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GS Paper II

Mains · GS Paper II · 13 questions

International institutions

Every question UPSC has set on this line of the GS Paper II syllabus, newest first — with an approach for each.

Questions per year: 2016: 2, 2017: 1, 2018: 1, 2019: 1, 2020: 1, 2021: 0, 2022: 0, 2023: 1, 2024: 1, 2025: 1, 2026: 0 Asked in 8 of 11 years

UPSC syllabus (verbatim): “Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.” Sub-topics in the detailed syllabus →

2026

GS Paper II 2026 · Q10

10 marks · 150 words X-Ray · Core #47

“BRICS acts as a powerful counterweight in global governance, actively amplifying the voice and influence of the Global South.” Explain the role of BRICS in projecting itself as an alternative to other groupings.

🧭 How to think about this question · directive: “explain”

Decode the demand

  • Directive 'explain': show how and why, with evidence; the quotation is a claim, so you must show how BRICS earns the words 'counterweight' and 'voice of the Global South'.
  • The issue in one line: a grouping born in 2009 as four economies now has 11 members, its own bank and a reform agenda aimed at Western-led institutions.
  • Three things to answer: how it acts as a counterweight and amplifies the South; how it projects itself as an alternative to groupings like the G7; how far the projection holds.
  • The trap: listing summits and members. The examiner wants the features that make it 'alternative': no hegemon, own institutions, reform agenda, plus the honest limits.

Think in a structure

  • Open with the growth from four to eleven and India's 2026 chair, then name the three legs of the counterweight claim.
  • One heading per demand part: counterweight and voice; projection as an alternative (a G7 vs BRICS table does the work); limits in one short block.
  • End from India's chair: concrete measures the 2026 presidency can deliver, then a constitutional anchor (Article 51) so the conclusion is India's, not a slogan.
Facts checked at source (5)· open

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2026, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Guidance: Minimalist IAS, checked 8 Nov 2026 (how we verify). ·

Model answer· 421words · Minimalist IAS

From four economies at Yekaterinburg (2009), BRICS now 'brings together 11 major emerging economies', and India chairs it in 2026. Its counterweight claim rests on three legs: a reform voice, its own institutions and a model of grouping unlike the West's clubs.

2009Yekaterinburg,first summit2010South Africajoins2014CRA agreed2015NDB opens202611 members,India chairs
  1. 2009: Yekaterinburg, first summit
  2. 2010: South Africa joins
  3. 2014: CRA agreed
  4. 2015: NDB opens
  5. 2026: 11 members, India chairs

Counterweight that amplifies the Global South

  • Reform voice: presses for larger IMF and World Bank quotas and UN Security Council reform, where developing countries remain under-represented.
  • Own institutions: the New Development Bank (2015) funds infrastructure and sustainable development; the CRA offers liquidity without Bretton Woods conditionality.
  • Wider membership: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and Indonesia now sit at the table, with a partner-country tier behind them.
  • Southern agenda: local-currency settlement, food and energy security and climate justice, issues the G7 rarely puts first.

The full answer goes on to cover

  1. Projecting itself as an alternative to other groupings
  2. How far the projection succeeds
  3. What India's 2026 chairship can do

With 1 table you can reproduce in the exam.

Read the full model answer (421 words) →

Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 8 Nov 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.

2025

GS Paper II 2025 · Q20

15 marks · 250 words

“The reform process in the United Nations remains unresolved, because of the delicate imbalance of East and West and entanglement of the USA vs. Russo-Chinese alliance.” Examine and critically evaluate the East-West policy confrontations in this regard.

Approach · directive: “examine / critically evaluate”

What it asks · Examine how US–Russia–China rivalry blocks UN (especially Security Council) reform, and critically evaluate whether East–West confrontation is the whole explanation.

It asks 3 things — answer each

  1. Examine: how US–Russia–China rivalry blocks UN (Security Council) reform
  2. Critically evaluate: whether East–West confrontation is the whole explanation — cross-cutting interests, the North–South divide, partial progress
  3. India's stake and the way forward

Open with · Eight decades after 1945, the Security Council's permanent seats still mirror the Second World War, and reform needs the consent of the very powers whose rivalry it should manage.

Cover

  • Agenda and hurdle: seats, veto, working methods; Intergovernmental Negotiations since 2009; Article 108 needs all five permanent members.
  • East–West paralysis: Ukraine, Syria, Gaza; the veto was used 13 times in two years after April 2022.
  • Incomplete explanation: China is wary of Japan and India; Uniting for Consensus opposes new permanent members; every P5 member guards the veto.
  • North–South: Ezulwini Consensus; the Pact for the Future (2024) pledges to redress the historical injustice against Africa (table of positions).
  • Progress: the 2022 veto initiative (resolution 76/262) forces a General Assembly debate within 10 working days.
  • India: over 2,90,000 peacekeepers in more than 50 missions; G4 and L.69; text-based negotiations.

