The draft National Technical Guidelines for improved watershed management are being prepared under which World Bank-assisted programme?
- A.REWARD
- B.PRANAM
- C.AMRUT
- D.RAFTAAR
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is REWARD. The third national-level consultation on the draft National Technical Guidelines was held under the World Bank-assisted REWARD programme, whose expanded name is Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agricultural Resilience through Innovative Development. Odisha and Karnataka are the project States under it, and officials of the World Bank, including the Task Team Leader Ms Priti Kumar, took part in the inaugural session at Nagpur. The guidelines drawn up through this exercise will also feed the design of WDC-PMKSY 3.0. Option B, PRANAM, is wrong because that name belongs to a different initiative and had no role in this consultation. Option C, AMRUT, is wrong because it is not the watershed programme named at the meeting. Option D, RAFTAAR, is wrong for the same reason: the release names only REWARD as the World Bank-assisted programme for improved watershed management. Students should remember the pairing of REWARD with the World Bank, with the Department of Land Resources and the National Rainfed Area Authority as the organising bodies, and with Odisha and Karnataka as the two project States.
Read the full article: Watershed Guidelines: 3rd National Consultation in Nagpur
Practice Questions
At which institute was the third national consultation on watershed management guidelines hosted on 4 and 5 November 2026?
- A.ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi
- B.ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Nagpur
- C.ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun
- D.National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad
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The two-day consultation was organised in collaboration with this bureau and held on its campus, and its Director, Dr N.G.
Read the full explanation →Under WDC-PMKSY 2.0, how long is a watershed project allowed to run?
- A.Three years
- B.Five years
- C.Seven years
- D.Ten years
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Joint Secretary in the Department of Land Resources, Shri Nitin Khade, noted at the consultation that the project timeline had been brought down progressively, from seven years in the first phase of the watershed development component to five years in the second phase, and he asked for faster implementation within…
Read the full explanation →The harmonised national Decision Support System proposed by the NRAA Chief Executive Officer would draw on the systems already developed by which two States?
- A.Odisha and Karnataka
- B.Gujarat and Maharashtra
- C.Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh
- D.Telangana and Andhra Pradesh
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Dr Chandra Sekhar Kumar, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Rainfed Area Authority, called for a harmonised Decision Support System at the national level that takes in the best features of the systems built by Odisha and Karnataka, so that watershed planning across States becomes integrated.
Read the full explanation →Who chairs the Governing Council, the apex body of the CAPEX Support Scheme for critical mineral processing?
- A.The Cabinet Secretary
- B.The Secretary, Ministry of Mines
- C.The Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog
- D.The Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises
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The scheme has a three-tier governance structure. At the apex sits the Governing Council, chaired by the Secretary, Ministry of Mines, which gives strategic guidance, reviews progress, makes the final selection of beneficiaries and sanctions the capital support; it may also approve changes to the scheme guidelines with the Union…
Read the full explanation →For which two minerals does the CAPEX Support Scheme fund processing plants?
- A.Lithium and cobalt
- B.Lithium and nickel
- C.Nickel and graphite
- D.Cobalt and rare earths
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The scheme funds four plants in all, two for lithium with a capacity of at least 30 kt each and two for nickel with a capacity of at least 50 kt each.
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