International Relations and Current Affairs: previous-year questions
135 real UPSC Prelims questions (2011–2026) with the official answer and a clear explanation. 63 of them came in the last five papers.
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Which of the following is not a member of ‘Gulf Cooperation Council’?
Answer (a) & explanation
Iran is not a GCC member (a). The Gulf Cooperation Council was formed in 1981 with its headquarters in Riyadh. It has six Arab monarchies: Saudi Arabia (b), the UAE, Kuwait (d), Qatar, Bahrain and Oman (c). It was formed partly as a response to the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the Iran–Iraq war, so Iran's absence is the point. Iraq and Yemen are not members either.
For India, the GCC is a top trading bloc, a key oil and gas source, and home to about 9 million Indians, who send large remittances. India–GCC FTA talks restarted in 2022, and India signed a CEPA with the UAE in 2022. Notice the corridors too: IMEC, announced in 2023, runs through the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following pairs :
| Community sometimes mentioned in the news | In the affairs of
| 1. Kurd | Bangladesh
| 2. Madhesi | Nepal
| 3. Rohingya | Myanmar
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
Answer (c) & explanation
Pairs 2 and 3 are correct (c). The Madhesis of Nepal's Terai protested the 2015 constitution, which led to a border blockade with India. The Rohingya are a Muslim minority denied citizenship in Myanmar's Rakhine State, and many fled to Bangladesh after 2017. Pair 1 is wrong: the Kurds live across Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran, not Bangladesh.
The Kurds are among the largest ethnic groups without a state of their own. Notice how communities in the news link to India's neighbourhood policy, as with refugees and border relations.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
‘Belt and Road Initiative’ is sometimes mentioned in the news in the context of the affairs of
Answer (d) & explanation
The Belt and Road Initiative is China's project (d). Xi Jinping announced it in 2013 in Kazakhstan and Indonesia. It combines the overland Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road to build ports, railways and power lines across Asia, Africa and Europe. It is not a project of the African Union (a), Brazil (b), or the EU (c). The EU's answer is its Global Gateway.
India has boycotted BRI because its flagship, the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which India sees as a breach of sovereignty. Watch for the term "debt-trap diplomacy", as in Sri Lanka's Hambantota port lease. Italy left BRI in 2023, and India backs alternatives such as IMEC.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to ‘Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)’, consider the following statements :
- 1. It is an organization of European Union in working relation with NATO and WHO.
- 2. It monitors chemical industry to prevent new weapons from emerging.
- 3. It provides assistance and protection to States (Parties) against chemical weapons threats.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (b) & explanation
Statements 2 and 3 are correct (b). The OPCW, based in The Hague, implements the Chemical Weapons Convention (1997). It monitors the chemical industry to stop new weapons emerging (2) and provides assistance and protection to member states against chemical threats (3). Statement 1 is wrong: it is an independent international body, not an EU organisation working with NATO and WHO.
It has 193 member states and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013. India signed the CWC and destroyed its declared stockpile by 2009. Notice how disarmament treaties rely on verification bodies like this.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The term ‘Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership’ often appears in the news in the context of the affairs of a group of countries known as
Answer (b) & explanation
RCEP is linked with ASEAN (b). The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership was negotiated by the 10 ASEAN countries and their six FTA partners: China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India. India walked out in November 2019. It feared a flood of cheap Chinese goods, harm to dairy and farm sectors, and weak safeguards. The other 15 signed in November 2020, and the deal came into force in 2022. It is not a G20 (a), SCO (c) or SAARC (d) project.
It is the world's largest trade bloc, covering about 30% of global GDP. Notice India's other path: it reviews its ASEAN FTA (AITIGA) and signs bilateral deals such as with the UAE, Australia, EFTA and the UK.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
‘Mission Indradhanush’ launched by the Government of India pertains to
Answer (a) & explanation
Mission Indradhanush (December 2014) is about the immunisation of children and pregnant women (a). It targets children under two and pregnant women who were missed or left partly vaccinated under routine immunisation. It has nothing to do with smart cities (b), which come under the Smart Cities Mission, space research for Earth-like planets (c), or the education policy (d).
The seven rainbow colours first stood for seven vaccine-preventable diseases; more vaccines were added later. Intensified Mission Indradhanush pushed coverage further, and the U-WIN portal now tracks doses digitally. Notice how it supports the Universal Immunisation Programme, one of the largest in the world.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
- 1. The International Solar Alliance was launched at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2015.
