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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Questions per year, counted from the official papers.
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Amnesty International is
Answer (b) & explanation
Amnesty International (London, 1961) is a global human-rights movement of members and volunteers (b). It campaigns against torture, the death penalty and unjust imprisonment, and won the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize. It is not a UN refugee agency (a), which is the UNHCR; it is not a poverty relief NGO (c); and it is not an inter-governmental medical agency (d), a role closer to the ICRC or Médecins Sans Frontières, which is itself an NGO.
Amnesty shut its India operations in 2020 after its bank accounts were frozen. Notice how UPSC tests whether a body is UN, inter-governmental or non-governmental.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
India is a member of which among the following?
- 1. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
- 2. Association of South-East Asian Nations
- 3. East Asia Summit
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (b) & explanation
Only statement 3 is correct (b). India has been a member of the East Asia Summit since it began in 2005. India is a dialogue partner of ASEAN, not a member, and the relationship was raised to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022. India has long sought to join APEC, but the group has not admitted it.
The EAS has 18 members: the ten ASEAN states plus India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Russia. Notice how India's Act East Policy works through these forums, linking trade, connectivity and security in the Indo-Pacific.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
In the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation, an initiative of six countries, which of the following is/are not a participant/participants?
- 1. Bangladesh
- 2. Cambodia
- 3. China
- 4. Myanmar
- 5. Thailand
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (c) & explanation
Mekong–Ganga Cooperation (2000, Vientiane) joins India with five Mekong countries: Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. So Bangladesh and China are not participants (c). Options listing Cambodia, Myanmar or Thailand as non-participants are wrong.
MGC covers tourism, culture, education and transport, highlighting the civilisational links of the two great rivers. China leads its own Lancang–Mekong Cooperation, the Lancang being the Chinese name for the upper Mekong. Notice how MGC fits India's Act East Policy, along with BIMSTEC and the India–Myanmar–Thailand highway.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements regarding ‘Earth Hour’ :
- 1. It is an initiative of UNEP and UNESCO.
- 2. It is a movement in which the participants switch off the lights for one hour on a certain day every year.
- 3. It is a movement to raise the awareness about the climate change and the need to save the planet.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (c) & explanation
Earth Hour was started by WWF in Sydney in 2007, not by UNEP or UNESCO, so statement 1 is wrong. People switch off non-essential lights for one hour on a set day each year, usually the last Saturday of March (2 correct), to raise awareness about climate change and protecting the planet (3 correct). So the answer is (c).
It has grown into one of the world's largest grassroots environmental events, with landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and India Gate going dark. Notice how symbolic actions build public will, the same idea behind India's Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment).
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Chaitra 1 of the national calendar based on the Saka Era corresponds to which one of the following dates of the Gregorian calendar in a normal year of 365 days?
Answer (a) & explanation
India adopted the Saka national calendar on 22 March 1957. Chaitra 1 falls on 22 March in a normal year and 21 March in a leap year, close to the spring equinox (a). The other dates do not match: 15 May (b), 31 March (c) and 21 April (d) are not linked to the national calendar's new year.
The Saka era began in 78 CE and is linked with the Kushana king Kanishka. The calendar was reformed by the Calendar Reform Committee led by Meghnad Saha. It is used alongside the Gregorian calendar in the Gazette of India and government notices. Notice how astronomy shaped the calendar's design.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to a grouping of countries known as BRICS, consider the following statements :
- 1. The First Summit of BRICS was held in Rio de Janeiro in 2009.
- 2. South Africa was the last to join the BRICS grouping.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (b) & explanation
Statement 1 is wrong: the first BRIC summit was held at Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009, not Rio. Brazil hosted the second, in Brasília in 2010. Statement 2 was correct in 2014: South Africa joined in 2010–11 and turned BRIC into BRICS.
The group has since grown: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE joined in 2024 and Indonesia in 2025. Its New Development Bank (Shanghai) and Contingent Reserve Arrangement were agreed at the Fortaleza summit in 2014. Notice how a question set in one year can age; always read membership questions in the year they were asked.
Answer as of 2014. The expansion from 2024 came after this question was set.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Recently, a series of uprisings of people referred to as ‘Arab Spring’ originally started from
Answer (d) & explanation
The Arab Spring began in Tunisia in December 2010, after street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest (d). President Ben Ali fled in January 2011. Protests then spread to Egypt (a), where Hosni Mubarak fell in February 2011, and to Libya, Yemen, Syria (c) and Bahrain. Lebanon (b) was not the starting point.
The outcomes varied widely: Tunisia moved to democracy for a decade, Libya and Yemen slid into conflict, and Syria descended into a long civil war that ended with Assad's fall in December 2024. Notice how food prices, youth unemployment and social media fuelled these protests.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following countries :
- 1. Denmark
- 2. Japan
- 3. Russian Federation
- 4. United Kingdom
- 5. United States of America
Which of the above are the members of the ‘Arctic Council’?
Answer (d) & explanation
The Arctic Council (1996, Ottawa Declaration) has eight members: Canada, Denmark (through Greenland), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the USA. So 1, 3 and 5 are correct (d). Japan and the UK are only observers, so options with 2 or 4 fail.
India became an observer in 2013, along with China, Japan and others. India runs the Himadri research station in Svalbard and released an Arctic Policy in 2022. Notice how melting ice opens new shipping routes and resources, linking climate change to geopolitics and trade.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following pairs :
| Region often in news | Country
| 1. Chechnya | Russian Federation
| 2. Darfur | Mali
| 3. Swat Valley | Iraq
Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?
