Biology Basics — Cells, Genes & Human Health

Why This Chapter Matters

RRB Group D papers routinely carry three to five questions straight out of government scheme names, launch years, and ministries. SSC and state-level papers lean on this topic even harder. It is one of the few GK areas where the questions are almost formula-based: "In which year was scheme X launched?" or "Scheme Y falls under which ministry?" Learn the pattern once and you bank marks every attempt.

The single biggest mistake aspirants make here is mixing up two schemes with overlapping goals, say a housing scheme with a rural employment scheme, because both mention "poor households" in their objective line. Examiners exploit this confusion deliberately. The fix is not to memorise objectives word for word. The fix is to anchor each scheme to one sharp, distinct image, so your mind sorts them instantly instead of guessing under pressure. This chapter builds that mental filing cabinet, one drawer per scheme.

1. Understanding Why Schemes Matter for This Exam

A government scheme is a planned government programme with a fixed goal, budget, and target group, launched under a name you are expected to recall along with its start year and the ministry running it. Unlike laws, schemes usually do not need Parliament's approval; the concerned ministry designs and rolls them out through an executive order or cabinet decision.

Why does the railway exam care about welfare schemes at all? Because RRB Group D and NTPC papers test general awareness broadly, not just railway facts. Schemes touch health, housing, jobs, banking, and skill training, subjects every citizen should know, and examiners treat this as baseline general knowledge for a government job applicant. Think of it as the exam checking whether you read a newspaper, not whether you memorised a manual.

Group these schemes by the problem they solve, not by their launch date. That is how your brain will actually retrieve them in the exam hall. We will cover schemes across six buckets: health, housing, employment, financial inclusion, women and child welfare, and skill development, plus a mixed bag of frequently asked ones at the end.

2. Health Sector Schemes

Ayushman Bharat — Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY)

Launched in 2018, this is the world's largest government-funded health insurance scheme by number of beneficiaries. It offers a health cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospital care, completely cashless and paperless at the point of service. It targets roughly 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families identified through the Socio-Economic Caste Census. It runs under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Ayushman Bharat has two pillars, and this is where students slip up. Pillar one is PM-JAY, the insurance cover. Pillar two is Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs), renamed Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, which deliver comprehensive primary care, screening, and free medicines at the village level. One pillar pays your hospital bill; the other keeps you from needing that bill in the first place.

Exam trap: Do not confuse the ₹5 lakh cover under PM-JAY with the ₹1 lakh or ₹2 lakh figures used in older state health schemes. Examiners love swapping these numbers in option choices.

Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)

Launched in 2015, this accident insurance scheme costs a mere ₹20 per year (revised from the original ₹12) and covers accidental death and full disability up to ₹2 lakh, with ₹1 lakh for partial disability. Any bank or post office account holder aged 18 to 70 can join. Think of it as a cricket team's insurance for its bowlers, small premium, but if the arm breaks, the payout covers real damage.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana

Launched in 2015 under the Department of Pharmaceuticals, this scheme sells generic medicines at 50 to 90 percent lower prices than branded drugs through dedicated Jan Aushadhi Kendras across the country. The logic is simple: a generic paracetamol works exactly like a branded one, so why pay five times more for the label?

3. Housing Schemes

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)

Launched in 2015, this scheme aims to provide "Housing for All" through two arms: PMAY-Urban (PMAY-U) for city dwellers and PMAY-Gramin (PMAY-G) for rural households, the latter being a rebranded and upgraded version of the older Indira Awas Yojana. It offers interest subsidy on home loans and direct financial assistance to build a pucca house. It falls under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (urban arm) and the Ministry of Rural Development (rural arm).

Memory hook: Picture PMAY as a two-storey building. Ground floor is Gramin, serving villages. First floor is Urban, serving cities. Same building, same scheme, two floors for two audiences.

Exam trap: PMAY-Gramin's earlier name, Indira Awas Yojana, is a favourite "which scheme was renamed" question. Do not answer "new scheme" when the paper is really asking about a renaming.

4. Employment Schemes

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)

Enacted in 2005 (implementation began 2006), this is a legal guarantee, not merely a scheme, ensuring 100 days of wage employment per year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual work. It runs under the Ministry of Rural Development and remains the world's largest work guarantee programme. Because it is backed by an Act of Parliament, a rural household has an enforceable right to demand work, and if the government fails to provide it within 15 days, it must pay an unemployment allowance.

