IDA and now borrows from the World Bank mainly through the IBRD.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only