India & the world: places, pacts & relations

Answer: (a) European Union

BTIA is the India–European Union Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement, a free trade deal whose negotiations the two sides launched in 2007. The other three bodies named have no negotiation called BTIA with India.

• ✓ (a) The EU and India launched the BTIA negotiations in 2007 to widen trade in goods and services, investment and access to public procurement.
• ✗ (b) The Gulf Cooperation Council is a different trading partner. The name BTIA belongs to the India–EU negotiation, not to any GCC talks.
• ✗ (c) The OECD is a forum for policy coordination among its member countries; India is not a member and does not negotiate a BTIA with it.
• ✗ (d) The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a political, security and economic grouping. It is not a partner in a trade and investment agreement of this kind.
• • Since then The EU trade website now shows separate tracks: a Free Trade Agreement, which the EU and India concluded on 27 January 2026, and an Investment Protection Agreement and a Geographical Indications Agreement, both still being negotiated.

Remember · BTIA = Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement between India and the European Union, negotiations begun in 2007.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) India will not depend on Pakistan for access to Afghanistan and Central Asia.

Chabahar, a port on Iran's southern coast, gives India a sea-and-land route to Afghanistan and Central Asia that does not pass through Pakistan. Pakistan does not allow Indian goods to move overland through its territory to Afghanistan and beyond, which is why this route matters.

• ✓ (c) Chabahar is described as a gateway for trade with Afghanistan and Central Asian countries. It is a sea route through Iran, so India need not rely on Pakistan for land transit.
• ✗ (a) Chabahar is on the Gulf of Oman side of Iran and is meant for links with Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia. Trade with Africa is not its purpose.
• ✗ (b) Iran is not an Arab country, and the project is about transit connectivity, not about ties with Arab oil producers.
• ✗ (d) Chabahar is a port project. It involves no gas pipeline between Iraq and India, and Pakistan is not a party to it.

Remember · Chabahar (Iran) is India's route to Afghanistan and Central Asia that avoids Pakistan, and links to the International North-South Transport Corridor.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error