RAS question
Stand Up India Scheme falls under which ministry?
Correct answer: (D) Ministry of Finance — DFS.
The Stand Up India Scheme is administered by the Department of Financial Services under the Ministry of Finance.
Explanation
Stand Up India belongs with the Ministry of Finance because it is administered through the Department of Financial Services. The cited PIB release notes that the scheme was launched on 5 April 2016 and was extended up to 2025 as informed by the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance. Its design also explains why DFS is the relevant department: the scheme facilitates bank loans from Scheduled Commercial Banks, ranging from Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 1 crore, to at least one Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe borrower and one woman borrower per bank branch for a greenfield enterprise. That banking-credit route makes Ministry of Finance - DFS the correct ministry-level home.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Ministry of MSME is not the administering ministry named in the source; the scheme is identified through DFS under the Ministry of Finance.
- (B) The Ministry of Commerce is not supported by the source, which frames Stand Up India as a bank-loan scheme linked to DFS, Ministry of Finance.
- (C) Although the cited PIB release is issued by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, it says the scheme details were informed by the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, so this is not the administrative home.
Concept
This tests mapping of flagship economic schemes to their administering ministries and departments. It recurs in RAS because Rajasthan and Indian Economy questions often check whether candidates can connect welfare-oriented credit schemes with the correct institutional machinery.