Exam trap: MGNREGA guarantees 100 days per household, not per person. A household with three adult workers still gets only 100 collective days, not 300.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)

Launched in 2015 under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, PMKVY trains youth in industry-relevant skills and awards a monetary reward after successful certification through the National Skill Qualification Framework. It focuses on both fresh skilling and recognition of prior learning, meaning even a self-taught mechanic can get formally certified.

5. Financial Inclusion Schemes

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)

Launched in 2014, this is the backbone of India's financial inclusion drive. It offers a zero-balance bank account to every unbanked household, along with a RuPay debit card, accident insurance cover, and an overdraft facility once the account shows regular activity. It falls under the Ministry of Finance. Within its first year, PMJDY opened over 17 crore accounts, a scale that even the scheme's own planners had not expected.

Think of Jan Dhan as building the road before the vehicles arrive. Direct Benefit Transfer, subsidy payments, and pension schemes all needed a bank account at the recipient's end to work. PMJDY built that road first.

Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY)

Launched in 2015, this scheme provides collateral-free loans up to ₹20 lakh (revised upward from ₹10 lakh) to non-corporate, non-farm small and micro enterprises. Loans are categorised into three slabs: Shishu (up to ₹50,000), Kishor (₹50,000 to ₹5 lakh), and Tarun (₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh), with a newer Tarun Plus category extending up to ₹20 lakh for those who have successfully repaid a Tarun loan.

Memory hook: Shishu, Kishor, Tarun mirrors the Hindi words for infant, adolescent, and adult, exactly matching a business's growth stage from newborn to mature. A roadside tea stall starts at Shishu; a small factory graduates to Tarun.

Atal Pension Yojana (APY)

Launched in 2015, APY targets workers in the unorganised sector, guaranteeing a fixed monthly pension between ₹1,000 and ₹5,000 after age 60, depending on the contribution amount and the age of joining. It runs under the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).

6. Women and Child Welfare Schemes

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP)

Launched in 2015 from Panipat, Haryana, this scheme addresses the declining child sex ratio and promotes girls' education. It is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the Ministry of Education. The choice of Panipat as the launch venue was deliberate, since Haryana recorded some of the country's lowest child sex ratios at the time.

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana

Launched in 2015 alongside Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, this is a small savings scheme for the girl child, allowing parents to open an account for a daughter below age 10 and deposit funds until she turns 21, with a high, government-fixed interest rate and full tax exemption. It runs under the Ministry of Finance.

Exam trap: Beti Bachao Beti Padhao is an awareness and welfare scheme; Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is a savings and investment scheme. Both launched in 2015, both concern the girl child, but one changes attitudes while the other builds a bank balance. Papers often test whether you can tell these apart.

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)

Launched in 2017, this scheme provides a cash incentive of ₹5,000 (paid in instalments) to pregnant and lactating women for their first living child, to partly compensate wage loss and encourage adequate rest and nutrition. It runs under the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

Poshan Abhiyaan

Launched in 2018, also called the National Nutrition Mission, this scheme targets malnutrition, anaemia, and low birth weight among children, adolescents, pregnant women, and lactating mothers through a convergence of existing nutrition-related schemes.

7. Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Schemes

Startup India

Launched in 2016 under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), this initiative promotes entrepreneurship by offering tax exemptions, easier compliance, and funding support to eligible startups. It is often paired in exam questions with Stand-Up India, launched the same year, which specifically supports women entrepreneurs and Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe entrepreneurs with bank loans between ₹10 lakh and ₹1 crore.

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)

Launched in 2000, this scheme provides all-weather road connectivity to unconnected rural habitations. It runs under the Ministry of Rural Development and remains one of the earliest large infrastructure-linked welfare schemes, predating most others in this chapter by over a decade.

8. Additional High-Frequency Schemes

Swachh Bharat Mission

Launched on October 2, 2014, deliberately chosen as Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary, this mission aimed to eliminate open defecation and improve solid waste management across urban and rural India. It has two arms, urban and Gramin, similar in structure to PMAY, and runs under the Ministry of Jal Shakti (rural) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (urban).

Ujjwala Yojana (Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana)

Launched in 2016, this scheme provides free LPG gas connections to women from below-poverty-line households, aiming to replace firewood and cow-dung cooking fuel with cleaner cooking gas. It runs under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. The scheme's logic ties directly to public health: indoor smoke from traditional cooking fuel is a major respiratory hazard, particularly for women who spend hours near the stove.

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY)

Launched in 2015, this scheme focuses on rural electrification and feeder separation, ensuring villages get a continuous power supply for both domestic use and agriculture. It falls under the Ministry of Power.

