Which of the following statements about ‘Vibrant Village Programme’ of the Government of India is/are correct? 1. It aims at comprehensive development of the identified villages 2. Fairs, festivals, sports meet etc. are organized under this programme Select the answer using the code given below:
- (a)1 only
- (b)2 only
- (c)Both 1 and 2
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2
Correct — C, Both 1 and 2. The Vibrant Villages Programme was approved by the Union Cabinet in February 2023 with an outlay of ₹4,800 crore for the years to 2025-26, covering villages in blocks along the northern border in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh. Statement 1 states its purpose exactly: comprehensive development of the identified villages, through road connectivity, housing, decentralised renewable energy, television and telecom connectivity and livelihood support, so that people are encouraged to stay and outward migration is reversed. Statement 2 is also part of the design — the programme funds fairs, festivals, sports meets and awareness events, both to build community life and to develop these villages as tourist destinations, which is why it is described as making border villages vibrant rather than merely serviced.
- (a)1 only — It leaves out the cultural and sporting activity, which the programme funds deliberately. Promotion of local festivals and heritage is one of the ways it seeks to anchor populations in the border villages.
- (b)2 only — It reduces the programme to its events. Comprehensive development of identified villages, with connectivity, housing and livelihood, is its principal stated aim.
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2 — Both statements are drawn from the scheme's own description, so rejecting both is the furthest from the record.
Border villages have long lost people to towns and plains, and a depopulated frontier is a security problem as much as a development one. The programme therefore combines civil infrastructure with reasons to stay — livelihood through cooperatives and self-help groups, tourism circuits, and support for local produce. It is distinct from the older Border Area Development Programme, which is a separate scheme, and it works alongside the roads built by the Border Roads Organisation.
Both statements read like scheme literature, and neither contains a checkable number, which is a hint that the answer is likely to be both. The safer route is to ask whether either statement contradicts the design. Comprehensive development is the stated aim of almost every area development scheme, so statement 1 is unobjectionable. Statement 2 sounds decorative but fits a programme whose whole point is to keep people in place. As of 2025 a second phase was approved to extend the approach to blocks along other international borders.
- The Vibrant Villages Programme was approved in February 2023 with an outlay of ₹4,800 crore to 2025-26.
- It covers villages in blocks along the northern border in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh.
- Interventions include road connectivity, housing, renewable energy, television and telecom connectivity and livelihood support.
- Fairs, festivals, sports meets and awareness events are funded under the programme.
- Reversing outward migration from frontier villages is an explicit objective.
Both statements are drawn from the programme's own description, so the code taking them together is the answer.
- Confusing this programme with the older Border Area Development Programme.
- Assuming it covers all international borders; the first phase is confined to the northern border.
- Dismissing the cultural and sporting component as too minor to be part of a security-linked scheme.
A two-statement scheme item where both statements are taken from official descriptions, testing familiarity rather than discrimination.
Which of the following statements about the Border Roads Organization (BRO) is/are correct? 1. BRO is concerned with the construction and maintenance of roads in strategically sensitive areas. 2. BRO undertakes snow clearance in high altitude areas. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(c) Both 1 and 2
The connectivity that makes this programme possible. Roads in the frontier districts are built and kept open by the Border Roads Organisation, and the villages this scheme develops sit at the end of them.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The first phase of the Vibrant Villages Programme covers villages along which border?
- (a)The India-Pakistan border
- (b)The northern border
- (c)The India-Bangladesh border
- (d)The India-Myanmar border
Answer(b) The northern border — in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which one of the following is an explicit objective of the Vibrant Villages Programme?
- (a)Reversing outward migration from border villages
- (b)Resettling border residents in the plains
- (c)Creating special economic zones on the frontier
- (d)Raising agricultural export volumes
Answer(a) Reversing outward migration — the programme aims to keep people in their native villages.