With reference to India, consider the following pairs : Organization : Union Ministry I. The National Automotive Board : Ministry of Commerce and Industry II. The Coir Board : Ministry of Heavy Industries III. The National Centre for Trade Information : Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
- (a) Only one
- (b) Only two
- (c) All the three
- (d) None ✓ UPSC's answer
Why the answer is (d)
• Pair I is wrong: the National Automotive Board, which oversees the NATRiP testing centres, functions under the Ministry of Heavy Industries, not Commerce and Industry.
• Pair II is wrong: the Coir Board, a statutory body under the Coir Industry Act, 1953, works under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, not Heavy Industries.
• Pair III is wrong: the National Centre for Trade Information, a joint venture of the India Trade Promotion Organisation and the National Informatics Centre, is under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, not MSME.
• Each organisation has been assigned to another one's ministry — a classic rotation trap.
• Hence none is correctly matched, option (d).
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) Only one
- No pair is correct; every ministry has been swapped.
- (b) Only two
- None of the three is correctly matched.
- (c) All the three
- All three pairs are wrong.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2025, held on 25 May 2025. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.