Close with · East–West rivalry explains the paralysis only in part; India's call for reformed multilateralism will succeed when Global South pressure makes the status quo costlier for the P5 than change.

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Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2025, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 350words · Minimalist IAS

Eight decades after 1945, the Security Council's five permanent seats still mirror the power map of the Second World War. Reform needs the consent of the very powers whose rivalry it is meant to manage, and that is where it stalls.

The reform agenda and the Charter hurdle

  • Agenda: more permanent and non-permanent seats, limits on the veto, better working methods and regional balance; Intergovernmental Negotiations have run since 2009 without a negotiating text.
  • Charter lock: Article 108 requires two-thirds of the General Assembly and ratification by two-thirds of Members, including all five permanent members, so any one of them can block change.

The full answer goes on to cover

  1. How East–West confrontation blocks reform
  2. Why the explanation is incomplete
  3. India's stake and the way forward

With 1 table you can reproduce in the exam.

Read the full model answer (350 words) →

Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.

2024

GS Paper II 2024 · Q19

15 marks · 250 words

‘Terrorism has become a significant threat to global peace and security.’ Evaluate the effectiveness of the United Nations Security Council’s Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC) and its associated bodies in addressing and mitigating this threat at the international level.

Approach · directive: “evaluate”

What it asks · Evaluate how far the UNSC's Counter-Terrorism Committee and related bodies (CTED, sanctions committees, UNOCT) have countered terrorism — successes, shortcomings and reforms.

It asks 2 things — answer each

  1. Set out the CTC and its associated bodies: mandate and architecture
  2. Evaluate their effectiveness against terrorism: achievements, shortcomings, and a verdict with reforms

Open with · On 28 September 2001 the Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1373 under Chapter VII and set up the Counter-Terrorism Committee.

Cover

  • Architecture (table): CTC with CTED (Resolution 1373, 2001); ISIL/Al-Qaida sanctions committee; 1540 Committee; UNOCT (GA Resolution 71/291, 2017).
  • Achievements: near-universal counter-terror laws and financing controls aligned with FATF; sanctions with asset freezes and travel bans; capacity building.
  • New threats: under India's chairship the CTC unanimously adopted the Delhi Declaration (October 2022) on drones, social media and crowdfunding.
  • No agreed definition: the draft CCIT, backed by India, under negotiation since a 1996 Ad Hoc Committee.
  • Selective listing: technical holds by permanent members; Masood Azhar listed only on 1 May 2019.
  • State-dependent enforcement, sponsorship and safe havens; due-process concerns; online radicalisation and crypto financing outpace rules.
  • Way forward: adopt the CCIT, end holds, fund CTED assistance, link FATF and regional bodies.

Close with · The General Assembly's December 2024 call (Resolution 79/129) for a working group to finalise the CCIT, with impartial listings, would turn the CTC's framework into real deterrence.

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Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2024, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 308words · Minimalist IAS

On 28 September 2001, after the 9/11 attacks, the Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1373 under Chapter VII, obliging every state to criminalise terrorism and its financing, and set up the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC). Its record shows what global rules can do, and where politics stops them.

The CTC and its associated bodies

BodyBasisRole
CTC with its Executive Directorate (CTED)Resolution 1373 (2001)Monitors states; assesses gaps
ISIL and Al-Qaida Sanctions CommitteeSecurity Council sanctionsAsset freezes, travel bans
UN Office of Counter-TerrorismGA Resolution 71/291 (2017)Capacity building
  • The 1540 Committee adds a watch on weapons of mass destruction reaching non-state actors.

The full answer goes on to cover

  1. Effectiveness: achievements
  2. Effectiveness: shortcomings
  3. Way forward

Read the full model answer (308 words) →

Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.

2023

GS Paper II 2023 · Q20

15 marks · 250 words

'Sea is an important Component of the Cosmos' Discuss in the light of the above statement the role of the IMO (International Maritime Organisation) in protecting environment and enhancing maritime safety and security.

Approach · directive: “discuss”

What it asks · Explain why the sea matters, and then the IMO's mandate and its main instruments for safety, security and environmental protection, with limits.

It asks 4 things — answer each

  1. Explain the statement: why the sea is a vital component of the cosmos (climate, life, trade)
  2. Discuss the IMO's role in protecting the marine environment
  3. Discuss the IMO's role in enhancing maritime safety and security
  4. Note the IMO's limits, the way forward and India's role

Open with · The IMO is the UN specialised agency for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ships; since the sea shapes life on land, its rules protect the planet.

Cover

  • Status: a UN specialised agency based in London, born of a 1948 convention, operational from 1958 and renamed IMO in 1982; India is a member.
  • Safety: the SOLAS Convention (1974) sets standards for ship construction, equipment and navigation; STCW (1978) sets training and certification standards for seafarers.
  • Environment: MARPOL (1973/78) curbs oil, chemical, garbage, sewage and air pollution from ships; the Ballast Water Convention, the Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling and the Polar Code add protection.
  • Climate: the sulphur cap of 2020 and the 2023 greenhouse-gas strategy aim at net-zero shipping emissions by or around 2050.
  • Security: the ISPS Code (post-2001) sets ship and port security, and the SUA Convention addresses unlawful acts against ships.
  • Limits: the IMO cannot itself enforce, which depends on flag and port states; concerns include weak compliance, 'flags of convenience' and unregulated 'dark fleets'.
  • India's link: implements IMO conventions through the Merchant Shipping Act and Director General of Shipping, and takes part in IMO's committees.

