UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Prime Minister’s Departure statement ahead of his visit to France and Slovakia
Q1. Bharat Innovates 2026, jointly inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India and the President of France at Nice, is an initiative of which one of the following Union Ministries?
- A. Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- B. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
- C. Ministry of Education
- D. Ministry of Science and Technology
Q2. Bharat Innovates 2026, which is being held in Nice, France, is a flagship initiative of which one of the following Union Ministries of the Government of India?
- A. Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- B. Ministry of External Affairs
- C. Ministry of Education
- D. Ministry of Science and Technology
Q3. With reference to the Bharat Innovates initiative and its 2026 edition at Nice, consider the following statements:
1. The Bharat Innovates initiative was announced by the Prime Minister of India at the inauguration of the India–France Year of Innovation.
2. The Bharat Innovates Deep-Tech Pre-Summit held at IIT Bombay in March 2026 was jointly inaugurated by the Prime Ministers of India and France.
3. Bharat Innovates 2026 is scheduled to be held from 14–16 June 2026 at the Palais des Expositions in Nice.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The Bharat Innovates initiative was announced by the Prime Minister of India at the inauguration of the India–France Year of Innovation.
- The Bharat Innovates Deep-Tech Pre-Summit held at IIT Bombay in March 2026 was jointly inaugurated by the Prime Ministers of India and France.
- Bharat Innovates 2026 is scheduled to be held from 14–16 June 2026 at the Palais des Expositions in Nice.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1 and 3 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q4. In the context of India's diplomatic outreach to Central Europe through its engagement with Slovakia, the term 'Visegrád Four (V4)' refers to a sub-regional grouping of which one of the following sets of countries?
- A. Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary
- B. Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Slovakia
- C. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland
- D. Czechia, Slovakia, Austria and Romania
Q5. During President Droupadi Murmu's April 2025 State Visit to the Slovak Republic, the two sides signed exactly two government-to-government Memoranda of Understanding, which provided for cooperation exclusively in which one of the following pairs of areas?
- A. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; and training of diplomats through the respective Foreign Service Institutes
- B. Civil nuclear energy; and joint manufacturing of defence platforms
- C. Outer space cooperation; and cyber security capacity building
- D. Renewable energy transition; and pharmaceutical regulatory harmonisation
Q6. Within the Government of India, matters relating to India's bilateral and sub-regional engagement with the Visegrad Four (V4) countries are primarily handled by which one of the following?
- A. Central Europe Division, Ministry of External Affairs
- B. Europe West Division, Ministry of External Affairs
- C. Eurasia Division, Ministry of External Affairs
- D. Indo-Pacific Division, Ministry of External Affairs
Q7. The India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC), launched in April 2022, was jointly announced by the Prime Minister of India and which one of the following European Union dignitaries?
- A. President of the European Council
- B. President of the European Commission
- C. President of the European Parliament
- D. High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Q8. In the context of India-France defence cooperation, the term 'Project P-75' refers to which one of the following?
- A. Indigenous construction of Scorpene-class conventional submarines at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited under a transfer-of-technology arrangement with the French Naval Group
- B. Joint development of a fifth-generation fighter aircraft engine by DRDO and Safran under the National Aero Engine Mission
- C. Construction of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) at the Ship Building Centre, Visakhapatnam
- D. Procurement of carrier-borne Rafale-Marine fighter aircraft for deployment on INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya
Q9. The Technical Agreement signed in November 2025 to deepen India-France collaboration in defence research and development was concluded between the DRDO and which one of the following French entities?
- A. Directorate General of Armaments (DGA)
- B. Office National d'Études et de Recherches Aérospatiales (ONERA)
- C. Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)
- D. Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES)
Q10. Which one of the following best describes the 'Visegrád Group (V4)', of which the Slovak Republic is a founding member?
- A. A Central European political and cultural framework comprising Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia for regional cooperation
- B. A defence pact of NATO frontline states bordering the Russian Federation and Belarus
- C. A customs union of European Union member states that have not yet adopted the euro as their currency
- D. A consultative forum of post-Soviet Eastern European states that remain outside the European Union
Q11. Among the five countries that share an international land border with the Slovak Republic, which one is the only neighbour that is a member of neither the European Union nor NATO?
- A. Austria
- B. Hungary
- C. Poland
- D. Ukraine
Q12. France is frequently described as a 'resident power' in the Indo-Pacific. In the context of contemporary India–France strategic cooperation, this designation is most appropriately based on which one of the following?
- A. Its permanent membership of the UN Security Council and the deployment of its carrier strike group in the region.
- B. Its sovereign overseas territories and the resulting Exclusive Economic Zone in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
- C. Its status as a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN and observer in the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).
- D. Its bilateral defence logistics agreements with India, Australia and Japan in the Indo-Pacific.
Q13. With reference to India–France cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, consider the following statements:
1. India maintains two distinct trilateral mechanisms with France in the Indo-Pacific context — one with Australia and another with the United Arab Emirates.
2. The 2018 India–France 'Joint Strategic Vision' was confined to the Indian Ocean Region, whereas the 2023 India–France Indo-Pacific Roadmap extends joint efforts to the Pacific as well.
3. In February 2025, India and France signed a Joint Declaration of Intent on Triangular Development Cooperation to jointly implement projects in third countries.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- India maintains two distinct trilateral mechanisms with France in the Indo-Pacific context — one with Australia and another with the United Arab Emirates.
- The 2018 India–France 'Joint Strategic Vision' was confined to the Indian Ocean Region, whereas the 2023 India–France Indo-Pacific Roadmap extends joint efforts to the Pacific as well.
- In February 2025, India and France signed a Joint Declaration of Intent on Triangular Development Cooperation to jointly implement projects in third countries.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3