UPSC Prelims 2025 · GS Paper I
Question 3: Polity and Governance
With reference to the Government of India, consider the following information :
| Organization | Some of its functions | It works under | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I. | Directorate of Enforcement | Enforcement of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 | Internal Security Division–I, Ministry of Home Affairs |
| II. | Directorate of Revenue Intelligence | Enforces the Provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 | Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance |
| III. | Directorate General of Systems and Data Management | Carrying out big data analytics to assist tax officers for better policy and nabbing tax evaders | Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance |
In how many of the above rows is the information correctly matched?
AnswerThe answer is (a).
The Directorate of Enforcement enforces the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 along with PMLA and FEMA, but it sits in the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, not under an Internal Security Division of the Home Ministry. So row I is wrongly matched. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence is the anti-smuggling intelligence agency that enforces the Customs Act, 1962, and it works under the Department of Revenue, so row II is correct. The key counts only one row as correct. Remember: ED is a Finance Ministry body.
- I. ED works under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, not the Ministry of Home Affairs.
- II. DRI enforces the Customs Act and works under the Department of Revenue.
- III. The key counts this row as incorrectly matched.
How you could have got this
No shortcut here: in a “how many” question, ruling out options doesn’t help. Every statement has to be judged.
This follows an unofficial answer: UPSC has not published its key for this year, and if that answer is wrong, so is this path.
Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Right: only row II (DRI) is matched correctly, as the key has it.
- (b) Wrong: the key counts only one matched row, not two.
- (c) Wrong: row I is wrongly matched, since ED is under Finance, not Home.
- (d) Wrong: the DRI row is correct.
Worth knowing: The compilation's (a) needs row III to be wrong, but DGSDM is a body of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs under the Department of Revenue, so (b) looks defensible; check against UPSC's own key.
Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2025, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.