Answer (a) & explanation
Only pair 1 is correct (a). Chechnya is a republic of the Russian Federation in the North Caucasus, where two separatist wars were fought in the 1990s and 2000s. Darfur, scene of mass atrocities since 2003, is in western Sudan, not Mali. The Swat Valley, where the Pakistani Taliban were active and Malala Yousafzai was shot in 2012, is in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, not Iraq.
Swat was also an old centre of Gandhara Buddhist culture. Notice how "places in news" questions reward a mental world map built steadily from current affairs.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to Agni-IV Missile, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1. It is a surface-to-surface missile.
- 2. It is fuelled by liquid propellant only.
- 3. It can deliver one-tonne nuclear warheads about 7500 km away.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (a) & explanation
Agni-IV is a surface-to-surface ballistic missile (1 correct). It has two solid-fuel stages, so statement 2 is wrong, and it carries a one-tonne warhead about 4,000 km, not 7,500 km, so statement 3 is wrong too.
The longer range of 5,000 km and more belongs to Agni-V, which tested MIRV technology in Mission Divyastra in 2024. The Agni series is built by DRDO and grew out of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme led by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Notice how solid fuel matters: such missiles can be stored ready and launched quickly.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The “New START” treaty was in the news. What is this treaty ?
Answer (a) & explanation
The answer is (a). New START (New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) was signed in Prague in April 2010 by US President Obama and Russian President Medvedev, and came into force in 2011. It is a bilateral treaty between the USA and Russia that capped each side at 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, with on-site inspections. Options (b), (c) and (d) describe energy or trade arrangements among other groups, which are unrelated.
Notice its fate: the treaty was extended in 2021 for five years. Russia suspended its participation in 2023. The treaty expired in February 2026 without a replacement, leaving no binding limits on the two largest nuclear arsenals for the first time in decades. Earlier treaties include START I (1991) and the INF Treaty (1987, ended 2019). India is not party to these, and follows no first use.
"Multilateral" in (b), (c) and (d) is the giveaway: START has always been a two-party treaty, first USA–USSR, then USA–Russia.
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Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Southeast Asia has captivated the attention of global community over space and time as a geostrategically significant region. Which among the following is the most convincing explanation for this global perspective ?
Answer (d) & explanation
Option (d) is the most convincing (d). Southeast Asia lies between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and sea lanes such as the Strait of Malacca, Sunda and Lombok carry a large share of world trade and energy. This lasting maritime character explains its importance 'over space and time'. (a) and (c) are wrong because they describe single periods, the Second World War and the Cold War. (b) is wrong because its position between China and India is only one, narrower angle, not the deepest reason.
Notice the present: the South China Sea disputes, ASEAN centrality and India's Act East and Indo-Pacific policies all flow from this maritime geography. Trap: options tied to one era cannot explain 'over space and time'.
(a) and (c) are true but belong to one period each; the question asks for a reason that holds "over space and time".
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to “Look East Policy” of India, consider the following statements :
- 1. India wants to establish itself as an important regional player in the East Asian affairs.
- 2. India wants to plug the vacuum created by the termination of Cold War.
- 3. India wants to restore the historical and cultural ties with its neighbours in Southeast and East Asia.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Statements 1 and 3 are correct (b). The Look East Policy (1991, under P.V. Narasimha Rao) aimed to make India an important regional player in East and Southeast Asia through trade, investment and ties with ASEAN (1), and to revive old historical and cultural links of Buddhism, trade and Indian kingdoms (3). Statement 2 is wrong: the policy was driven by economic reform and the loss of the Soviet partner, not by a wish to 'fill a Cold War vacuum'. So (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the upgrade: it became the Act East Policy in 2014, adding security, connectivity (Kaladan, India–Myanmar–Thailand highway) and the Indo-Pacific. India became an ASEAN dialogue partner in 1995 and a Comprehensive Strategic Partner in 2022.
Statement 2 sounds right because the policy began in 1991, just as the Cold War ended, but filling a "vacuum" was never its aim.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following :
- 1. Right to education.
- 2. Right to equal access to public service.
- 3. Right to food.
Which of the above is/are Human Right/Human Rights under “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” ?
Answer (d) & explanation
All three are human rights under the UDHR (d). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948, lists the right of equal access to public service (Article 21), the right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being, including food (Article 25), and the right to education (Article 26). So options (a), (b) and (c) leave out real rights.
Notice the wider frame: 10 December is Human Rights Day. The UDHR is not a treaty, but its rights were made binding through the two 1966 Covenants (ICCPR and ICESCR). India's own Right to Education (Article 21A, 2002) and the National Food Security Act, 2013 echo these rights.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Recently, the USA decided to support India’s membership in multi-lateral export control regimes called the “Australia Group” and the “Wassenaar Arrangement”. What is the difference between them ?
- 1. The Australia Group is an informal arrangement which aims to allow exporting countries to minimize the risk of assisting chemical and biological weapons proliferation, whereas the Wassenaar Arrangement is a formal group under the OECD holding identical objectives.
- 2. The Australia Group comprises predominantly of Asian, African and North American countries, whereas the member countries of Wassenaar Arrangement are predominantly from the European Union and American continents.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Answer (d) & explanation
Neither statement is correct (d). Statement 1 is wrong: the Australia Group (1985) is indeed an informal group that controls exports useful for chemical and biological weapons, but the Wassenaar Arrangement (1996) is not an OECD body and its aim is different; it controls conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies. Statement 2 is wrong: both groups are dominated by Europe and other Western states, not Asian or African countries. So (a), (b) and (c) fail.
Notice India's progress: it joined the MTCR (2016), Wassenaar (December 2017) and the Australia Group (January 2018), but its bid for the Nuclear Suppliers Group remains blocked, mainly by China. These memberships followed the 2008 India–US civil nuclear deal.
Statement 1 reads well until "a formal group under the OECD": both regimes are informal and stand outside the OECD.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.