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International relations & current affairs

Prelims · International relations & current affairs · 27 questions

India & the world: places, pacts & relations

Every UPSC Prelims question on this topic, 2016–2026, newest first. Tap an option to check yourself; the answer and explanation open below it.

India & the world: places, pacts & relations questions per year: 2016: 3, 2017: 1, 2018: 1, 2019: 1, 2020: 0, 2021: 0, 2022: 0, 2023: 3, 2024: 2, 2025: 1, 2026: 5 Asked in 8 of 11 years · most in 2026 (5)

UPSC syllabus: “Current events of national and international importance.” See the full syllabus →

Prelims 2022 · Q26

Easy

The term "Levant" often heard in the news roughly corresponds to which of the following regions?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) Region along the eastern Mediterranean shores

The Levant is the land along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean — today's Syria, Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan, often with Cyprus and Turkey's Hatay province. The word comes from the French for 'rising', the direction of the sunrise as seen from Europe.

  • ✓ (a) The Levant covers the coastal lands of the eastern Mediterranean and their hinterland: Syria, Lebanon, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, and Jordan.
  • ✗ (b) The North African coast west of Egypt — Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco — is called the Maghreb, not the Levant.
  • ✗ (d) The Levant is only the eastern end of the Mediterranean; it does not include the European or North African coasts.

Remember · Levant = eastern Mediterranean coast (Syria, Lebanon, Israel–Palestine, Jordan); Maghreb = north-west Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya).

Sources

  • Encyclopaedia Britannica: Levant ↗ · reference work “Levant , region along the eastern Mediterranean shores, roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel , the West Bank , the Gaza Strip , Jordan , Lebanon , Syria , and often Cyprus and Hatay il (province) of Turkey (Türkiye). … The term Levant comes from the French word lever , meaning “to rise,” as in sunrise, referring to the east.”
  • Encyclopaedia Britannica: Maghrib ↗ · reference work “now comprises essentially the Atlas Mountains and the coastal plain of Morocco , Algeria , Tunisia , and Libya”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2022 · Q27

Easy

Consider the following countries:

  1. 1.Azerbaijan
  2. 2.Kyrgyzstan
  3. 3.Tajikistan
  4. 4.Turkmenistan
  5. 5.Uzbekistan

Which of the above have borders with Afghanistan?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (c) 3, 4 and 5 only

Afghanistan's northern neighbours are three Central Asian republics — Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan — along with Iran to the west, Pakistan to the east and south, and China at the tip of the Wakhan Corridor. Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan do not touch it.

  • ✗ 1. Azerbaijan lies in the South Caucasus on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, with Iran and Turkmenistan's sea front between it and Afghanistan.
  • ✗ 2. Kyrgyzstan lies north of Tajikistan; the narrow Wakhan Corridor keeps Afghanistan from reaching it.
  • ✓ 3. Tajikistan shares Afghanistan's long north-eastern border, much of it along the Amu Darya (Panj) river.
  • ✓ 4. Turkmenistan borders Afghanistan in the north-west.
  • ✓ 5. Uzbekistan has a short border with Afghanistan along the Amu Darya, near Termez.

Remember · Afghanistan's six neighbours: Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China (via the Wakhan Corridor). India also claims a border through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2022 · Q66

Easy

Consider the following:

  1. 1.Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
  2. 2.Missile Technology Control Regime
  3. 3.Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

India is a member of which of the above?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

India belongs to all three: it is a founding member of the AIIB, joined the Missile Technology Control Regime in 2016, and became a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in June 2017.

  • ✓ 1. India is a Founding Member and the second largest shareholder in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
  • ✓ 2. India was admitted to the MTCR in 2016; the MTCR's own partner list carries the entry 'India (2016)'.
  • ✓ 3. India and Pakistan officially joined the SCO as full members at the Astana summit on 9 June 2017.

Remember · India: AIIB founding member; MTCR member since 2016; SCO full member since 9 June 2017 (Astana).

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

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