UPSC Prelims 2025 Q57: Coir Board, NAB, NCTI and Their Ministries

With reference to India, consider the following pairs:

(Organization : Union Ministry)

I. The National Automotive Board : Ministry of Commerce and Industry

II. The Coir Board : Ministry of Heavy Industries

III. The National Centre for Trade Information : Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

  1. Only one
  2. Only two
  3. All the three
  4. None

Answer: (d) None

Statement-wise explanation

  • I: incorrect — The National Automotive Board (NAB) is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Heavy Industries. It was set up in 2012 to coordinate the government's work in the automotive sector. It took over the testing centres built under NATRiP, such as ICAT Manesar, GARC Chennai and NATRAX Indore, after that project ended on 31 March 2021. It does not come under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
  • II: incorrect — The Coir Board is a statutory body set up under the Coir Industry Act, 1953, which came into force in 1954. Its headquarters are in Kochi. It works under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), not the Ministry of Heavy Industries. It promotes the coir industry through research, training, market promotion, exports and worker welfare.
  • III: incorrect — The National Centre for Trade Information (NCTI) was set up in 1995 under the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It is a non-profit joint venture of the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) and the National Informatics Centre (NIC), based at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. Its job is to collect and share trade data and business information. Small firms are among its users, but it is not under the MSME Ministry.

How to eliminate

Look at how the pairs are built. The three bodies and the three ministries look like one set that has been shuffled: an automotive body (Heavy Industries), a traditional village industry (MSME) and a trade-data body (Commerce). Each name gives a clue. 'Automotive' points to Heavy Industries, the ministry that also runs FAME, PM E-DRIVE and PLI-Auto. 'Coir' is a traditional cottage industry, like khadi, so it points to MSME. 'Trade Information' points to Commerce. If you match the names this way, no pair as printed survives. This shuffling method is not proof, because UPSC does not always shuffle. But it means that knowing just one link for sure, such as Coir Board → MSME, removes the idea that every pair is correct. Knowing two links usually decides the question. Facts to remember: NAB → Heavy Industries, Coir Board → MSME, NCTI → Commerce (Department of Commerce).

Know more

Which ministry runs which board? UPSC often tests the parent ministry of statutory and autonomous bodies. Names can mislead. A commodity board does not always sit under Commerce or Agriculture.

Body Type Parent ministry
National Automotive Board Autonomous body (2012) Heavy Industries
ARAI, CMTI, FCRI Autonomous bodies Heavy Industries
Coir Board Statutory, Coir Industry Act 1953 MSME
KVIC Statutory, KVIC Act 1956 MSME
Coconut Development Board Statutory, 1981 Agriculture & Farmers Welfare
Tea, Coffee, Rubber, Spices, Tobacco Boards Statutory commodity boards Commerce & Industry
ITPO, NCTI Company / joint venture Commerce & Industry (Dept of Commerce)
National Jute Board, Central Silk Board Statutory Textiles

Patterns worth remembering

  • Plantation crops grown for export (tea, coffee, rubber, spices, tobacco) come under Commerce. The reason is history: these boards were set up to earn foreign exchange.
  • The coconut is split between two ministries. The crop (Coconut Development Board) is under Agriculture. The fibre industry (Coir Board) is under MSME, because coir is a labour-heavy cottage industry. Many of its workers are women in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
  • Fibres used to make textiles (jute, silk, wool) come under Textiles.
  • The automotive sector (FAME, PM E-DRIVE, PLI-Auto, NAB and its testing centres) comes under Heavy Industries. Road safety rules and vehicle standards come under Road Transport and Highways.
  • Trade promotion and trade data (ITPO, NCTI, Export Promotion Councils, DGFT) come under the Department of Commerce.

The Coir Board and KVIC both act as implementing agencies for MSME schemes such as SFURTI. That link is another way to remember that the Coir Board belongs to MSME.

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