UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — ‘BRICS will reach a common position, generate consensus’

Q1. Which one of the following is the nodal Indian ministry coordinating India's 2026 BRICS Chairship and the BRICS Foreign Ministers track?

• A. Ministry of External Affairs
• B. Ministry of Finance
• C. Ministry of Commerce and Industry
• D. NITI Aayog

Q2. The acronym 'BRIC' was first coined in a 2001 research report authored by which one of the following economists?

• A. Jim O'Neill
• B. Nouriel Roubini
• C. Joseph Stiglitz
• D. Paul Krugman

Q3. India's 2026 BRICS Chairship — its fourth — is being conducted under which one of the following themes?

• A. Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability
• B. BRICS @ 15: Intra-BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation and Consensus
• C. BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Security and Prosperity
• D. Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security

Q4. Considering the years in which India has held the BRICS Chairship/hosted a BRICS Summit, which of the following years is NOT correct?

1. 2012
2. 2016
3. 2018
4. 2021

• A. 3 only
• B. 4 only
• C. 1 and 3
• D. 2 and 4

Q5. In the context of the BRICS Summit hosting sequence, the term 'rotating BRICS Chairship (Presidency)' is best described as:

• A. The member country that assumes the chair for the year, hosts the annual Summit and sets the agenda, rotating annually among members
• B. A permanent BRICS secretariat, based in Shanghai, that convenes the Summit each year
• C. The office held ex officio by the President of the New Development Bank
• D. A chair permanently reserved for the founding member with the largest GDP

Q6. Consider the following BRICS Summit–host pairings. Which one is NOT correctly matched?

1. 17th Summit — Rio de Janeiro (2025)
2. 13th Summit — New Delhi (2021)
3. 8th Summit — Goa (2016)
4. 18th Summit — Johannesburg (2026)

• A. 4 only
• B. 1 only
• C. 3 and 4
• D. 2 only

Q7. Which one of the following statements correctly characterises BRICS in comparison with the G7?

• A. Unlike the G7, BRICS has no founding treaty or permanent secretariat and functions on the basis of consensus
• B. Like the G7, BRICS admits only high-income OECD economies
• C. Every BRICS member is also a member of the G20
• D. BRICS decisions are taken by binding majority vote among members

Q8. The New Development Bank (NDB), the principal financial institution created by BRICS, has its headquarters in which one of the following cities?

• A. Shanghai
• B. Beijing
• C. New Delhi
• D. Johannesburg