Digital India

Launched in 2015, this is an umbrella programme to transform India into a digitally empowered society, covering broadband highways, universal mobile connectivity, e-governance, and digital literacy. It is not a single scheme but a family of initiatives, similar to how Ayushman Bharat has two pillars; Digital India has multiple pillars including e-Kranti and the BharatNet project for rural broadband.

National Food Security Act and Public Distribution reform

While technically an Act rather than a scheme, this 2013 law guarantees subsidised food grains to roughly two-thirds of India's population through the Public Distribution System. Related current schemes like PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, launched in 2020 as a COVID-relief measure and extended multiple times since, provide free additional food grains on top of the regular PDS quota.

Atal Bhujal Yojana

Launched in 2019, this scheme focuses on sustainable groundwater management in water-stressed states through community participation, running under the Ministry of Jal Shakti. It is often confused with the broader Jal Jeevan Mission, launched the same year, which aims to provide functional household tap connections to every rural home. Atal Bhujal Yojana manages the groundwater source; Jal Jeevan Mission delivers the water to the tap. One is about supply management, the other about last-mile delivery.

9. How to Remember Ministries Without Confusion

A practical trick: group schemes by ministry rather than trying to memorise each in isolation. The Ministry of Rural Development owns MGNREGA, PMAY-Gramin, and PMGSY, three schemes that share a rural-infrastructure-and-employment theme. The Ministry of Women and Child Development owns Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, PMMVY, and Poshan Abhiyaan, three schemes centred on maternal and child welfare. The Ministry of Finance owns Jan Dhan, Sukanya Samriddhi, and Mudra Yojana, three schemes about money and banking access.

When a question gives you a ministry and asks which scheme belongs to it, first identify the theme of that ministry, then match the scheme whose objective fits that theme. This cuts your guesswork by two-thirds even if you have forgotten the exact scheme name.

10. Common Question Patterns to Watch For

RRB and SSC papers ask about schemes in four recurring formats. First, direct recall: "Which scheme was launched in 2015 for accident insurance?" Second, ministry matching: "PM-JAY comes under which ministry?" Third, benefit-figure recall: "What is the maximum insurance cover under PMSBY?" Fourth, renaming or merger questions: "Indira Awas Yojana was renamed as?"

Notice that all four formats need the same three data points per scheme: launch year, core benefit figure, and controlling ministry. That is exactly the structure this chapter followed for each scheme, so revise using that same three-point lens rather than re-reading paragraphs.

11. Central Schemes vs State Schemes: A Distinction Papers Test

One more confusion trips up aspirants who prepare only from their home state's coaching material: not every welfare scheme mentioned in a newspaper is a central government scheme. States run their own parallel programmes, sometimes with near-identical names. Andhra Pradesh's old Arogyasri health scheme predates Ayushman Bharat and inspired parts of its design. Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, and other states run their own farmer income-support schemes that exist alongside the central PM-KISAN scheme.

For RRB and SSC exams, unless the question explicitly names a state, assume it is asking about a central scheme administered from Delhi through a Union ministry. If a question names a state government scheme, treat it as a separate fact bucket entirely, do not mix its details into your central-scheme table. Confusing a state scheme's launch year with a central scheme sharing a similar goal is a very common wrong-answer trap in mixed GK papers.

PM-KISAN, launched in 2019, deserves a mention here because it is frequently tested alongside the schemes above. It provides ₹6,000 per year in three equal instalments directly to the bank accounts of small and marginal farmer families, regardless of state, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Unlike Jan Dhan, which built the banking access, PM-KISAN is an example of what that access enabled: direct, leakage-free cash transfer straight to a farmer's account without a middleman.

12. A Simple Revision Method That Actually Works

Do not try to memorise this chapter by reading it top to bottom again and again. Instead, make a small table in your own notebook with four columns: scheme name, one-word category, launch year, and one benefit figure. Fill it from memory after your first read, then check against this chapter and correct only what you got wrong. Repeat this two or three times over the coming week, spacing each attempt a day apart rather than doing it all in one sitting.

This method works because recall under mild difficulty, the kind you feel when you cannot immediately remember a launch year, builds a stronger memory trace than passive rereading. It also mirrors the actual exam experience: you will be asked to recall, not to recognise, so practise recall, not recognition. Aspirants who use this method typically report needing far fewer revision passes before the scheme-based questions feel automatic rather than shaky.

Finally, resist the urge to learn every scheme India has ever launched. This chapter deliberately covers the fifteen-plus schemes that appear again and again in past papers across SSC and RRB exams. A scheme mentioned once in a five-year-old newspaper clipping is unlikely to appear in your paper; a scheme covered here, with its year, ministry, and figure, is a much safer use of your limited revision hours.