Close with · SDG Target 14.1 asks the world to prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds by 2025; IMO standards, faithfully implemented, are how shipping meets it, and India can lead that effort.

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Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2023, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 359words · Minimalist IAS

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the UN specialised agency responsible for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ships. Set up by a 1948 convention and working since 1958 from London, it writes the rules for the world's largest commons.

Why the sea is a vital component of the cosmos

  • Climate regulator: oceans absorb heat and carbon; warming and pollution at sea return as cyclones, coral bleaching and lost catch.
  • Life and livelihoods: it sustains fisheries and coastal economies.
  • Trade artery: shipping carries the bulk of world merchandise trade, so safe, clean navigation is a global public good.
Safety (SOLAS,STCW)Security (ISPSCode, SUA)Pollution (MARPOL)Climate (2023 GHGStrategy)Recycling (HongKong Convention)IMO mandate

IMO mandate: Safety (SOLAS, STCW); Security (ISPS Code, SUA); Pollution (MARPOL); Climate (2023 GHG Strategy); Recycling (Hong Kong Convention)

The full answer goes on to cover

  1. Protecting the marine environment
  2. Enhancing maritime safety and security
  3. Limits
  4. Way forward and India's role

Read the full model answer (359 words) →

Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.

2022

GS Paper II 2022 · Q20

15 marks · 250 words

‘Clean energy is the order of the day.’ Describe briefly India's changing policy towards climate change in various international fora in the context of geopolitics.

Approach · directive: “describe briefly”

What it asks · Describe how India's stance moved from equity-based resistance to proactive commitments in the UNFCCC and other fora, and how geopolitics shapes it.

It asks 3 things — answer each

  1. Describe: India's early stance — equity, common but differentiated responsibilities, resistance to binding cuts
  2. Describe: the shift to voluntary and then ambitious clean-energy commitments — Copenhagen, Paris, Glasgow and the 2022 NDC update
  3. Describe: how geopolitics shapes the policy — finance, carbon border taxes, coal, energy security and coalitions

Open with · The UNFCCC (1992) asked nations to act on equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, with developed countries taking the lead; India has since moved from defending equity to leading on clean energy.

Cover

  • Early stance (Rio, Kyoto): CBDR-RC under the UNFCCC; India resisted binding cuts, citing developed countries' historical emissions and its development needs.
  • Copenhagen (2009): voluntary goal to cut emissions intensity of GDP by 20–25 per cent by 2020 over 2005 levels.
  • Paris (2015): first NDC; India and France launched the International Solar Alliance on 30 November 2015 at COP21.
  • Glasgow (2021): Panchamrit, 500 GW non-fossil capacity by 2030 and net zero by 2070.
  • 2022 update: NDC raised targets to a 45 per cent emissions-intensity cut and about 50 per cent non-fossil installed power capacity by 2030; LiFE as a mass movement.
  • Geopolitics: climate finance and technology transfer, opposition to the EU's CBAM, 'phase down' of coal at COP26, energy security after the Ukraine war, ISA leadership.

Close with · Clean energy is now both India's climate commitment and its energy-security strategy; its credibility rests on meeting the 2030 NDC, making LiFE a mass movement, and holding developed countries to the UNFCCC promise that they should take the lead.

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Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2022, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 323words · Minimalist IAS

The UNFCCC (1992) asked nations to act on equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC), with developed countries taking the lead. India's climate diplomacy began there. It has since moved from defending equity to leading on clean energy, without giving equity up.

1992UNFCCC, CBDR-RC2009Copenhagen,voluntary20–25%…2015Paris NDC andSolar Alliance2021Panchamrit, netzero 20702022Updated NDC
  1. 1992: UNFCCC, CBDR-RC
  2. 2009: Copenhagen, voluntary 20–25% intensity cut
  3. 2015: Paris NDC and Solar Alliance
  4. 2021: Panchamrit, net zero 2070
  5. 2022: Updated NDC

Early stance: equity first

  • Historical responsibility: at Rio and Kyoto, India resisted binding cuts, citing developed countries' historical emissions and its own development needs.

The full answer goes on to cover

  1. From pledges to clean-energy leadership
  2. Geopolitics behind the shift

Read the full model answer (323 words) →

Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.

2021

GS Paper III 2021 · Q6

10 marks · 150 words X-Ray · Core #14

Explain the purpose of the Green Grid Initiative launched at World Leaders Summit of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November, 2021. When was this idea first floated in the International Solar Alliance (ISA) ?

