Government Schemes Questions for UPSC CSE

Financial Inclusion and Banking Schemes

These schemes aim to bring unbanked and underbanked populations into the formal financial system. They are heavily tested in Prelims because each scheme has a distinct feature that makes for a good MCQ trap — for example, mixing up overdraft limits or insurance covers across schemes.

• Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY, 2014): Zero-balance accounts, RuPay debit card, Rs 10,000 overdraft facility, Rs 2 lakh accidental insurance cover. Nodal ministry: Finance.
• Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY, 2015): Loans to non-corporate small businesses — Shishu (up to Rs 50,000), Kishore (Rs 50,000 to 5 lakh), Tarun (Rs 5 lakh to 10 lakh). No collateral required.
• Stand Up India (2016): At least one SC/ST and one woman borrower per bank branch for loans between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore for greenfield enterprises.
• PM SVANidhi (2020): Street vendors — working capital loans starting at Rs 10,000, graduated to Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000 on timely repayment.
• Atal Pension Yojana (APY, 2015): Guaranteed pension of Rs 1,000-5,000/month for unorganised sector workers aged 18-40. Government co-contributes for eligible subscribers.

Insurance and Social Security Schemes

These provide risk cover to economically vulnerable groups. Prelims frequently tests premium amounts and coverage sums — a classic trap is swapping figures between PMJBY and PMSBY.

• Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY): Life insurance, Rs 330/year premium, Rs 2 lakh cover on death for any reason, age 18-50.
• Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY): Accidental insurance, Rs 20/year premium, Rs 2 lakh for accidental death/permanent disability, age 18-70.
• PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY, 2016): Crop insurance replacing NAIS. Premium capped at 2% for Kharif, 1.5% for Rabi, 5% for horticulture. Rest shared by Centre and State.
• e-Shram Portal (2021): National database of unorganised workers — construction, migrant, gig, platform workers. Linked with Rs 2 lakh accidental insurance.
• Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY (2018): Health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation. World's largest government-funded health scheme, targets bottom 40 percent families.

Agriculture and Rural Livelihood Schemes

Agriculture schemes test the aspirant's ability to distinguish income support, credit, irrigation, and storage schemes. The overlap in names makes this a high-error zone. Remember: PM-KISAN is income support, not credit.

• PM-KISAN (2019): Direct income support of Rs 6,000/year in three instalments of Rs 2,000 to all landholding farmer families. Centrally funded.
• Kisan Credit Card (KCC): Short-term credit to farmers for crop cultivation, post-harvest, allied activities. Extended to fisheries and animal husbandry farmers too.
• PM Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY): Har Khet Ko Pani + More Crop Per Drop. Focuses on micro-irrigation — drip and sprinkler. Nodal: Jal Shakti Ministry.
• PM Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA, 2018): Umbrella scheme ensuring MSP to farmers — includes PDPS (Price Deficiency Payment Scheme) and PSS (Price Support Scheme).
• e-NAM (2016): Electronic National Agriculture Market — online trading platform linking APMCs. Over 1,000 mandis onboarded.

Employment, Skill, and Housing Schemes

These are tested in both Prelims and Mains GS-2. MGNREGS is a perennial topic — know its constitutional and legal basis, wage indexation, and social audit mechanism. Housing schemes are compared in terms of beneficiary categories.

• MGNREGS (2005): Legal guarantee of 100 days of unskilled manual work per rural household per year. Wages indexed to CPI-AL. Funded by Centre (wages) and States (materials). Social audit mandatory.
• PM Awas Yojana — Gramin (PMAY-G): Housing for rural homeless — Rs 1.20 lakh in plains, Rs 1.30 lakh in hilly/NE areas. 60:40 Centre-State split (90:10 for NE/hilly).
• PM Awas Yojana — Urban (PMAY-U): For EWS, LIG, MIG segments. Includes Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) for home loan interest subsidy.
• PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY): Short-term skill training and certification for youth. Includes Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for existing skills.
• Startup India (2016): Tax exemption for 3 years, fund of funds, faster IP registration. DPIIT-recognised startups get benefits. Linked to AtmaNirbhar Bharat push.

Digital, Energy, and Infrastructure Schemes

These are newer schemes that appear in current affairs-linked MCQs. The examiner often asks about the nodal ministry or the specific target — for example, PM KUSUM is specifically for solar pumps for farmers, not general solar.

• PM KUSUM (2019): Solar pumps for irrigation, solarisation of grid-connected pumps, solar power plants on barren land — for farmers. Nodal: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
• National Broadband Mission / BharatNet: Optical fibre connectivity to all gram panchayats. Implemented by BBNL (Bharat Broadband Network Ltd).
• Jal Jeevan Mission (2019): Har Ghar Jal — Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) to every rural household by 2024. Nodal: Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• UJALA Scheme (2015): Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All. Distribution of LED bulbs at subsidised rates by EESL. India became world's largest LED programme.
• PM Gati Shakti (2021): National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity — integrates 16 ministries on a single digital platform for infrastructure planning.

• Confusing PMJJBY (life insurance, Rs 330, death by any cause) with PMSBY (accident insurance, Rs 20, only accidental death) — the premium and coverage trigger are different.
• Thinking PM-KISAN is a loan or credit scheme — it is direct income transfer, not credit. Kisan Credit Card is the credit scheme.
• Mixing up PMAY-Gramin and PMAY-Urban beneficiary categories and subsidy amounts — EWS/LIG/MIG categories belong to Urban, not Gramin.
• Assuming MGNREGS guarantees 100 days to every individual — the guarantee is per rural household, not per person.
• Attributing PM KUSUM to Ministry of Agriculture — the nodal ministry is Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, though beneficiaries are farmers.

• MUDRA ladder: SIT — Shishu (small), hIke (Kishore), Top (Tarun). Amounts go 50K, 5L, 10L.
• Insurance premiums: PMJJBY costs a pizza (Rs 330/year), PMSBY costs a chai (Rs 20/year). Life costs more than accident — remember it that way.
• JJM — Jal Jeevan Mission = Har Ghar Jal. Three Js = three words: Jal, Jeevan, Mission.
• PMFBY crop premium: 2-1-5 rule — Kharif 2%, Rabi 1.5%, Horticulture 5%. Think KRH = 2, 1.5, 5 — going up like crop risk.

• Prelims pattern: Schemes are tested as Statement-based MCQs (Statement 1/Statement 2 true-false format). Practise PYQs from 2015-2024 and note the trick lies in one wrong detail — a wrong ministry, wrong amount, or wrong beneficiary category.
• Mains GS-2 pattern: Questions like 'Critically examine the effectiveness of Direct Benefit Transfer in reducing leakages' or 'How do social security schemes address the vulnerability of the unorganised sector?' — cluster schemes by theme before answering.
• Current Affairs link: Budget announcements modify scheme parameters (e.g., PM SVANidhi loan limits were raised). Always check Economic Survey and Union Budget for the exam year.
• Ministry mapping is a reliable 1-mark source: Jal Shakti (JJM, PMKSY), MNRE (KUSUM, UJALA), Finance (PMJDY, PMMY), Agriculture (PM-KISAN, PMFBY), Skill Development (PMKVY).
• Do not try to memorise every scheme. Instead, for each theme (housing, insurance, agriculture, credit) know the flagship scheme in depth — objective, beneficiary, nodal ministry, and one unique feature. That covers 80 percent of questions.