UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Terms of Reference Signed for India–Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
Q1. The Indian signatory to the India–Canada CEPA Terms of Reference, Shri Piyush Goyal, heads which Union Ministry that serves as the implementing authority for such trade partnership agreements on the Indian side?
- A. Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- B. Ministry of External Affairs
- C. Ministry of Finance
- D. Ministry of Heavy Industries
Q2. A Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), being deeper than a conventional Free Trade Agreement, characteristically extends coverage beyond trade in goods to which additional domains?
- A. Trade in services and other mutually agreed economic/policy areas such as investment
- B. Only the elimination of tariff lines on industrial goods
- C. Only sanitary and phytosanitary measures on agricultural produce
- D. Only a binding inter-governmental dispute-settlement mechanism
Q3. With reference to the India–Canada CEPA process, consider the following event–timing statements:
1. Re-launch of CEPA negotiations and decision to explore an EPTA — 2022.
2. Signing of the Terms of Reference — March 2026.
3. Conclusion of the second round of negotiations at New Delhi — May 2026.
4. Holding of the third round of negotiations at Ottawa — May 2026.
Which of the above is/are NOT correctly matched?
- Re-launch of CEPA negotiations and decision to explore an EPTA — 2022.
- Signing of the Terms of Reference — March 2026.
- Conclusion of the second round of negotiations at New Delhi — May 2026.
- Holding of the third round of negotiations at Ottawa — May 2026.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 4 only
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 2 only
Q4. In which year did India and Canada agree to formally re-launch CEPA negotiations and simultaneously explore an Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA)?
- A. 2022
- B. 2018
- C. 2020
- D. 2024
Q5. The India–Canada CEPA Terms of Reference signed on 2 March 2026 was signed by which two ministers?
- A. Piyush Goyal and Maninder Sidhu
- B. Narendra Modi and Mark Carney
- C. S. Jaishankar and Mélanie Joly
- D. Piyush Goyal and Mark Carney
Q6. With reference to the India–Canada CEPA Terms of Reference signed on 2 March 2026, consider the following:
1. Venue of signing — Hyderabad House, New Delhi.
2. Indian signatory — Minister of Commerce & Industry.
3. Canadian signatory — Minister of International Trade.
4. Stated bilateral trade target — US$100 billion by 2030.
Which of the above is/are NOT correctly matched?
- Venue of signing — Hyderabad House, New Delhi.
- Indian signatory — Minister of Commerce & Industry.
- Canadian signatory — Minister of International Trade.
- Stated bilateral trade target — US$100 billion by 2030.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 2 only
- C. 4 only
- D. 1, 2 and 4
Q7. The revival of the India–Canada trade track, culminating in the 2026 CEPA Terms of Reference, took place under which Canadian Prime Minister?
- A. Mark Carney
- B. Justin Trudeau
- C. Stephen Harper
- D. Jean Chrétien
Q8. On the Indian side, the conduct of overall bilateral diplomatic relations with Canada — including the post-2023 reset and the foreign-ministers' roadmap announced in 2025 — is led by which Ministry?
- A. Ministry of External Affairs
- B. Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- C. Ministry of Home Affairs
- D. Ministry of Defence
Q9. India signed the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) — its first FTA carrying a binding investment commitment — in March 2024 with which four-nation bloc?
- A. EFTA (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein)
- B. ASEAN
- C. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
- D. Mercosur
Q10. In the India–Canada context, the Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA) agreed in 2022 was conceived as which of the following?
- A. An interim/transitional agreement towards the full CEPA, delivering early commercial gains
- B. A permanent agreement that would entirely and finally replace the need for any CEPA
- C. A customs union covering all goods and a common external tariff
- D. A pact restricted solely to a dispute-settlement mechanism
Q11. The second round of India–Canada CEPA negotiations (4–8 May 2026) at Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi, was hosted by which body of the Government of India?
- A. Department of Commerce
- B. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)
- C. Department of Economic Affairs
- D. Ministry of External Affairs
Q12. The India–Canada CEPA aims to raise annual bilateral trade to approximately how many billion US dollars by 2030?
- A. US$50 billion
- B. US$8.66 billion
- C. US$23.66 billion
- D. US$100 billion