UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — ‘Keen to explore ways to reset, renew Indo-Nepal ties’

Q1. Which one of the following is regarded as the foundational bilateral instrument underpinning the open border arrangement between India and Nepal?

  • A. The Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1950, the earliest comprehensive bilateral framework between the two countries
  • B. The Treaty of Transit, which regulates Nepal's third-country trade across Indian territory
  • C. The Treaty of Trade, most recently auto-renewed around January 2024 between the two governments
  • D. The Rail Services Agreement of 2004, covering freight train services to Birgunj via Raxaul

Q2. In the context of India-Nepal relations under the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, the expression 'open border' is best understood to mean which one of the following?

  • A. A border across which nationals of either country may move, reside and work without passport or visa, while customs and regulatory controls on goods continue to apply
  • B. A border across which all goods of every description move entirely free of duty, quota and customs formality in both directions
  • C. A border that is permanently demilitarised, from which all security and armed forces of both countries stand wholly excluded
  • D. A border whose crossing automatically confers full citizenship of the country entered upon any national of the other country

Q3. With reference to the India-Nepal Treaty of Transit and related rail arrangements, consider the following: 1. Kolkata/Haldia 2. Visakhapatnam 3. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal 4. Ministry of External Affairs of India Which of the above is/are correctly identified respectively as Indian ports available to Nepal for third-country trade (1 and 2) and as the authorities that led the signing of the Letter of Exchange amending the Protocol to the Treaty of Transit from the Nepalese side (3) and executed the 2004 Rail Services Agreement from the Indian side (4)?

  1. Kolkata/Haldia — an Indian port facility available to Nepal for trade with third countries under the Treaty of Transit
  2. Visakhapatnam — an Indian port made available for Nepal's transit trade since 2016
  3. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal — the authority that led the signing, from the Nepalese side, of the Letter of Exchange amending the Protocol to the Treaty of Transit
  4. Ministry of External Affairs of India — the Indian authority that executed the 2004 Rail Services Agreement for freight services to and from Birgunj via Raxaul
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q4. Under the liberalised transit arrangements flowing from the India-Nepal Treaty of Transit, how many rail transit corridors have been specified for Nepal's third-country cargo movement?

  • A. Two
  • B. Three
  • C. Four
  • D. Five

Q5. Balendra ('Balen') Shah assumed the office of Prime Minister of Nepal on which one of the following occasions?

  • A. In March 2026, being sworn in after parliamentary elections held earlier that month
  • B. In September 2026, being sworn in after the August floods brought down the previous government
  • C. In June 2026, being sworn in when Nepal's Foreign Minister travelled to New Delhi
  • D. In March 2025, being sworn in a year ahead of the parliamentary elections

Q6. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, how many Ministerial-level visits from Nepal to India took place in the financial year 2025-26?

  • A. Three
  • B. Four
  • C. Five
  • D. Eight

Q7. The emergency funds released by the World Health Organization for Nepal's August 2026 flood response were mobilized through which one of the following mechanisms?

  • A. The South-East Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund operated by the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia
  • B. The Central Emergency Response Fund, the single UN facility through which all health emergencies worldwide are financed
  • C. The Green Climate Fund, whose resources are devoted entirely to post-disaster reconstruction in developing countries
  • D. The Global Environment Facility, which alone finances every emergency response operation in the Himalayan region

Q8. In the context of the August 2026 flash floods in Nepal, the Bhote Koshi is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. A trans-boundary Himalayan river entering Nepal's Rasuwa district from the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, feeding the Trishuli corridor
  • B. A headwater stream of the Karnali system rising in the far-western hills of Nepal and flowing into Uttar Pradesh
  • C. The Nepali name for the upper reach of the Mahakali river, which is called the Sarda after it enters Indian territory
  • D. A distributary of the Kosi in Bihar's Saharsa district, formed after the commissioning of the Kosi barrage works

Q9. Of the following four structures — the Sarda Barrage, the Tanakpur Barrage, the Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project and the Kosi Barrage — how many fall within the scope of the India-Nepal Mahakali Treaty signed in February 1996?

  • A. Only one
  • B. Only two
  • C. Only three
  • D. All four

Q10. With reference to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), consider the following statements: 1. It is headquartered in Beijing and commenced operations in January 2016. 2. India is a Founding Member of the Bank and its second largest shareholder. 3. Its membership is confined exclusively to countries located within the Asian region. 4. India holds the largest project portfolio among the Bank's borrowers. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. It is headquartered in Beijing and commenced operations in January 2016.
  2. India is a Founding Member of the Bank and its second largest shareholder.
  3. Its membership is confined exclusively to countries located within the Asian region.
  4. India holds the largest project portfolio among the Bank's borrowers.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q11. Development partnership programmes extended to neighbouring countries under India's Neighbourhood First Policy are administered by which one of the following?

  • A. The Ministry of External Affairs, through its Development Partnership Administration
  • B. The Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance, through its multilateral institutions division
  • C. NITI Aayog, through its international cooperation and knowledge partnership vertical
  • D. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, through its bilateral investment facilitation wing

Q12. With reference to Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), consider the following: 1. Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, 2074 (2017) — the statute under which the Authority is established and its powers, duties and functions are laid down 2. Minister of Home Affairs — the office that chairs the Executive Committee under whose direct oversight the Authority works 3. National Planning Commission — the body under whose oversight the Authority was placed on its establishment in December 2019 4. Central, Provincial, District and Municipal levels — the tiers at which disaster management frameworks were created alongside the Authority Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, 2074 (2017) — the statute under which the Authority is established and its powers, duties and functions are laid down
  2. Minister of Home Affairs — the office that chairs the Executive Committee under whose direct oversight the Authority works
  3. National Planning Commission — the body under whose oversight the Authority was placed on its establishment in December 2019
  4. Central, Provincial, District and Municipal levels — the tiers at which disaster management frameworks were created alongside the Authority
  • A. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4