Which of the statements given below is/are correct? 1. The National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) was approved by the Union Cabinet, Government of India, in the year 2023. 2. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, has launched the Green Hydrogen Certification Scheme of India. 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 — A, 1 only. The Union Cabinet approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission on 4 January 2023 with an initial outlay of ₹19,744 crore, so statement 1 is right on both the approving authority and the year. Statement 2 names the wrong ministry. Green hydrogen sits inside the renewable-energy portfolio: the Mission is run by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, and it is MNRE that framed and issued the Green Hydrogen Certification Scheme of India. The Mission's own published outline commits MNRE to "develop a suitable regulatory framework for certification of Green Hydrogen and its derivatives as having been produced from RE sources" — that is precisely the scheme statement 2 hands to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, which has no implementing role in the Mission. One statement stands, one falls, so the code is 1 only.
- (b)2 only — Statement 1 is not the doubtful one. The Cabinet's approval of the Mission in January 2023 is on the record, and it is statement 2 that misplaces the certification scheme with the environment ministry.
- (c)Both 1 and 2 — The trap the item is built around. The Green Hydrogen Certification Scheme of India is real, so a reader who recognises the name accepts the sentence without checking whose name is on it — and the scheme belongs to the new and renewable energy ministry.
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2 — This would need the January 2023 Cabinet approval to be false too. The Mission was announced from the Red Fort in August 2021 as an intention and approved by the Cabinet in 2023; the approval year in statement 1 is correct.
The National Green Hydrogen Mission is India's flagship programme for producing hydrogen by splitting water with renewable electricity rather than from fossil fuel. The Union Cabinet cleared it on 4 January 2023 with an initial outlay of ₹19,744 crore, of which ₹17,490 crore goes to the SIGHT programme — two incentive streams, one for manufacturing electrolysers and one for producing green hydrogen. The stated 2030 targets are at least 5 million tonnes a year of green hydrogen with roughly 125 GW of associated renewable capacity. The nodal ministry throughout is the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
Statement-pair items on flagship missions almost never turn on whether the scheme exists — it does — but on one swapped detail: a year, a ministry, an outlay. Here the swap is the ministry, and it is tempting because the subject sounds environmental. The working rule is that hydrogen produced from renewable electricity is an energy subject, so the new and renewable energy ministry owns it end to end, including certification. The environment ministry's climate instruments are separate ones — the carbon credit trading scheme and the national communications to the UN climate convention. Reading statement 1 first also helps: once you are sure of it, options (b) and (d) both die, and the question reduces to a single judgement on statement 2.
- The Union Cabinet approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission on 4 January 2023.
- The initial outlay is ₹19,744 crore, including ₹17,490 crore for the SIGHT programme.
- The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is the nodal ministry and owns the certification framework.
- Target for 2030: at least 5 million tonnes a year of green hydrogen and about 125 GW of associated renewable capacity.
- Green hydrogen is made by electrolysing water with renewable power, so its only combustion product is water.
Flagship-mission items are usually decided by one swapped attribute; here it is the ministry, not the year.
- Assigning a scheme to the environment ministry because its subject sounds environmental.
- Confusing the August 2021 announcement of a hydrogen mission with the January 2023 Cabinet approval.
- Assuming that because a named scheme exists, every attribute stated about it is right.
Asked as a two-statement code item where the scheme is genuine and exactly one attribute — here the ministry — has been swapped.
With reference to green hydrogen, consider the following statements : 1. It can be used directly as a fuel for internal combustion. 2. It can be blended with natural gas and used as fuel for heat or power generation. 3. It can be used in the hydrogen fuel cell to run vehicles. How many of the above statements are correct?
- (a) Only one
- (b) Only two
- (c) All three
- (d) None
Answer(c) All three
The same subject one layer down — what green hydrogen is actually for. Prelims asked about its end uses; this CAPF item asks who runs the programme that will produce it.
Recently, India's first green hydrogen-based advanced fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) was launched. It has no tailpipe emissions other than
- (a) Hydrogen peroxide
- (b) Nitrogen
- (c) Oxygen
- (d) Water
Answer(d) Water
Why the whole mission exists: a fuel cell running on hydrogen emits only water, which is what makes hydrogen attractive for decarbonising transport and heavy industry.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which ministry is the nodal ministry for the National Green Hydrogen Mission?
- (a)Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
- (b)Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
- (c)Ministry of Power
- (d)Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
Answer(b) Ministry of New and Renewable Energy — MNRE implements the Mission and issued its certification framework.
- practice — not a real PYQ
What is the green hydrogen production target set for 2030 under the National Green Hydrogen Mission?
- (a)At least 1 million tonne per annum
- (b)At least 5 million tonnes per annum
- (c)At least 10 million tonnes per annum
- (d)At least 25 million tonnes per annum
Answer(b) At least 5 million tonnes per annum — with about 125 GW of associated renewable capacity.