UPPSC 2025 Prelims GS Paper-I · Question 14 of 150

Correct — B, Both 1 and 2. Statement 1 is correct: the New Pamban Bridge was executed by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), the project-execution arm incorporated in January 2003 and a Navratna central public sector enterprise under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways; RVNL lists the work as reconstruction of the Pamban viaduct with a navigational lift span on the Manamadurai-Rameswaram section. Statement 2 is also correct: it is India's first vertical-lift railway sea bridge — a 72.5-metre central span that rises bodily on towers to let ships pass beneath, unlike any earlier Indian sea crossing. The bridge, about 2.08 km long with 99 spans plus the lift span, was inaugurated by the Prime Minister on 6 April 2025 (Ram Navami) — six months before this exam — and replaced the 1914 Pamban bridge to Rameswaram Island. Both statements being true, the answer is (b).

• (a)Only 2 — This rejects statement 1, but statement 1 is accurate on both counts — RVNL was indeed the executing agency, and RVNL does hold Navratna status under the Ministry of Railways. Candidates who remember RVNL as the builder but are unsure of its 'Navratna' tag are the ones this option is set to catch.
• (c)Neither 1 nor 2 — Both statements are true, so nothing supports a blanket rejection. The bridge is an RVNL project and it is India's first vertical-lift railway sea bridge.
• (d)Only 1 — This rejects statement 2, usually on the reasoning that Pamban already had a movable-span bridge in 1914 so the new one cannot be a 'first'. But the 1914 bridge used a Scherzer rolling-lift (bascule) span, which swings open like a drawbridge; the 2025 structure raises its whole central span vertically. Different mechanism — so 'India's first vertical-lift railway sea bridge' stands.

A movable bridge lets rail or road traffic cross a navigable channel while still allowing ships through. The two mechanisms in this question are different: a bascule or rolling-lift span pivots upward like a drawbridge, while a vertical-lift span stays horizontal and is hoisted straight up between towers. The Pamban crossing links the Tamil Nadu mainland to Rameswaram Island across the shallow Palk Strait, and because ships must pass through, both the 1914 bridge and its 2025 replacement needed a movable navigational span. The new structure is delivered by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, a Ministry of Railways CPSE created specifically to execute rail infrastructure projects outside the normal departmental route.

Anchor this to the exam date: the exam was held on 12 October 2025 and the bridge had been inaugurated on 6 April 2025, so it was a certainty for the current-affairs section. The pairing of a project fact with a PSU-status fact is a favourite UPPSC construction, and the safe drill is to learn each new flagship project with three tags — who built it, what makes it a 'first', and when it opened. Neither statement has been overtaken since: a 'first' cannot be undone, and RVNL remains a Navratna CPSE under the Ministry of Railways.

• The New Pamban Bridge was inaugurated on 6 April 2025 (Ram Navami) at Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu
• It was built by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), incorporated on 24 January 2003 — a Navratna CPSE under the Ministry of Railways
• It is India's first vertical-lift railway sea bridge: about 2.08 km long, 99 spans, plus a 72.5-metre central span that lifts vertically for ships
• It replaces the Pamban bridge of 1914, which used a Scherzer rolling-lift (bascule) navigational span
• RVNL's project description is the reconstruction of the Pamban viaduct with a navigational lift span on the Manamadurai-Rameswaram line

• Assuming the 1914 bridge already makes 'India's first vertical-lift railway sea bridge' false — that bridge had a rolling-lift bascule span, not a vertical lift
• Guessing RVNL's status as Miniratna or Maharatna; it is a Navratna CPSE under the Ministry of Railways
• Attributing the work to the Ministry of Road Transport or to a state agency — Pamban is a railway sea bridge and a Railways project

UPPSC pairs a newly inaugurated flagship project with an institutional detail (the executing PSU and its ratna category) in a two-statement format; UPSC prefers the systemic version — which corporation executes which class of project, or which infrastructure programme covers what.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The New Pamban Bridge, inaugurated in April 2025, was constructed by which of the following?

  • (a)IRCON International Limited
  • (b)Rail Vikas Nigam Limited
  • (c)Container Corporation of India
  • (d)National Highways Authority of India

  Answer(b) Rail Vikas Nigam Limited — a Navratna CPSE under the Ministry of Railways, incorporated in 2003 to execute rail infrastructure projects.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The older Pamban bridge, opened in 1914, allowed ships to pass by means of which type of movable span?

  • (a)A vertical-lift span
  • (b)A swing span
  • (c)A Scherzer rolling-lift (bascule) span
  • (d)A transporter span

  Answer(c) A Scherzer rolling-lift (bascule) span — the span opened upward like a drawbridge; the 2025 replacement is the vertical-lift type.