Approach · directive: “explain / when”

What it asks · Explain the aim of the Green Grids Initiative, One Sun One World One Grid (GGI-OSOWOG), and state when India first floated the idea in the International Solar Alliance.

It asks 2 things — answer each

  1. Explain the purpose of the Green Grids Initiative-One Sun One World One Grid launched at the COP26 World Leaders Summit (Glasgow, November 2021)
  2. State when the idea was first floated in the ISA: the first ISA Assembly, October 2018, and how it reached COP26

Open with · Half the planet is always sunlit, so noon-time solar power can serve a region at dusk if grids cross borders; the Green Grids Initiative-One Sun One World One Grid, launched by India and the UK at COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021, builds on that fact.

Cover

  • Purpose: interconnect regional grids across borders and time zones so solar power serves demand elsewhere, including after sunset.
  • Pooled renewable supply and storage cut fossil back-up and cost, improve grid stability, widen energy access and speed decarbonisation.
  • Approach: regional interconnections first, then wider links towards a global grid, with the ISA coordinating.
  • Complements India's Glasgow pledges of 500 GW non-fossil capacity and 50% of energy needs from renewables by 2030.
  • Origin: Prime Minister Modi floated OSOWOG at the first ISA Assembly, October 2018; in May 2021 India and the UK agreed to merge it with the Green Grids Initiative (PIB).
  • Challenges: cross-border trade rules, grid standards, finance, trust, transmission losses and cyber security; start with regional links.

Close with · With trust, standards and finance secured, GGI-OSOWOG turns India's 500 GW target into a shared asset: clean power crossing borders as freely as sunlight.

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Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2021, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 225words · Minimalist IAS

Half the planet is always sunlit, so noon-time solar power can serve a region at dusk if grids cross borders. The Green Grids Initiative-One Sun One World One Grid (GGI-OSOWOG), launched by India and the UK at COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021, builds on that fact.

Purpose of the Green Grids Initiative

  • Cross-border interconnection: link regional grids across time zones so solar power serves demand elsewhere after sunset.
  • Cheaper, steadier clean power: pooled supply and storage cut fossil back-up, steady the grid, widen access and speed decarbonisation.
  • Staged approach: regional interconnections first, then wider links towards a global grid, coordinated by the ISA.
  • India's pledges: it complements India's Glasgow pledges: 500 GW non-fossil capacity, 50% of energy from renewables by 2030.

The full answer goes on to cover

  1. When the idea was first floated in the ISA
  2. Challenges

With 1 timeline you can reproduce in the exam.

Read the full model answer (225 words) →

Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.

GS Paper II 2021 · Q19

15 marks · 250 words X-Ray · Core #31

Critically examine the aims and objectives of SCO. What importance does it hold for India?

Approach · directive: “critically examine / what”

What it asks · Explain what the SCO seeks to do (security and economic cooperation), assess its effectiveness and limits, and set out India's interests in it.

It asks 2 things — answer each

  1. Critically examine the aims and objectives of the SCO: what it seeks, what it has achieved and where it falls short
  2. Explain the importance the SCO holds for India

Open with · Established on 15 June 2001 from the Shanghai-5 group of 1996, the SCO admitted India, an observer since 2005, as a full member in June 2017.

Cover

  • Aims: regional peace and stability; action against terrorism, separatism and extremism; mutual trust; economic, energy, cultural and people-to-people cooperation.
  • Institutions: two permanent bodies, the Secretariat in Beijing and the RATS Executive Committee in Tashkent; Russian and Chinese the only official languages.
  • Critical view: security dominates, economic integration is thin, China and Russia shape decisions, and consensus with India-Pakistan and India-China rifts slows action.
  • Weak outcomes: little success on members' disputes or Afghanistan after 2021; mostly declaratory, inviting the 'talk shop' label.
  • For India: Central Asian energy and markets, INSTC and Chabahar connectivity, RATS counter-terror cooperation, Afghanistan, and strategic autonomy.
  • India's role: chaired the Heads of Government Council (November 2020), launched the first SCO Startup Forum, declines to endorse the Belt and Road.

Close with · India's later 'SECURE' SCO agenda as chair (2022-23) shows how it can steer the grouping towards its own priorities of security, connectivity and respect for sovereignty.

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Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2021, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 323words · Minimalist IAS

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was established on 15 June 2001, building on the Shanghai-5 group formed in April 1996. India, an observer from 2005, became a full member with Pakistan in June 2017 (since then, Iran and Belarus have joined, making ten members).

Its aims are wide, but its record is uneven.

Aims and objectives of the SCO

  • Security: joint action against terrorism, separatism and extremism.
  • Stability and trust: regional peace, mutual trust and good-neighbourliness among members.
  • Cooperation: trade, energy, transport, culture and people-to-people ties.
  • Institutions: two permanent bodies, the Secretariat in Beijing and the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent.

The full answer goes on to cover

  1. Critical examination
  2. Importance of the SCO for India

With 1 diagram you can reproduce in the exam.