- 2. The Alliance includes all the member countries of the United Nations.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (a) & explanation
Only statement 1 is correct (a). India and France launched the International Solar Alliance on 30 November 2015 at COP21 in Paris (1). Its headquarters is in Gurugram, at the National Institute of Solar Energy campus. It became a treaty-based body in 2017. Statement 2 is wrong because membership is not automatic. It was first meant for about 121 solar-rich countries lying between the Tropics, and in 2020 it was opened to all UN members, but each country must sign and ratify the framework agreement. About 100+ have done so, not all UN members.
Its slogan is "One Sun, One World, One Grid" (OSOWOG). Notice related Indian-led groups too: CDRI for disaster-resilient infrastructure and the Global Biofuels Alliance (2023).
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to pre-packaged items in India, it is mandatory to the manufacturer to put which of the following information on the main label, as per the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011?
- 1. List of ingredients including additives
- 2. Nutrition information
- 3. Recommendations, if any, made by the medical profession about the possibility of any allergic reactions
- 4. Vegetarian/non-vegetarian
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (c) & explanation
Statements 1, 2 and 4 are correct (c). The FSS (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011 required a list of ingredients including additives (1), nutrition information (2) and the veg/non-veg symbol, a green dot or brown dot in a square (4). Statement 3 is wrong: medical recommendations about allergic reactions were not a mandatory label item in those rules.
Other mandatory items included name of the food, net quantity, batch number, manufacturing and best-before dates, and the FSSAI licence number. These rules were later replaced by the Labelling and Display Regulations, 2020. Notice how labelling turns food safety into a consumer right to informed choice.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
A recent movie titled The Man Who Knew Infinity is based on the biography of
Answer (a) & explanation
The film is about S. Ramanujan (a). The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015), with Dev Patel, tells the story of self-taught mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887–1920) and his work with G. H. Hardy at Cambridge. It is based on Robert Kanigel's 1991 biography. Ramanujan became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1918 and is famous for work on partitions, infinite series and the "taxicab number" 1729. S. Chandrasekhar (b) is known for the Chandrasekhar limit. S. N. Bose (c) gave his name to bosons. C. V. Raman (d) discovered the Raman effect.
22 December, Ramanujan's birthday, is National Mathematics Day. Notice that 28 February, the day Raman announced his effect in 1928, is National Science Day.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to the ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership’, consider the following statements :
- 1. It is an agreement among all the Pacific Rim countries except China and Russia.
- 2. It is a strategic alliance for the purpose of maritime security only.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (d) & explanation
Neither statement is correct (d). Statement 1 is wrong: the Trans-Pacific Partnership (signed 2016) had only 12 Pacific Rim economies, not all of them except China and Russia; countries such as South Korea and Indonesia were outside it. Statement 2 is wrong: the TPP was a trade and investment agreement, not a maritime security alliance.
The US withdrew in 2017, and the remaining 11 signed the CPTPP in 2018. The UK joined in 2024. China has applied to join. Notice how the TPP contrasts with RCEP, a separate Asia-Pacific trade bloc that India chose to leave in 2019.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to ‘Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC)’, consider the following statements :
- 1. It was established very recently in response to incidents of piracy and accidents of oil spills.
- 2. It is an alliance meant for maritime security only.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (d) & explanation
Neither statement is correct (d). IORA, founded in 1997 in Mauritius and renamed in 2013, is not a recent body formed in response to piracy or oil spills, so statement 1 is wrong. It is a regional forum for economic and trade cooperation, covering trade, fisheries, tourism, the blue economy and disaster management, as well as maritime safety, so it is not a security-only alliance.
Its secretariat is in Mauritius, and India is a founding member that chaired it in 2011–13 and again from 2025. Notice how the Indian Ocean links India's trade, energy imports and the SAGAR vision.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The term ‘IndARC’, sometimes seen in the news, is the name of
Answer (d) & explanation
IndARC (2014) is India's first underwater moored observatory in the Arctic (d), placed in Kongsfjorden near the Himadri research station in Svalbard, Norway. It records ocean data such as temperature and salinity, linked to Arctic climate change and its possible effect on the Indian monsoon. It is not a radar (a), a satellite (b) or an Antarctic base (c).
India's Antarctic stations are Maitri and Bharati, after the first, Dakshin Gangotri. India released its Arctic Policy in 2022. Notice how polar research helps India understand its own monsoon and sea-level rise.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The ‘Fortaleza Declaration’, recently in the news, is related to the affairs of
Answer (b) & explanation
The Fortaleza Declaration came out of the 6th BRICS summit at Fortaleza, Brazil, in July 2014 (b). That summit agreed to set up the New Development Bank, headquartered in Shanghai with K. V. Kamath of India as its first president, and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement for members facing balance-of-payments stress. ASEAN (a), the OECD (c) and the WTO (d) have their own declarations but not this one.
