Under PM-AJAY, what is the minimum share of Scheduled Caste population a village must have to be eligible for an infrastructure development grant?

The correct answer is the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. PM-AJAY is the umbrella scheme for the Scheduled Castes and it is carried out by that ministry, which handles the welfare of Scheduled Castes, backward classes, senior citizens and persons with disabilities. The scheme is fully funded by the Centre, began in FY 2021-22, and works through the Adarsh Gram component, grants-in-aid for state and district projects, and hostels for Scheduled Caste students. The Ministry of Rural Development is wrong: it runs rural roads, employment and housing programmes, not this scheme, although Adarsh Gram work happens in villages. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is wrong because it looks after Scheduled Tribes, a separate group, while PM-AJAY is meant for Scheduled Castes, who make up 16.6% of the population. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj is wrong as well; it strengthens panchayats as institutions and does not implement PM-AJAY. Aspirants should also remember that the scheme merged three earlier schemes, PMAGY, SCA to SCSP and BJRCY.

The correct answer is 18,093. The PIB backgrounder of 28 September 2026 states that this many villages had been declared Adarsh Grams as on 8 September 2026, a mark of how far the component has gone in lifting basic services in Scheduled Caste majority villages. The other choices are all real figures from the same scheme, which is why the question is worth care. 47,243 is the number of villages taken up under the Adarsh Gram component, benefiting more than 47.79 lakh citizens, and not the number declared. 46,944 is the count of development works completed under the component, a count of works and not of villages. 27,032 is the number of Village Development Plans prepared, the planning step that comes before the works are built. Only 18,093 answers what was asked, and a village is declared an Adarsh Gram once its residents have access to the basic services the scheme lists.

The correct answer is 8 February 2024. The government approved PM-MKSSY on that date as a sub-scheme meant to formalise the fisheries sector and to manage the risks its farmers carry, and the aquaculture insurance push described on 28 September 2026 is its Component 1-B. Delivery runs through the National Fisheries Digital Platform so that the incentive reaches the farmer by direct benefit transfer. The date of 10 September 2020 is wrong; it belongs to the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, the larger fisheries scheme under which average aquaculture productivity is being pushed towards the target of five tonnes per hectare from 4.77 tonnes now. The choice of 1 April 2021 is wrong, as no approval of this scheme took place then, and 15 August 2023 is wrong as well. Keep the two fisheries schemes apart, since examiners like to swap their launch dates.

The correct answer is second. India is the second largest fish producing nation in the world with a share of about 8%, and its annual production touched a record 19.8 million tonnes in 2024-25. Aquaculture, which covers pond culture of freshwater carps, brackish water shrimp and prawn farming, cage culture and a widening range of cold water and marine species, now accounts for about 74% of that output. First is wrong, since China leads world fish production by a wide margin. Third and fourth are wrong because India moved well past that position as output rose from 9.6 million tonnes in 2013-14 to 19.8 million tonnes in 2024-25, a rise of more than 106%. Inland production alone reached 14.74 million tonnes in 2024-25. It is worth remembering with this that marine product exports stood at USD 8.46 billion in 2025-26 and that frozen shrimp brings nearly two-thirds of seafood export earnings.

The correct answer is 30 days. The claim process begins when the insured farmer informs the insurance company of the peril and submits the documents the policy requires; the insurer then appoints a loss assessor, the damage is evaluated and payment is made on that report, with status updates shown on the insurer portal. The settlement has to be completed within 30 days where the crop is shrimp and within 45 days for other aquaculture activities. So 45 days is wrong for shrimp, being the window meant for the remaining activities, and aspirants often swap the two. The choice of 15 days is wrong because no such short window is laid down, and 60 days is wrong because it is longer than either limit in the scheme. Four insurers are operational at present, namely OICL, AICL, NIAL and UIIC, and private insurers are being brought on board to widen the market.