Read the full model answer (323 words) →

Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.

2020

GS Paper II 2020 · Q9

10 marks · 150 words

Critically examine the role of WHO in providing global health security during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Approach · directive: “critically examine”

What it asks · Critically examine the World Health Organization's contributions to global health security in COVID-19 (coordination, guidance, vaccine access) and its shortcomings (speed, independence, funding, enforcement).

It asks 2 things — answer each

  1. Critically examine: WHO's contribution to global health security in COVID-19 (alert, guidance, vaccine access)
  2. Critically examine: its shortcomings (speed, enforcement, funding, politics, equity), with a reasoned verdict and reforms

Open with · Under the International Health Regulations (2005) the WHO is the hub of global health security; in COVID-19 it proved indispensable as coordinator, yet slow, under-funded and unable to compel States.

Cover

  • Role: declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (30 January 2020) and a pandemic (11 March 2020); issued guidance, testing protocols and situation reports.
  • Global public goods: the ACT-Accelerator and COVAX (with Gavi and CEPI) aimed at equitable access; Emergency Use Listing speeded approvals; the Solidarity trial tested treatments.
  • Delay and consistency: on 14 January 2020 it relayed China's finding of no clear human-to-human spread; the emergency came on 30 January; mask advice changed.
  • Structural limits: no power to enforce IHR compliance, and assessed contributions are under a quarter of its budget, so it relies on earmarked voluntary funds.
  • Politics: the US notified withdrawal in July 2020 (reversed in January 2021), showing how great-power disputes can cripple the agency.
  • Vaccine inequity: COVAX fell short of its delivery targets amid vaccine nationalism; India and South Africa's TRIPS-waiver proposal (October 2020) sought wider access.
  • Reform agenda: predictable assessed funding, stronger IHR compliance and transparency, independent surveillance, and a pandemic accord (negotiations began December 2021).

Close with · SDG target 3.d seeks every country's capacity for early warning and management of global health risks; that needs a WHO that is funded, trusted and obeyed.

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  • WHO timeline: the COVAX Facility, part of the ACT-Accelerator, was designed to guarantee rapid, fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines worldwide (15 July 2020 entry).Timeline: WHO's COVID-19 response - WHO ↗“The COVAX Facility, a mechanism designed to guarantee rapid, fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines worldwide”
  • Since the exam: on 20 May 2025 the 78th World Health Assembly adopted by consensus the world's first Pandemic Agreement.World Health Assembly adopts historic Pandemic Agreement - WHO, 20 May 2025 ↗“Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) today formally adopted by consensus the world's first Pandemic Agreement”
  • SDG target 3.d: strengthen the capacity of all countries for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks.Goal 3 - United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Sustainable Development ↗“Target 3.d Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks”

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2020, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 218words · Minimalist IAS

Under the International Health Regulations (2005), the WHO is the hub of global health security. In COVID-19 it proved indispensable as coordinator, yet slow, under-funded and unable to compel States.

14 Jan 2020relays China's 'noclear humanspread'30 Janemergency (PHEIC)11 MarpandemicJul 2020US withdrawalnotice
  1. 14 Jan 2020: relays China's 'no clear human spread'
  2. 30 Jan: emergency (PHEIC)
  3. 11 Mar: pandemic
  4. Jul 2020: US withdrawal notice

Contributions to global health security

  • Alert and guidance: emergency declarations, testing protocols and situation reports set a common baseline.
  • Vaccine access: the ACT-Accelerator and its COVAX Facility (with Gavi and CEPI) aimed at 'rapid, fair and equitable access'.

The full answer goes on to cover

  1. Shortcomings
  2. Verdict and reform

Read the full model answer (218 words) →

Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.

2019

GS Paper II 2019 · Q10

10 marks · 150 words

‘Too little cash, too much politics, leaves UNESCO fighting for life.’ Discuss the statement in the light of US’ withdrawal and its accusation of the cultural body as being ‘anti-Israel bias’.

Approach · directive: “discuss”

What it asks · Discuss both halves of the statement, the funding squeeze and the politicisation, using the US exit and its ‘anti-Israel bias’ charge as the example, and assess what it means for UNESCO's mandate.

It asks 3 things — answer each

  1. Discuss ‘too little cash’: the funding crisis and its causes, including the US default on dues
  2. Discuss ‘too much politics’: politicisation and the US charge of ‘anti-Israel bias’, with the withdrawal as the example
  3. Assess what this means for UNESCO's mandate and survival

Open with · On 12 October 2017 the US notified its withdrawal from UNESCO, citing mounting arrears, the need for fundamental reform and continuing anti-Israel bias; the exit took effect on 31 December 2018.

