RAS question
Which ministry oversees the REPM manufacturing scheme?
Correct answer: (B) Ministry of Heavy Industries.
The REPM manufacturing scheme is overseen by the Ministry of Heavy Industries.
Explanation
The PIB release carrying the scheme is issued under the Ministry of Heavy Industries, which directly supports option B. The same release says the Union Cabinet approved the 'Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets' with a financial outlay of Rs. 7,280 crore. Its purpose is to build 6,000 MTPA of integrated REPM manufacturing capacity in India and strengthen the domestic REPM ecosystem. That makes the ministry tag important: the question is not asking which sector REPMs relate to, but which ministry administers the scheme. Since the official source identifies the release under the Ministry of Heavy Industries, Ministry of Heavy Industries is the only supported answer.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Ministry of Mines is not supported by the PIB release, which labels the scheme under the Ministry of Heavy Industries.
- (C) Ministry of Science & Technology does not appear as the overseeing ministry in the cited official release.
- (D) Ministry of Electronics & IT is not the ministry named on the official PIB page for this REPM manufacturing scheme.
Concept
This tests current government schemes and ministry mapping, a recurring RAS governance area because policy questions often turn on the implementing ministry rather than the sector named in the scheme. Here, the rare-earth context can mislead unless the official ministry tag is noticed.