Regulatory Bodies in India – Complete Guide for Railway Exams

1. Introduction

India’s socio-economic development is steered by a network of Regulatory Bodies—statutory, quasi-judicial, and autonomous organisations that frame rules, set standards, and ensure compliance in sectors ranging from railways & banking to telecom & environment. Railway exams (NTPC, Group-D, JE, ALP, Technician, RPF) regularly test static awareness on their year of establishment, headquarters, chairpersons, parent ministry, and key functions.

2. Top 20 National Regulatory Bodies – Fact Sheet

*CRB = Chairman, Railway Board (ex-officio CEO of Indian Railways).

3. Railway-Specific Regulatory Milestones

4. Quick Reference – Taglines & Parent Ministries

5. One-Liner Facts (Railway-Exam Capsule)

1. RBI prints currency through Security Printing & Minting Corp. (SPMCIL) & Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran (BRBNMPL).
2. SEBI was born out of Chakravarty Committee (1985) recommendations.
3. TRAI replaced TDSAT appellate role partially; TDSAT now only adjudicatory.
4. IRDAI shifted HQ from Delhi to Hyderabad in 2001.
5. PFRDA administers Atal Pension Yojana (APY) launched 2015.
6. CERC & SERCs (State ERCs) derive power from Electricity Act 2003.
7. PNGRB is not responsible for upstream exploration (handled by DGH under MoP&NG).
8. DGCA issues Flying Permits & Type Certification; BCAS handles airport security.
9. FSSAI logo carries green & brown colours – green for vegetarian, brown for non-veg.
10. BIS hallmark for gold has 3 components: BIS logo, purity carat, assaying centre mark.
11. CCI can impose penalty upto 10% of turnover of cartel companies.
12. WDRA negotiable warehouse receipt (NWR) helps farmers get e-NAM & bank finance.
13. NHAI implements Bharatmala Pariyojana; FASTag is mandatory since 15 Feb 2021.
14. AERA regulates aeronautical tariffs only for major airports (>3.5 m passengers/yr).
15. RDA (when constituted) will be statutory & multi-sectoral – passenger & freight tariffs.

6. Practice MCQs (Railway Pattern)

Instructions:

• Choose the best option.
• Answers hidden inside <details> tags.

1. In which year was the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) established?
   A) 1995 B) 1997 C) 1999 D) 2001

2. The headquarters of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is located at
   A) Mumbai B) Delhi C) Hyderabad D) Bengaluru

3. Who is the current (May 2024) Governor of the Reserve Bank of India?
   A) Urjit Patel B) Raghuram Rajan C) Shaktikanta Das D) Viral Acharya

4. The Railway Development Authority (RDA) – proposed regulator for Indian Railways – was first recommended by which committee?
   A) Bibek Debroy B) Prakash C) Rakesh Mohan D) Sam Pitroda

5. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) was given statutory status by the
   A) SEBI Act 1992 B) SCRA 1956 C) Companies Act 2013 D) Depositories Act 1996

6. Match the following regulatory bodies with their sectors:
   1. PNGRB   2. CERC   3. DGCA   4. FSSAI
      P. Food Q. Oil & Gas R. Electricity S. Civil Aviation
      A) 1-Q, 2-R, 3-S, 4-P B) 1-R, 2-Q, 3-P, 4-S C) 1-S, 2-P, 3-Q, 4-R D) 1-P, 2-S, 3-R, 4-Q

7. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is responsible for administering
   A) EPFO B) NPS C) ESIC D) Gratuity Act

8. Which of the following bodies regulates airport tariffs in India?
   A) AERA B) DGCA C) AAI D) BCAS

9. BIS hallmarking of gold jewellery is
   A) Voluntary B) Mandatory w.e.f. 14 Jun 2021 C) Mandatory only for 22 carat D) Optional for 18 carat

10. The maximum penalty that CCI can impose on an enterprise for contravention of Competition Act is
    A) 5% of turnover B) 10% of turnover C) ₹50 crore D) ₹100 crore

11. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act was passed in
    A) 2019 B) 2020 C) 2022 D) 2023

12. Warehousing Development & Regulatory Authority (WDRA) comes under
    A) Agriculture Ministry B) Finance Ministry C) Corporate Affairs D) Consumer Affairs

13. The first chairman of TRAI was
    A) M.S. Verma B) A. Raja C) Sudhir Gupta D) Anil Kumar Lahoti

14. The regulator for Inland Waterways is
    A) IWAI B) DG Shipping C) PNGRB D) CERC

15. The statutory authority that certifies films for public exhibition in India is
    A) NFDC B) CBFC C) Prasar Bharati D) I&B Ministry

16. The Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) was established under
    A) FSS Act 2006 B) Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1954 C) Essential Commodities Act D) Consumer Protection Act

17. The Chairman of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) is appointed by
    A) President on recommendation of CJI B) Cabinet Committee on Appointments C) Finance Minister D) Prime Minister alone

18. The proposed Railway Development Authority will NOT decide
    A) Passenger fares B) Freight rates C) Safety standards D) Track access charges

7. Revision Strategy

• Mnemonic: “T-R-I-C-P-F-B-C-S” – top 8 regulators to recall: TRAI, RBI, IRDAI, CERC, PFRDA, FSSAI, BIS, CCI.
• Map HQ: Mumbai – RBI, SEBI; Hyderabad – IRDAI; New Delhi – almost all others.
• Year trick: Post-liberalisation birth years – 1992 (SEBI), 1997 (TRAI), 1998 (CERC), 1999 (IRDAI Act), 2003 (PFRDA).
• Railway focus: Keep RDA & 1905/1951 dates handy; expect HQ = Delhi for Railway Board.

All the best for your Railway Exam!