Notice how the NDB and CRA were seen as the emerging economies' answer to the World Bank and IMF, reflecting a wish for a bigger voice in global finance.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
‘Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action’, often seen in the news, is
Answer (c) & explanation
The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action is an agenda for women's empowerment, adopted at the UN's Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 (c). It covers 12 critical areas, from poverty and education to violence and decision-making, and countries report on it every five years. It is not an SCO counter-terror strategy (a), an APEC growth plan (b) or an East Asia Summit wildlife declaration (d).
Its 30th anniversary review, Beijing+30, took place in 2025. Notice how its goals feed into SDG 5 on gender equality and India's own steps like the women's reservation law of 2023.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding National Innovation Foundation-India (NIF)?
- 1. NIF is an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology under the Central Government.
- 2. NIF is an initiative to strengthen the highly advanced scientific research in India’s premier scientific institutions in collaboration with highly advanced foreign scientific institutions.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (a) & explanation
NIF-India (set up in 2000 in Gujarat) is an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology (1 correct). Inspired by Anil Gupta's Honey Bee Network, it scouts, documents and supports grassroots innovations and traditional knowledge of ordinary people. Statement 2 is wrong: it does not promote elite research tie-ups with advanced foreign institutions. The answer is (a).
NIF runs the biennial national grassroots innovation awards and helps innovators get patents and reach markets. Notice how it shows that innovation is not only the work of labs, but also of farmers and artisans solving local problems.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following countries :
- 1. China
- 2. France
- 3. India
- 4. Israel
- 5. Pakistan
Which among the above are Nuclear Weapons States as recognized by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)?
Answer (a) & explanation
The NPT (1968) recognises as nuclear-weapon states only those that tested before 1 January 1967: the USA, Russia, UK, France and China. So among the options only China and France qualify (a). India, Pakistan and Israel never signed the NPT and, though they have nuclear weapons, fall outside this definition.
These five are also the permanent members of the UN Security Council. India rejects the NPT as discriminatory but follows a no-first-use policy and got the NSG waiver in 2008. Notice how history, not just capability, defines status in this treaty.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Among the following, which were frequently mentioned in the news for the outbreak of Ebola virus recently?
Answer (b) & explanation
The 2014–16 West African Ebola epidemic, the largest ever with over 11,000 deaths, centred on Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia (b). WHO declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in August 2014. The other groups, Syria–Jordan (a), Philippines–Papua New Guinea (c) and Jamaica–Haiti–Surinam (d), were not Ebola hotspots.
The virus is named after the Ebola river in the DR Congo, where it was first identified in 1976. It spreads through direct contact with body fluids. Notice how such outbreaks shaped later global health responses, including WHO's handling of Zika and COVID-19.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The area known as ‘Golan Heights’ sometimes appears in the news in the context of the events related to
Answer (b) & explanation
The Golan Heights are in the Middle East (b). Israel took this plateau from Syria in the 1967 war and annexed it in 1981, a move most of the world does not recognise. It overlooks the Sea of Galilee and is a key source of water. It has nothing to do with Central Asia (a), South-East Asia (c) or Central Africa (d).
UN peacekeepers of UNDOF, including Indian troops at times, patrol the ceasefire line. The USA recognised Israeli sovereignty in 2019. Notice how high ground and water make some small territories hugely important in geopolitics.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following is associated with the issue of control and phasing out of the use of ozone-depleting substances?
Answer (b) & explanation
The Montreal Protocol (1987), under the Vienna Convention (1985), phases out ozone-depleting substances such as CFCs and halons (b). It is the first UN treaty ratified by every country. Bretton Woods (a) created the IMF and World Bank in 1944. The Kyoto Protocol (c) dealt with greenhouse gases, and the Nagoya Protocol (d) with access and benefit-sharing of genetic resources.
Its Kigali Amendment (2016) adds HFCs, which do not harm ozone but are strong greenhouse gases. Notice how the ozone layer is healing, a rare success story of global cooperation.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2014 was given to which one of the following?
Answer (c) & explanation
The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2014 went to ISRO (c), for using space technology for development and for achievements such as the Mars Orbiter Mission. BARC (a), IISc (b) and TIFR (d) are leading science institutions but did not receive the 2014 award.
The prize is given by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust. Earlier winners include Mikhail Gorbachev, Médecins Sans Frontières and the UNHCR. Notice how India's space programme is framed around development: weather, communication and resource mapping, not just exploration. Mangalyaan made India the first to reach Mars orbit on its first try.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.