NDA (I) 2025 GAT Q118: Which Ministry has initiated the “Dhara”, a special

Q: What is the answer to NDA (I) 2025 GAT Q118?

D. Correct — D, the Ministry of Culture. 'Dhara: An Ode to Indian Knowledge Systems' is a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Culture, launched under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to showcase India's traditional knowledge across texts, sciences and philosophy. The Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) Division under the Ministry of Education (at AICTE) partners in execution, but the ministry that initiated Dhara is Culture. (Provisional — pending the official UPSC key.)

NDA (I) 2025 General Ability Test · Question 118 of 150

Question text verified against the official NDA question paper.

Provisional answers. UPSC has not yet released the official NDA 2025 answer key (it is published several months after the exam). The answers here are our best-supported answers — derived from careful subject-solving and cross-checked against independent solved papers and primary sources — and will be reconciled to the official key as soon as UPSC publishes it. They are not the official UPSC answer key.

Which Ministry has initiated the “Dhara”, a special initiative dedicated to Indian Knowledge System (IKS)?

(a)The Ministry of Education
(b)The Ministry of Home Affairs
(c)The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
(d)The Ministry of Culture

Answer

Why

Correct — D, the Ministry of Culture. 'Dhara: An Ode to Indian Knowledge Systems' is a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Culture, launched under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to showcase India's traditional knowledge across texts, sciences and philosophy. The Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) Division under the Ministry of Education (at AICTE) partners in execution, but the ministry that initiated Dhara is Culture.

Why the others are wrong

(a)The Ministry of Education — The Ministry of Education houses the IKS Division (at AICTE), which is the execution partner — but Dhara was initiated by the Ministry of Culture, so Education is not the initiating ministry asked for.
(b)The Ministry of Home Affairs — The Home Ministry handles internal security and administration and has no role in the Dhara knowledge-systems initiative.
(c)The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting — The I&B Ministry deals with media and broadcasting; it did not initiate Dhara.

Concept

'Dhara' is a Ministry of Culture programme celebrating Indian Knowledge Systems — the classical Indian knowledge spanning science, mathematics, medicine, arts and philosophy. It complements the wider government push, including the IKS Division at AICTE, to mainstream traditional knowledge.

The tempting distractor is the Ministry of Education, because IKS is often associated with the IKS Division at AICTE under Education. But the question asks who initiated Dhara, and that is the Ministry of Culture, with Education/AICTE only as an execution partner.

Key facts

'Dhara: An Ode to Indian Knowledge Systems' is a Ministry of Culture initiative.
It was launched under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
The IKS Division under the Ministry of Education (at AICTE) is the execution partner.
The initiative showcases India's classical texts, sciences and philosophical traditions.

'Dhara' — who initiated it

Initiating ministry (the answer)→Ministry of Culture — 'Dhara: An Ode to Indian Knowledge Systems'

Execution partner→IKS Division under the Ministry of Education (at AICTE)

Theme→Showcasing India's traditional knowledge systems (Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav)

The Ministry of Culture initiated Dhara (d); the Education Ministry's IKS Division is only the execution partner.

Study next

Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) and the IKS Division at AICTEMinistry of Culture initiatives under the Azadi Ka Amrit MahotsavNational Education Policy 2020 and the integration of IKSInstitutions promoting Sanskrit and classical Indian knowledgeThe distinct roles of the Culture and Education ministries

Common traps

Reflexively choosing the Ministry of Education because IKS is administered there — the initiating ministry for Dhara is Culture.

Asked as which ministry launched a named cultural or knowledge initiative.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
The Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) Division functions under which body?
- (a)AICTE, under the Ministry of Education
- (b)ISRO
- (c)ICMR
- (d)NITI Aayog
Answer(a) AICTE, under the Ministry of Education.
practice — not a real PYQ
'Dhara: An Ode to Indian Knowledge Systems' is an initiative of the
- (a)Ministry of Culture
- (b)Ministry of Home Affairs
- (c)Ministry of Defence
- (d)Ministry of External Affairs
Answer(a) Ministry of Culture.