Cover

  • Too little cash: the US, once about a fifth of the budget, suspended contributions in 2011 after Palestine's admission because of domestic legislation.
  • Consequences: cuts, hiring restraint and reliance on earmarked voluntary funds that let donors steer priorities.
  • Too much politics: Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town was inscribed under the State of Palestine and put on the Danger list in 2017; Jerusalem resolutions became bloc votes.
  • US case: arrears, reform and anti-Israel bias; Israel announced its own withdrawal at the same time.
  • Precedent: the US left in 1984 and returned in 2003; it rejoined in July 2023 and in July 2025 announced a fresh withdrawal.
  • Mandate: universality and finances suffer, but standard-setting on heritage, education and science continues; India, with Jaipur City inscribed in 2019, needs a depoliticised UNESCO.
  • Way forward: broad, predictable assessed funding and consensus-based technical decisions on heritage.

Close with · UNESCO's crisis is as much political as financial; broad, predictable funding and consensus-driven technical decisions would protect its mandate better than dependence on one power.

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Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2019, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 218words · Minimalist IAS

On 12 October 2017 the US notified its withdrawal from UNESCO, citing 'mounting arrears', 'fundamental reform' and 'continuing anti-Israel bias'; the exit took effect on 31 December 2018. Money and politics now test its survival.

Too little cash

  • Lost funder: the US, once about a fifth of the budget, suspended contributions in 2011 after Palestine's admission, under domestic legislation.
  • Earmarked funds: cuts and hiring restraint followed; voluntary donors now steer priorities.

The full answer goes on to cover

  1. Too much politics and the 'anti-Israel bias' charge
  2. Is UNESCO fighting for life?
  3. Way forward

With 1 timeline you can reproduce in the exam.

Read the full model answer (218 words) →

Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.

2018

GS Paper II 2018 · Q19

15 marks · 250 words

What are the key areas of reform if the WTO has to survive in the present context of ‘Trade War’, especially keeping in mind the interest of India?

Approach · directive: “what are the key areas of reform”

What it asks · Identify the reforms needed for the WTO to stay relevant amid trade wars (dispute settlement, rule-making, agriculture, developing-country treatment, new issues) and India's priorities in each.

It asks 2 things — answer each

  1. Identify the key areas of reform for the WTO to survive the trade war: dispute settlement, negotiating function, agriculture, special and differential treatment, unilateral measures, new issues
  2. Bring out India's interest in each reform area

Open with · In March 2018 the US imposed a 25 per cent 'national security' tariff on steel imports, and retaliation followed, while US vetoes were emptying the Appellate Body; the WTO's survival depends on reforms that restore trust without sacrificing development.

Cover

  • Dispute settlement: restore the Appellate Body, blocked by the US since 2017; India values binding two-tier review (since then, the last member's term expired on 30 November 2020).
  • Unilateral measures: discipline 'national security' tariffs such as the US Section 232 steel tariff (March 2018) and tit-for-tat retaliation.
  • Agriculture: de minimis is 10% for most developing countries; a permanent solution on public stockholding, promised at Bali (2013); cuts in rich countries' trade-distorting support.
  • Special and differential treatment: resist forced 'graduation'; low per capita income justifies flexibility.
  • Negotiating function: consensus and inclusive multilateral outcomes rather than plurilateral deals without consensus.
  • New issues: e-commerce, investment facilitation, industrial subsidies and SOEs; India wants policy space and Mode 4.

Close with · SDG target 17.10 calls for a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system under the WTO; India's interest lies in reform that keeps policy space for food security and development.

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Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2018, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 351words · Minimalist IAS

In March 2018 the US imposed a 25 per cent tariff on steel imports on 'national security' grounds, and partners retaliated. Meanwhile US vetoes were emptying the WTO Appellate Body. The WTO can survive this trade war only through reforms that restore trust without sacrificing development.

Key areas of reform for the WTO to survive

  • Dispute settlement: fill Appellate Body vacancies, blocked by the US since 2017, while answering its concerns on overreach and delay. India gains most from binding two-tier review, which shields weaker members from power-based settlement. (Since then, the Body has been unable to hear appeals; the last member's term expired on 30 November 2020.)
  • Unilateral measures: tighter discipline on the GATT security exception, better notification, and an end to tit-for-tat tariffs outside WTO rules.
  • Negotiating function: consensus is slow and some members push plurilateral deals; India insists on inclusive multilateral outcomes and opposes such deals entering WTO rules without consensus.

The full answer goes on to cover

  1. Reform areas that matter most to India

With 1 table you can reproduce in the exam.

Read the full model answer (351 words) →

Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.

2017

GS Paper II 2017 · Q10

10 marks · 150 words

What are the main functions of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)? Explain different functional commissions attached to it.

Approach · directive: “what... explain”

What it asks · Give ECOSOC's mandate under the UN Charter (5 marks), then name and describe its functional commissions and what each does (5 marks).

It asks 2 things — answer each

  1. State the main functions of ECOSOC under the UN Charter
  2. Explain the functional commissions attached to it and what each does

Open with · ECOSOC, set up under Chapter X of the UN Charter, is the UN's principal organ for economic and social cooperation; Article 61 gives it 54 members, 18 elected each year.

