UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — The paradox of self-reliance: India-China trade dynamics

Q1. The special economic package announced by the Prime Minister on 12 May 2020 was stated to rest on five pillars. Which one of the following sets correctly names those five pillars?

  • A. Economy, Infrastructure, System, Vibrant Demography and Demand
  • B. Economy, Infrastructure, Technology, Skilled Manpower and Exports
  • C. Agriculture, Infrastructure, Investment, Innovation and Inclusion
  • D. Manufacturing, Infrastructure, Governance, Demography and Supply Chains

Q2. Consider the following statements regarding the self-reliance economic package of May 2020: 1. The package was valued at Rs 20 lakh crore, stated to be equivalent to about 10 per cent of India's GDP. 2. The pillar-wise framework of the package was set out by the Prime Minister, while its sector-wise details were announced by the Union Finance Minister in a series of press conferences later in the same month. 3. The reform and enabler announcements accompanying the package were confined to the agriculture and MSME sectors alone. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The package was valued at Rs 20 lakh crore, stated to be equivalent to about 10 per cent of India's GDP.
  2. The pillar-wise framework of the package was set out by the Prime Minister, while its sector-wise details were announced by the Union Finance Minister in a series of press conferences later in the same month.
  3. The reform and enabler announcements accompanying the package were confined to the agriculture and MSME sectors alone.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q3. India's official country-wise merchandise export and import statistics, on the basis of which the bilateral trade balance with China is reported to Parliament, are compiled and disseminated by which one of the following?

  • A. The National Statistical Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
  • B. The Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics under the Department of Commerce
  • C. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs under the Department of Revenue
  • D. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade under the Department of Commerce

Q4. China displaced the United States to become India's largest trading partner, with India's bilateral merchandise trade deficit touching an all-time high of about $112 billion, in which one of the following fiscal years?

  • A. 2022-23
  • B. 2023-24
  • C. 2024-25
  • D. 2025-26

Q5. Consider the following statements regarding the composition of India's merchandise imports from China: 1. Intermediate goods account for nearly 70 per cent of these imports, with capital goods accounting for a further 22 per cent. 2. About 80 per cent of these imports are concentrated in four product groups — electronics, machinery, organic chemicals and plastics. 3. During January-October 2025, machinery was the single largest import category from China, ahead of electronics. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Intermediate goods account for nearly 70 per cent of these imports, with capital goods accounting for a further 22 per cent.
  2. About 80 per cent of these imports are concentrated in four product groups — electronics, machinery, organic chemicals and plastics.
  3. During January-October 2025, machinery was the single largest import category from China, ahead of electronics.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q6. Merchandise trade flows are split into capital goods, intermediate goods and consumption goods for national-accounts-consistent analysis under which one of the following internationally adopted classifications?

  • A. The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System maintained by the World Customs Organization
  • B. The Classification by Broad Economic Categories maintained by the UN Statistics Division
  • C. The Standard International Trade Classification, Revision 4, of the United Nations
  • D. The International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities

Q7. In the first blocking order of its kind issued on 29 June 2020, how many mobile applications were blocked from access by users in India?

  • A. 43
  • B. 47
  • C. 59
  • D. 118

Q8. The policy under which an entity of a country sharing a land border with India can invest in India only through the Government approval route was given statutory effect through which one of the following?

  • A. The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2020
  • B. The Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992
  • C. The Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Rules, 2022
  • D. The Foreign Exchange Management (Non-Debt Instruments) Amendment Rules, 2020

Q9. The bilateral protocols that eased non-tariff barriers and opened the Chinese market to Indian rice, tobacco, fishmeal and fish oil, and chilli meal are negotiated on India's behalf by which one of the following?

  • A. The Department of Commerce under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
  • B. The Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare under the Ministry of Agriculture
  • C. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
  • D. The Economic Diplomacy Division under the Ministry of External Affairs

Q10. India's BRICS Chairship of 2026, including the Sherpa-level process that prepared the New Delhi Summit at which structural trade imbalance with China was taken up bilaterally, is coordinated by which one of the following?

  • A. NITI Aayog, which serves as the national knowledge and coordination hub for plurilateral groupings
  • B. The Department of Economic Affairs under the Ministry of Finance, which leads India's engagement in financial groupings
  • C. The Department of Commerce under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, which leads India's trade negotiations abroad
  • D. The Ministry of External Affairs, which appoints India's BRICS Sherpa and hosts the Chairship calendar

Q11. Among the Production Linked Incentive schemes covering 14 key sectors, the scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing — the segment most directly implicated in import dependence on Chinese components — is administered by which one of the following?

  • A. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, which coordinates the PLI schemes as a whole
  • B. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, which administers the electronics sector schemes
  • C. The Department of Heavy Industry under the Ministry of Heavy Industries, which handles advanced manufacturing
  • D. The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, which handles component-supplier development

Q12. With reference to BRICS as constituted in 2026, consider the following countries: 1. Indonesia 2. Egypt 3. Nigeria 4. Saudi Arabia Which of the above is/are correctly identified as full members of the grouping?

  1. Indonesia
  2. Egypt
  3. Nigeria
  4. Saudi Arabia
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 3 only