Quick Revision — One-Line Facts

• Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY launched in 2018, offers ₹5 lakh health cover per family per year.
• PM-JAY runs under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• Health and Wellness Centres under Ayushman Bharat are now called Ayushman Arogya Mandirs.
• PMSBY, launched 2015, is an accident insurance scheme with ₹20 annual premium and ₹2 lakh cover.
• Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana, launched 2015, sells generic medicines at low prices.
• PMAY, launched 2015, aims for "Housing for All" through Urban and Gramin arms.
• PMAY-Gramin is the renamed and upgraded version of the older Indira Awas Yojana.
• MGNREGA, enacted 2005, guarantees 100 days of employment per rural household per year.
• MGNREGA runs under the Ministry of Rural Development.
• PMKVY, launched 2015, provides skill training and monetary rewards on certification.
• PMJDY, launched 2014, gives zero-balance bank accounts with RuPay cards and accident cover.
• Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, launched 2015, offers collateral-free loans up to ₹20 lakh.
• Mudra loan categories are Shishu, Kishor, and Tarun, based on loan size.
• Atal Pension Yojana, launched 2015, guarantees a fixed monthly pension from ₹1,000 to ₹5,000.
• Beti Bachao Beti Padhao was launched in 2015 from Panipat, Haryana.
• Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, launched 2015, is a savings scheme for the girl child.
• Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, launched 2017, gives ₹5,000 cash incentive to pregnant women.
• Poshan Abhiyaan, launched 2018, targets malnutrition and is also called the National Nutrition Mission.
• Startup India and Stand-Up India were both launched in 2016.
• PMGSY, launched 2000, provides all-weather rural road connectivity.
• Swachh Bharat Mission was launched on October 2, 2014, Gandhi's birth anniversary.
• Ujjwala Yojana, launched 2016, provides free LPG connections to BPL women.
• DDUGJY, launched 2015, focuses on rural electrification and feeder separation.
• Digital India, launched 2015, is an umbrella programme for digital transformation.
• National Food Security Act, passed 2013, guarantees subsidised food grains through PDS.
• Atal Bhujal Yojana, launched 2019, manages sustainable groundwater in water-stressed states.
• Jal Jeevan Mission, launched 2019, aims for tap water connections in every rural household.
• PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, launched 2020, provides free additional food grains beyond PDS quota.
• Ayushman Bharat targets families identified through the Socio-Economic Caste Census.
• PFRDA regulates the Atal Pension Yojana.

Memory Tables

Table 1: Scheme, Launch Year, and Controlling Ministry

Scheme	Launch Year	Ministry
Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY	2018	Health and Family Welfare
PMSBY	2015	Finance
Jan Aushadhi Yojana	2015	Chemicals and Fertilizers (Pharma Dept.)
PMAY	2015	Housing and Urban Affairs / Rural Development
MGNREGA	2005/2006	Rural Development
PMKVY	2015	Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
PMJDY	2014	Finance
Mudra Yojana	2015	Finance
Atal Pension Yojana	2015	Finance (PFRDA)
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao	2015	Women and Child Development
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana	2015	Finance
PMMVY	2017	Women and Child Development
Poshan Abhiyaan	2018	Women and Child Development
Startup India	2016	DPIIT, Commerce and Industry
PMGSY	2000	Rural Development
Swachh Bharat Mission	2014	Jal Shakti / Housing and Urban Affairs
Ujjwala Yojana	2016	Petroleum and Natural Gas
DDUGJY	2015	Power
Digital India	2015	Electronics and Information Technology
Atal Bhujal Yojana	2019	Jal Shakti
Jal Jeevan Mission	2019	Jal Shakti

Table 2: Scheme Category and Key Benefit Figure

Category	Scheme	Key Benefit Figure
Health	PM-JAY	₹5 lakh cover per family/year
Health	PMSBY	₹2 lakh accident cover, ₹20 premium
Housing	PMAY	Interest subsidy / financial aid for pucca house
Employment	MGNREGA	100 days guaranteed work per household
Financial Inclusion	Mudra Yojana	Loans up to ₹20 lakh
Financial Inclusion	Atal Pension Yojana	₹1,000–₹5,000 monthly pension
Women/Child	PMMVY	₹5,000 cash incentive
Women/Child	Sukanya Samriddhi	High interest, tax-free savings for girl child
Skill Dev.	PMKVY	Monetary reward on certification
Entrepreneurship	Stand-Up India	₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore loans for SC/ST/women

