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 & explanation
Answer: (a) 1 only
Only statement 1 is correct. India and France launched the International Solar Alliance at the COP21 climate conference in Paris in 2015, but it is a coalition of sunshine-rich countries that join voluntarily, not a body that includes every UN member.
- ✓ 1. The Alliance was launched in 2015 by India and France at COP21, the UN Climate Change Conference held in Paris.
- ✗ 2. When launched, the ISA was a coalition of sunshine-rich countries, and joining is a choice made by each state. It has around 120 member and signatory countries, well short of all UN members.
- • Since then Since the ISA Framework Agreement was amended in 2020, every UN member state is eligible to join, but the Alliance still does not automatically include all of them (ISA, PIB).
Remember · ISA: launched by India and France at COP21, Paris (30 November 2015); headquartered in India; a voluntary alliance, open to all UN members only since the 2020 amendment.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Ch 1 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 8 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Chapter 1 “India and France launched the International Alliance for Solar Energy (IASE) in 2015 — a coalition of sunshine-rich countries committed to harnessing solar power.”
- India Shines Bright! A New Era in Solar Energy: Progress Driven by the International Solar Alliance (Press Information Bureau, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, 7 November 2024) ↗ “The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is a global initiative launched in 2015 by India and France at the COP21 summit in Paris to promote solar energy as a sustainable solution for energy access and climate change.”
- Eighth Meeting of Standing Committee of International Solar Alliance held in Delhi (Press Information Bureau) ↗ “With the amendment of its Framework Agreement in 2020, all member states of the United Nations are now eligible to join the ISA.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·