Painting, crafts & GI heritage

Answer: (d) WTO

India passed the Geographical Indications Act, 1999 as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Protection of geographical indications is required by the WTO's TRIPS Agreement (Articles 22 to 24), so the law was needed to meet that obligation.

• ✓ (d) TRIPS, the WTO's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, covers geographical indications in Articles 22 to 24. India enacted its GI Act in 1999 as a WTO member; it came into force on 15 September 2003.
• ✗ (a) The ILO (International Labour Organization) deals with labour standards, not intellectual property.
• ✗ (b) The IMF deals with monetary cooperation and balance-of-payments support, not intellectual property such as GI tags.

Remember · GI Act, 1999 (in force 15 September 2003) follows the WTO's TRIPS Agreement, Articles 22-24.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) Kishangarh school

Bani Thani belongs to the Kishangarh school of Rajasthani painting. It was painted by the court artist Nihal Chand, based on a poem by Kishangarh's ruler Sawant Singh, and shows Radha with an elongated face, curved eyes and pointed nose.

• ✓ (d) Nihal Chand painted Bani Thani for Sawant Singh of Kishangarh, who wrote poetry on Radha and Krishna. Its exaggerated facial type became the hallmark of the Kishangarh school.
• ✗ (a) Bundi is another Rajasthani centre of painting, but it is not the school associated with Bani Thani.
• ✗ (b) Jaipur is another Rajasthani school, with no link to Nihal Chand or Bani Thani.
• ✗ (c) Kangra belongs to the Pahari (hill) schools of the western Himalayas, not to Rajasthan.

Remember · Bani Thani, Nihal Chand and Sawant Singh (Nagari Das) go with the Kishangarh school. Its trademark is the elongated face with sharp features.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part II, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part II, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) 1 only

Only pair 1 is correct. Toda embroidery belongs to Tamil Nadu, while Sujni (Sujini) embroidery belongs to Bihar and Uppada Jamdani saris to Andhra Pradesh.

• ✓ 1. Toda Embroidery, the craft of the Toda community of the Nilgiris, is a Geographical Indication registered for Tamil Nadu. UPSC's official key treats this pair as correct; we could not confirm the craft's local name from an official source, so we do not explain it here.
• ✗ 2. Sujini Embroidery Work is a Bihar craft, registered as a Geographical Indication for Bihar and practised by women around Bhusra and Madhubani. It is not from Maharashtra.
• ✗ 3. Uppada Jamdani saris are woven in Uppada and the Kothapalli area of East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh. The Geographical Indication is registered for Andhra Pradesh, not Karnataka.

Remember · Toda embroidery: Tamil Nadu. Sujini: Bihar. Uppada Jamdani: Andhra Pradesh.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error