UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Unimpeded trade needs IPMDA as the answer
Q1. Consider the following statements comparing the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) with the Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration:
1. IPMDA was welcomed by Quad Leaders at a Leaders' Summit, whereas the Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration was launched at a Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting.
2. The Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration was declared to have an initial focus on the Indian Ocean Region, whereas IPMDA's first delivery channel was in the Pacific.
3. Unlike IPMDA, which was extended to well over two dozen recipient countries, the Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration is confined to the four Quad members and excludes information sharing with regional partners.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- IPMDA was welcomed by Quad Leaders at a Leaders' Summit, whereas the Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration was launched at a Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting.
- The Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration was declared to have an initial focus on the Indian Ocean Region, whereas IPMDA's first delivery channel was in the Pacific.
- Unlike IPMDA, which was extended to well over two dozen recipient countries, the Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration is confined to the four Quad members and excludes information sharing with regional partners.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q2. The first-ever Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission, announced alongside the layering of new technology into IPMDA at the 2024 Quad Leaders' Summit, was to be operationalised by which one of the following combinations of agencies?
- A. The Indian Navy, the United States Navy, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Royal Australian Navy
- B. The Indian Coast Guard, the United States Navy, the Japan Coast Guard and the Royal Australian Navy
- C. The Indian Coast Guard, the United States Coast Guard, the Japan Coast Guard and the Australian Border Force
- D. The Directorate General of Shipping, the United States Maritime Administration, the Japan Coast Guard and the Australian Border Force
Q3. At which one of the following Quad engagements was the Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration launched?
- A. The sixth Quad Leaders' Summit held at Wilmington, Delaware, in September 2024
- B. The Quad Leaders' Summit held at Tokyo in May 2022
- C. The Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting held at Washington DC in July 2025
- D. The Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting held at New Delhi in May 2026
Q4. Consider the following, in the context of the channels through which IPMDA has been scaled across the Indo-Pacific:
1. The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency.
2. Partner countries in Southeast Asia.
3. The Information Fusion Centre–Indian Ocean Region, hosted by the Indian Coast Guard at Kochi.
4. The Combined Maritime Forces headquarters at Bahrain.
Which of the above is/are NOT correctly identified as a scaling channel for IPMDA?
- The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency.
- Partner countries in Southeast Asia.
- The Information Fusion Centre–Indian Ocean Region, hosted by the Indian Coast Guard at Kochi.
- The Combined Maritime Forces headquarters at Bahrain.
- A. 3 only
- B. 1 and 2
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 2, 3 and 4
Q5. The Information Fusion Centre–Indian Ocean Region is hosted by which service, and is co-located with which national maritime information facility?
- A. The Indian Coast Guard; the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre at Mumbai
- B. The Indian Navy; the Information Management and Analysis Centre at Gurugram
- C. The Indian Navy; the National Command Control Communication and Intelligence node at Kochi
- D. The Directorate General of Shipping; the Vessel Traffic Management System centre at Kandla
Q6. In the context of Quad maritime cooperation, MAITRI refers to which one of the following?
- A. A Quad-funded programme to construct coastal radar chains and vessel traffic systems for Indian Ocean littoral states
- B. A Quad naval exercise series conducted annually in the waters off Western Australia with regional observers
- C. A Quad mechanism for pooled procurement of commercial satellite imagery on behalf of partner maritime agencies
- D. A regional initiative to enable Indo-Pacific partners to maximise the tools provided under IPMDA and other Quad initiatives
Q7. The Quad Leaders' Summit at which MAITRI was announced was which numbered edition of the Quad Leaders' Summit?
- A. The fourth
- B. The fifth
- C. The sixth
- D. The seventh
Q8. Which one of the following is the first legally binding international agreement framed specifically to target illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing?
- A. The International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate IUU Fishing, adopted in 2001
- B. The United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, which entered into force in 2001
- C. The Agreement on Port State Measures, which entered into force in 2016
- D. The Cape Town Agreement on the safety of fishing vessels, adopted in 2012
Q9. Which one of the following pairs correctly indicates the Indian nodal authority for the Indian Ocean Rim Association and for the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium respectively?
- A. Ministry of External Affairs; the Indian Navy under the Ministry of Defence
- B. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways; the Indian Coast Guard under the Ministry of Defence
- C. Ministry of Earth Sciences; the Indian Navy under the Ministry of Defence
- D. Ministry of External Affairs; the Directorate General of Shipping under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
Q10. Which one of the following straits is the busiest shipping route in the world by the share of world maritime trade it carries?
- A. Strait of Hormuz
- B. Strait of Malacca
- C. Bab-el-Mandeb
- D. Sunda Strait
Q11. Consider the following initiatives:
1. The Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration, with an initial focus on the Indian Ocean Region.
2. A Critical Minerals Initiative intended to mobilise up to $20 billion across mining, processing and recycling.
3. A Quad Fuel Security Forum covering strategic petroleum systems and emergency response exercises.
4. The first-ever Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission, to be undertaken by the coast guards and border force of the four members.
Which of the above are correctly identified as initiatives announced at the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting held at New Delhi in May 2026?
- The Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration, with an initial focus on the Indian Ocean Region.
- A Critical Minerals Initiative intended to mobilise up to $20 billion across mining, processing and recycling.
- A Quad Fuel Security Forum covering strategic petroleum systems and emergency response exercises.
- The first-ever Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission, to be undertaken by the coast guards and border force of the four members.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1, 2 and 3 only
- C. 2, 3 and 4 only
- D. 1, 3 and 4 only