Cover

  • Studies and recommendations (Article 62): economic, social, cultural, educational and health matters, to the General Assembly, members and specialised agencies.
  • Rights and conferences (Article 62): promotes human rights, prepares draft conventions and calls international conferences.
  • Coordination (Article 63): agreements bring specialised agencies into relationship with the UN; it reviews their work.
  • Civil society (Article 71): consultative arrangements with non-governmental organisations.
  • Commissions (Article 68): eight functional commissions, from the Statistical Commission to the UN Forum on Forests.
  • Related bodies: five regional commissions and the High-level Political Forum, which replaced the Commission on Sustainable Development.

Close with · ECOSOC now anchors the 2030 Agenda: India presented its Voluntary National Review at the High-level Political Forum in July 2017; its strength remains coordination and consensus.

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Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2017, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 224words · Minimalist IAS

ECOSOC, set up under Chapter X of the UN Charter, is the UN's principal organ for economic and social cooperation; under Article 61, the General Assembly elects its fifty-four members, eighteen each year.

Main functions of ECOSOC

  • Studies and recommendations (Article 62): on economic, social, cultural, educational and health matters, with recommendations to the General Assembly and agencies.
  • Rights and conferences: promotes human rights, drafts conventions and calls international conferences.
  • Coordination (Article 63): agreements bring specialised agencies into relationship with the UN.
  • Civil society (Article 71): consultative status for non-governmental organisations.
  • Subsidiary machinery (Article 68): commissions in economic and social fields and for human rights.

The full answer goes on to cover

  1. Functional commissions attached to it

With 1 diagram you can reproduce in the exam.

Read the full model answer (224 words) →

Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.

2016

GS Paper II 2016 · Q17

12½ marks · 200 words

“The broader aims and objectives of WTO are to manage and promote international trade in the era of globalization. But the Doha round of negotiations seem doomed due to differences between the developed and the developing countries.” Discuss in the Indian perspective.

Approach · directive: “discuss”

What it asks · Explain the WTO's role, why the Doha Development Agenda stalled over North-South differences, and where India's interests and stand lie.

It asks 3 things — answer each

  1. Discuss the WTO's broader aims and objectives in managing and promoting international trade
  2. Discuss why the Doha Round seems doomed by developed–developing country differences
  3. Give the Indian perspective: India's interests, stand and way forward

Open with · The Marrakesh Agreement set up the WTO to expand trade so developing countries share in its growth; the Doha Round began in November 2001.

Cover

  • WTO's aims: non-discriminatory rules (MFN, national treatment), negotiated liberalisation, binding dispute settlement and special and differential treatment for developing members.
  • Doha stalemate: farm subsidies, NAMA and services; a July 2008 Geneva mini-ministerial failed when Indian and US ministers disagreed on an agricultural safeguard.
  • Mandate split: at Nairobi (December 2015) some members refused to reaffirm the Doha mandates and sought 'new approaches' and new issues.
  • Agriculture: India and the G-33 seek Special Products and a Special Safeguard Mechanism to protect small farmers from import surges.
  • Food security: the Bali peace clause (2013) stays in force until a permanent solution is found (General Council, November 2014).
  • Gains and strategy: Nairobi's decision to abolish farm export subsidies; India builds coalitions, backs multilateralism and pursues regional options.

Close with · SDG target 17.10 commits the world to a rules-based, equitable WTO system, including concluding the Doha Development Agenda; India's interest lies there.

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Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2016, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 292words · Minimalist IAS

The Marrakesh Agreement created the WTO to raise living standards and expand trade, so that developing countries 'secure a share in the growth in international trade'. The Doha Round, launched in November 2001 as a development round, has stalled instead.

How the WTO manages and promotes trade

  • Non-discrimination: most-favoured-nation and national treatment keep trade predictable.
  • Liberalisation: negotiated cuts in barriers across goods, services and intellectual property.
  • Enforcement: binding dispute settlement, used by India, a founding member.
  • Development: special and differential treatment for developing members.

The full answer goes on to cover

  1. Why the Doha Round seems doomed
  2. The Indian perspective
  3. Way forward for India

With 1 table you can reproduce in the exam.

Read the full model answer (292 words) →

Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.

GS Paper II 2016 · Q20

12½ marks · 200 words

What are the aims and objectives of the McBride Commission of the UNESCO? What is India’s position on these?

Approach · directive: “what”

What it asks · State why UNESCO set up the commission (International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems), what it recommended, and where India stood.

It asks 2 things — answer each

  1. State the aims and objectives of UNESCO's MacBride Commission
  2. State India's position on these

Open with · UNESCO's International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems (1977), under Seán MacBride, reported in 1980 as Many Voices, One World.

Cover

  • Concern: a wide gap in communication capabilities between developing and developed countries.
  • Central aim: a New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO) treating communication and freedom of information as basic human rights.
  • Objectives: narrow the capability gap between developing and developed countries, and treat communication and freedom of information as rights.
  • Controversy: Western governments feared curbs on press freedom; the US (1984) and UK (1985) left UNESCO.
  • India's position: as a Non-Aligned Movement member, India has joined NAM texts (Tehran, 2012) promoting a New World Information and Communication Order.
  • Free press at home: Article 19(1)(a) guarantees free speech; balance cannot mean state control, a lesson the Emergency's press censorship reinforced.

