UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Europe’s AI rules may become India’s opportunity
Q1. The risk-based approach of the European Union's AI Act sorts AI systems into how many distinct levels of risk?
- A. Two levels, namely permitted systems and prohibited systems
- B. Four levels, ranging from unacceptable risk down to minimal risk
- C. Five levels, one for each Annex of the Act
- D. Seven levels, matching the Act's seven titles
Q2. Consider the following statements comparing the European Union AI Act's original implementation schedule with the schedule as revised in 2026:
1. The Act entered into force in August 2024, but its provisions were designed to apply in phases rather than all at once.
2. Under the agreement reached between EU governments and lawmakers in 2026, obligations for high-risk AI systems such as those involving biometrics, critical infrastructure and law enforcement were pushed back from 2 August 2026 to 2 December 2027.
3. The same 2026 agreement brought machinery within the scope of the AI Act for the first time, ending its earlier exclusion.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The Act entered into force in August 2024, but its provisions were designed to apply in phases rather than all at once.
- Under the agreement reached between EU governments and lawmakers in 2026, obligations for high-risk AI systems such as those involving biometrics, critical infrastructure and law enforcement were pushed back from 2 August 2026 to 2 December 2027.
- The same 2026 agreement brought machinery within the scope of the AI Act for the first time, ending its earlier exclusion.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q3. Which body holds exclusive competence to enforce the European Union AI Act's legal requirements on general-purpose AI models?
- A. The European Artificial Intelligence Board, which coordinates Member States and the Commission
- B. The market surveillance authorities designated by each individual Member State
- C. The AI Office, a functional designation within the European Commission's DG CNECT
- D. The notifying authorities designated by each individual Member State
Q4. Under the IndiaAI Startups Global programme launched in March 2025, in collaboration with Station F and HEC Paris, how many Indian startups are being supported to expand into the European market?
- A. 5 startups
- B. 10 startups
- C. 25 startups
- D. 50 startups
Q5. Under the EU AI Act, which authorities designate and monitor the independent third-party 'notified bodies' that carry out conformity assessment of high-risk AI systems before they are placed on the market — a gate that Indian exporters of such systems must also clear?
- A. The AI Office, which alone conducts every conformity assessment for the entire Union
- B. The European Artificial Intelligence Board, whose prior clearance is necessarily required for all high-risk systems
- C. The market surveillance authorities, which exclusively certify all high-risk systems before market placement
- D. The notifying authorities designated by each Member State under the Act
Q6. The AI Governance and Economic Group (AIGEG), constituted in April 2026 as India's central inter-ministerial mechanism for AI governance policy, is chaired by which of the following?
- A. The Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, with the Minister of State for Electronics and IT as Vice-Chair
- B. The Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, with the Secretary, MeitY, as Vice-Chair
- C. The Vice-Chairperson of NITI Aayog, with the Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, as Vice-Chair
- D. The Cabinet Secretary, with the Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, as Vice-Chair
Q7. Under the 2026 amendment to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, what exactly does Rule 3(3)(a)(ii) require of the label carried by synthetically generated information in a visual display?
- A. It must be embedded only in the file's metadata, readable by platforms though not by ordinary viewers
- B. It must appear once at the start of the content and occupy at least ten per cent of the display area
- C. It must be displayed continuously and clearly visibly throughout the duration of the content
- D. It must be revealed only when a viewer specifically requests provenance information about the content
Q8. Consider the following:
1. IndiaAI Compute
2. AIKosh
3. FutureSkills
4. IndiaAI Semiconductor Fabrication Initiative
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as pillars of the IndiaAI Mission?
- IndiaAI Compute
- AIKosh
- FutureSkills
- IndiaAI Semiconductor Fabrication Initiative
- A. 1 and 4 only
- B. 1, 2 and 3 only
- C. 2, 3 and 4 only
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q9. In the implementation architecture of the IndiaAI Mission approved in 2024, what precisely is 'IndiaAI'?
- A. A Section 8 not-for-profit company incorporated under the Department of Science and Technology to run the Mission
- B. A statutory body created by an Act of Parliament to administer the Mission's outlay of Rs 10,371.92 crore
- C. A joint venture of MeitY and NITI Aayog that disburses the Mission's compute and startup funding
- D. An Independent Business Division under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
Q10. Consider the following institutions:
1. AI Governance Group
2. Technology & Policy Expert Committee
3. AI Safety Institute
4. National Artificial Intelligence Regulatory Authority
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as new national institutions recommended in the India AI Governance Guidelines?
- AI Governance Group
- Technology & Policy Expert Committee
- AI Safety Institute
- National Artificial Intelligence Regulatory Authority
- A. 1, 2 and 3 only
- B. 2 and 4 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q11. The first global standard-setting instrument on the ethics of artificial intelligence was adopted under the authority of which forum, and in which year?
- A. The OECD Council, in 2019, at ministerial level
- B. The UN General Assembly, in 2023, by consensus
- C. UNESCO's General Conference, in 2021
- D. The International Telecommunication Union, in 2020, at its Plenipotentiary Conference