Practice MCQs

Q1. In which year was the Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY scheme launched? (a) 2016 (b) 2017 (c) 2018 (d) 2019

Q2. What is the maximum health cover provided per family per year under PM-JAY? (a) ₹1 lakh (b) ₹2 lakh (c) ₹3 lakh (d) ₹5 lakh

Q3. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana provides accident insurance cover of how much? (a) ₹1 lakh (b) ₹2 lakh (c) ₹5 lakh (d) ₹10 lakh

Q4. PMAY-Gramin is the renamed and upgraded version of which older scheme? (a) Indira Awas Yojana (b) Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (c) Antyodaya Anna Yojana (d) Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana

Q5. MGNREGA guarantees how many days of employment per rural household per year? (a) 50 days (b) 75 days (c) 100 days (d) 150 days

Q6. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao was launched in 2015 from which city? (a) Delhi (b) Panipat (c) Ahmedabad (d) Lucknow

Q7. Which ministry administers the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana? (a) Ministry of Rural Development (b) Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (c) Ministry of Labour (d) Ministry of Education

Q8. What is the maximum loan amount available under the revised Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana? (a) ₹5 lakh (b) ₹10 lakh (c) ₹20 lakh (d) ₹50 lakh

Q9. Which of the following correctly matches the Mudra loan category with its range? (a) Shishu — ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh (b) Kishor — up to ₹50,000 (c) Tarun — ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh (d) Shishu — ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh

Q10. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana account can be opened for a girl child below which age? (a) 5 years (b) 8 years (c) 10 years (d) 12 years

Q11. Swachh Bharat Mission was launched on which date, chosen deliberately for its significance? (a) August 15, 2014 (b) October 2, 2014 (c) January 26, 2015 (d) November 14, 2014

Q12. Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana provides a cash incentive of how much for the first living child? (a) ₹2,000 (b) ₹5,000 (c) ₹6,000 (d) ₹10,000

Q13. Which scheme focuses specifically on sustainable groundwater management in water-stressed states, distinct from the tap-water delivery focus of Jal Jeevan Mission? (a) Namami Gange (b) Atal Bhujal Yojana (c) Swachh Bharat Mission (d) National Water Mission

Q14. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, one of the earliest schemes in this chapter, was launched in which year? (a) 1995 (b) 2000 (c) 2005 (d) 2010

Q15. Stand-Up India, launched alongside Startup India in 2016, primarily supports which group of entrepreneurs? (a) Retired government employees (b) Women and SC/ST entrepreneurs (c) Foreign investors (d) Large corporates only

Answer Key

Q	Answer	One-line reason
1	(c) 2018	PM-JAY was launched in 2018, three years after the broader Ayushman Bharat mission concept took shape.
2	(d) ₹5 lakh	The ₹5 lakh figure is the most tested number in this chapter; do not confuse it with older state-scheme figures.
3	(b) ₹2 lakh	PMSBY's ₹2 lakh cover, at just ₹20 annual premium, makes it the cheapest insurance scheme tested in this exam.
4	(a) Indira Awas Yojana	PMAY-Gramin replaced and upgraded Indira Awas Yojana; this renaming is a classic exam trap.
5	(c) 100 days	The guarantee is per household, not per individual worker, a distinction examiners test often.
6	(b) Panipat	Panipat, Haryana was chosen because the state had a notably low child sex ratio at the time.
7	(b) Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship	This ministry was created specifically to house skilling programmes like PMKVY.
8	(c) ₹20 lakh	The original ₹10 lakh cap was raised to ₹20 lakh with the introduction of the Tarun Plus category.
9	(c) Tarun — ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh	Shishu, Kishor, Tarun rise in that order; Tarun is the top slab before Tarun Plus.
10	(c) 10 years	A Sukanya Samriddhi account must be opened before the girl turns 10, and it matures when she turns 21.
11	(b) October 2, 2014	The date matches Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary, chosen to link cleanliness with his legacy.
12	(b) ₹5,000	The amount is paid in instalments to partly offset wage loss during pregnancy.
13	(b) Atal Bhujal Yojana	It manages groundwater supply, while Jal Jeevan Mission handles last-mile tap connections.
14	(b) 2000	PMGSY predates most schemes in this chapter, launched under the earlier NDA government's rural roads push.
15	(b) Women and SC/ST entrepreneurs	Stand-Up India loans of ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore specifically target these groups, unlike the broader Startup India.