At which venue was the two-day National Departmental Summit on Women and Child Development held?

The correct answer is at the district level and at Nagar Palika and Mahanagar Palika levels. Speaking at the valedictory session, the Prime Minister said states could carry the summit model further by holding similar Chintan Shivirs at the district level as well as at the Nagar Palika and Mahanagar Palika levels, so that collaborative decision-making reaches well below the state secretariat. He additionally proposed dedicated Chintan Shivirs for Anganwadi workers, enabling them to exchange experiences, innovations and practical solutions drawn from the field. Option A is wrong because the suggestion was explicitly about taking the exercise downward, not confining it to the state capital. Option C is wrong because an annual national event is the opposite of the decentralised shivirs proposed. Option D is wrong because the shivirs were framed as district and urban-local-body level gatherings, not meetings restricted to collectors’ offices.

The correct answer is Vocal for Local and One District One Product. At the valedictory session the Prime Minister observed that national movements such as Vocal for Local and One District One Product, known by the short form ODOP, should be promoted for the empowerment of women. He added that women’s collectives and community institutions could become important partners in strengthening local products, livelihoods and economic empowerment. Option A names two well-known manufacturing and enterprise initiatives, but they were not the pair linked to women’s empowerment in this address. Option C names initiatives associated with technology access and training, which were likewise not the two movements mentioned here. Option D names programmes connected with the girl child and with nutrition, and although nutrition and adolescent girls did figure in the discussion, they were not put forward as the movements for economic empowerment. Hence option B alone is correct.

The correct answer is a centre of community participation. Emphasising Jan Bhagidari, the Prime Minister said an Anganwadi Centre should not function as an isolated institution but should instead become a centre of community participation. He suggested that families living around such a centre be encouraged, on special occasions, to contribute nutritious food, toys and locally relevant items for the children, and he urged universities, medical students and volunteers of the National Service Scheme and the National Cadet Corps to associate themselves with these centres. Option A is precisely the situation he warned against. Option C is wrong because the Anganwadi Centre was discussed in terms of nutrition, early childhood care and community engagement rather than conversion into a primary school. Option D is wrong because nothing in the discussion proposed turning these centres into administrative offices; their role is service delivery to children and women.

The correct answer is exports, organics and seeds. NCEL is National Cooperative Exports Limited, NCOL is National Cooperative Organics Limited and BBSSL is Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Limited, the national seed cooperative. At the workshop the Secretary said several states had used these three bodies well, and that they were opening up aggregation of farm produce, access to wider markets and better prices for farmers and cooperative members. Options B, C and D are wrong because they do not match the three abbreviations, even though dairy cooperatives, fisheries, fertiliser business plans and decentralised grain storage were all taken up in separate sessions of the same workshop. Remember the three expansions together, as they are a frequent target for questions.

The correct answer is Dr Ashish Kumar Bhutani, Secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation, who closed the workshop by calling the discussions productive and asking states to move from discussion to implementation. Option A is a tempting distractor, because the ministry functions under Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah and the workshop was held under his leadership, but the concluding remarks came from the Secretary. Option C is wrong, although a presentation by NABARD on a uniform Core Banking Solution platform was appreciated at the session. Option D is wrong as well. The Secretary stressed that one model of cooperative development cannot suit every state, and that successful district level innovations should be documented, repeated and scaled up.