A formal exemption order for a Provident Fund Trust is granted under section 17 of which Act?

The correct answer is 28 December. The amnesty was made available for a period of six months counted from the date on which the Employees' Provident Fund Scheme, 2026 was notified, and that notification was issued on 29 June 2026. Six months from that date brings the window to a close on 28 December 2026, which is why EPFO has intensified its drive with under three months to go. Option A, 30 September, has already passed and is not connected with this scheme. Option C, 31 January, would stretch the window beyond the six months allowed in the notification. Option D, 31 March, is the close of the financial year and is a tempting but wrong choice, because the amnesty is tied to the notification date and not to the fiscal calendar. Aspirants should also remember the circular of 11 July 2026 that laid down how an establishment applies.

The correct answer is recognition by the Income Tax Department. That recognition is not waived at all; it is the very qualification a trust must already possess to be eligible, since the scheme is aimed at trusts recognised under the Income Tax Act, 1961 that nevertheless lack a formal exemption order. Options A, B and C name the three statutory requirements of the Code on Social Security, 2020 that the scheme does set aside, namely the minimum number of employees, the size of the corpus and the three-year compliance rule. A further benefit worth noting is the complete operational flexibility a trust enjoys after regularisation, as it may then comply either as an exempt or as an unexempt establishment. The stated purpose of availing the amnesty is to allow income tax benefits available to recognised trusts to continue without interruption.

The correct answer is the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya National Academy of Social Security, usually shortened to PDUNASS. Training was delivered along two tracks, through online modules and physically at this academy, for departmental officers and employers alike, while the Exemption Division at the head office ran dedicated hybrid programmes for field officials posted across the country. Option A, the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration at Mussoorie, trains civil servants and is not the venue here. Option C, the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics, handles indirect tax training and is unrelated to provident fund exemptions. Option D, the National Institute of Financial Management, works on public financial management. Alongside this training, EPFO held seminars with the Confederation of Indian Industry, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the Bombay Stock Exchange to reach eligible establishments.

The correct answer is 30 October 2026, covering 216 parcels. After the response to the first phase, the second and final phase was rescheduled to that date, with bidding open from 11 in the morning until 5 in the evening, and it offers the land parcels left unsold from the first round. Option A mixes up two dates and two counts: 27 October 2026 is the last day for bidders to complete their registration, not the auction day, and 150 is the number of plots already sold in the first phase. Option C names the day the first-phase result was announced and attaches a figure drawn from the bid value of 366.33 crore rupees. Option D keeps the correct parcel count but moves the auction a month later, which the announcement does not support. Intending buyers were advised to study plot details, reserve prices and eligibility conditions on the official portal before the deadline.

The correct answer is Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, the corporate entity that operates the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. Its premium land parcels in Visakhapatnam were put up for sale by the National Land Monetization Corporation, and 150 plots were sold on day one for 366.33 crore rupees. Option A, Steel Authority of India Limited, is another steel producer in the public sector but had no role in this auction. Option C, RailTel, did take part in the exercise, though not as the owner of the land: its E-Nivida platform hosted the online bidding, while Quikr India Private Limited served as transaction consultant. Option D, Hindustan Shipyard Limited, is a public enterprise also based in Visakhapatnam, which makes it a plausible choice, but the land belonged to the steel company. Before bidding, outreach meetings were held in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Hyderabad during September 2026.