RAS question
Which Ministry anchors the Export Promotion Mission?
Correct answer: (B) Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The Export Promotion Mission is anchored by the Department of Commerce under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Explanation
The Export Promotion Mission sits with the Department of Commerce, making the Ministry of Commerce and Industry the anchor ministry. The PIB release describes the mission as announced in the Union Budget 2025-26 and driven jointly by the Ministries of Commerce and Industry, MSME, and Finance, but it then identifies the Department of Commerce as the lead department. That distinction matters: MSME and Finance are collaborating ministries because the mission targets export credit, cross-border factoring, and non-tariff barriers faced by MSMEs, but the institutional lead is Commerce. For an exam question asking who anchors the mission, the lead department decides the answer, not the list of partner ministries.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Ministry of Finance is a collaborating ministry in the mission, but the cited PIB release names the Department of Commerce as the lead department.
- (C) The Ministry of MSME is involved because the mission is meant to benefit MSMEs, but PIB does not identify it as the lead or anchor ministry.
- (D) The Ministry of External Affairs is not listed in the cited PIB release as either a driving ministry or the lead department for the mission.
Concept
This tests the institutional location of a Union Budget economic initiative, a recurring RAS theme because schemes are often asked through their nodal ministry rather than their broad objective.