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
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is the Secretary, Ministry of Mines. 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 Minister of Mines agreeing. Below it, a Techno-Financial Committee, drawing experts from research bodies, technical institutions and public sector undertakings, evaluates applications on technical and financial grounds and recommends names to the Council. A Project Management Agency provides secretarial and implementation support. The Cabinet Secretary in option A, the NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman in option C and the Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises in option D hold no such role under this scheme.
Read the full article: CAPEX Scheme Backs Lithium, Nickel Units with Rs 2,814 Crore
Practice Questions
What is the total outlay of the CAPEX Support Scheme to Promote Critical Mineral Processing?
- A.Rs 1,500 crore
- B.Rs 2,800 crore
- C.Rs 2,814 crore
- D.Rs 10,000 crore
Show answer
The Union Cabinet cleared the CAPEX Support Scheme to Promote Critical Mineral Processing on 4 November 2026 with exactly this outlay, spread over five financial years running from FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31, and funded wholly from budgetary support.
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.
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 →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 →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
Show answer
The two-day consultation was organised in collaboration with this bureau and held on its campus, and its Director, Dr N.G.
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