Close with · SDG target 16.10, public access to information with fundamental freedoms, mirrors India's stand: plurality without state control.

Add value (verified)

  • Seán MacBride was appointed president of UNESCO's International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems in 1977.Encyclopaedia Britannica, Seán MacBride ↗“also in that year he was appointed president of the International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems , established by UNESCO”
  • The Commission's report was titled Many Voices, One World: towards a new more just and more efficient world information and communication order.UN Digital Library, Many voices, one world (record 80, web.archive copy) ↗“Many voices, one world : towards a new more just and more efficient world information and communication order / [report by the International Commission for the S”
  • Article 19(1)(a) guarantees all citizens the right to freedom of speech and expression.The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2024), Article 19 - Legislative Department ↗“Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc.— (1) All citizens shall have the right— (a) to freedom of speech and expression”
  • SDG target 16.10 seeks public access to information and protection of fundamental freedoms.United Nations, Sustainable Development Goal 16 - targets and indicators ↗“Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements”
  • Britannica: the Commission proposed a New World Information and Communication Order treating communication and freedom of information as basic human rights and seeking to narrow the communications gap between developing and developed countries.Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'UNESCO' ↗“proposed a New World Information and Communication Order that would treat communication and freedom of information as basic human rights and seek to eliminate the gap in communications capabilities between developing and developed countries.”
  • Britannica: the United States withdrew from UNESCO in 1984, and the United Kingdom and Singapore a year later.Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'UNESCO' ↗“withdraw from the organization in 1984, and the United Kingdom and Singapore withdrew a year later.”
  • In the House of Commons (22 November 1985) the UK government said the new information order idea from the MacBride commission could justify rigid government controls in the name of a balanced flow of information.UK House of Commons, Hansard, UNESCO, 22 November 1985 ↗“posed a threat to the freedom of the press because it could be used to justify rigid Government controls in the name of producing a balanced flow of information.”
  • The Non-Aligned Movement's 2012 Tehran summit document, adopted with India as a member, calls for cooperation to promote a New World Information and Communication Order based on universal, inclusive and non-discriminatory access to information.Non-Aligned Movement, Final Document of the XVI Summit, Tehran 2012 (MEA-hosted copy) ↗“Increase cooperation to promote a New World Information and Communication Order, based on universal, inclusive and non-discriminatory access to information and knowledge relating to ICT”
  • The same NAM document emphasises that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, a right carrying special duties and responsibilities.Non-Aligned Movement, Final Document of the XVI Summit, Tehran 2012 (MEA-hosted copy) ↗“emphasizes that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, and reaffirms that the exercise of this right carries with it special duties and responsibilities”

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2016, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 282words · Minimalist IAS

In 1977 Seán MacBride was appointed president of UNESCO's International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems. Its 1980 report, Many Voices, One World, sought 'a new more just and more efficient world information and communication order'.

Aims and objectives of the MacBride Commission

  • Diagnose imbalance: developing countries lagged far behind in communication capabilities, so their voices were thinly heard.
  • NWICO: a New World Information and Communication Order that treats communication and freedom of information as basic human rights.
  • Build capacity: close the gap in communication capabilities between developing and developed countries.
  • Communication as a right: access to information and freedom of information as basic entitlements.
  • Controversy: Britain's government said the order could justify rigid government controls on the press; the US (1984) and the UK (1985) left UNESCO.
ThemeMacBride / NWICO aimIndia's position
News flowBalanced, two-wayBacked it through NAM
Media capacityNarrow capability gapAccess to ICT and knowledge
Press freedomFreedom of informationFree press, no state control

The full answer goes on to cover

  1. India's position on these

Read the full model answer (282 words) →

Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.

The Syllabus X-Ray of this syllabus line

2 of its 7 sub-topics are High

0 Core · 2 High · 2 Steady · 3 Rare

  • HighThe UN system & its reform · 5 questions
  • HighNew platforms: ISA, SCO & maritime bodies · 4 questions

The X-Ray ranks all 928 sub-topics of the UPSC syllabus by what UPSC has asked since 2016. The 78 Mains Core sub-topics are behind 66% of Mains questions.

See the whole X-Ray →

The same ground in Prelims

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More of GS Paper II

Quick answers

How many UPSC Mains questions have been asked on International institutions?

13 questions in GS Paper II from 2016 to 2026, asked in 8 of 11 years, most recently in 2025. Each is above, newest first, with the demand, an approach and a model answer.

What does the UPSC syllabus say on International institutions?

The GS Paper II syllabus line reads, in UPSC's words: “Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.”

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The GS Paper II syllabus-wise PDF — every question since 2016 under its syllabus line, with an approach — is a free download on the Vault's downloads page (one sign-up, no cost).

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