UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Putin suggests BRICS grain trade to fight global curbs
Q1. In the context of BRICS after its recent enlargement rounds, which one of the following best describes the category of 'Partner Country'?
- A. A state that takes part in designated BRICS meetings and outcome processes under a distinct category, without acquiring full membership
- B. A state that enjoys full voting rights in all BRICS bodies but is permanently barred from hosting the annual Leaders' Summit
- C. A state that must necessarily hold shareholding in the New Development Bank and contribute to the Contingent Reserve Arrangement
- D. A state invited exclusively for the outreach session of a summit, whose association with BRICS lapses entirely once that summit ends
Q2. The decision admitting Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates as full members of BRICS was taken at which one of the following summits?
- A. The 2022 summit chaired by China and held in virtual format
- B. The 2023 summit hosted by South Africa in Johannesburg
- C. The 2024 summit hosted by the Russian Federation in Kazan
- D. The 2025 summit hosted by Brazil in Rio de Janeiro
Q3. Which one of the following statements correctly describes the New Delhi Declaration associated with the 18th BRICS Summit?
- A. A consensus outcome document adopted by the leaders, recording the grouping's agreed positions and initiatives
- B. A legally binding treaty that enters into force only after ratification by the legislature of every member state
- C. The founding charter of BRICS, which confers international legal personality on the grouping and its organs
- D. A chair's statement issued exclusively by the host, with no requirement of agreement by the other members
Q4. Within the Government of India, the overall coordination of India's 2026 BRICS Chairship and of the Leaders' Summit was handled by which one of the following?
- A. The Ministry of External Affairs, which acts as the nodal ministry for the grouping
- B. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- C. The Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance, which anchors the whole chairship
- D. NITI Aayog, functioning as the designated secretariat for plurilateral groupings
Q5. With reference to agriculture-related initiatives endorsed in the BRICS New Delhi Declaration (September 2026), consider the following:
1. BRICS Grain Exchange, a grain trading platform among members that may later be widened to other agricultural commodities
2. BRICS Agro-Inputs, Genetic Resources and Information Network (AGRIN), conceived as collaborative, non-binding and farmer-centric
3. BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture, covering areas including agroforestry, fisheries and aquaculture
4. Joint Coordination Centre at Istanbul, to inspect and clear BRICS grain shipments
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- BRICS Grain Exchange, a grain trading platform among members that may later be widened to other agricultural commodities
- BRICS Agro-Inputs, Genetic Resources and Information Network (AGRIN), conceived as collaborative, non-binding and farmer-centric
- BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture, covering areas including agroforestry, fisheries and aquaculture
- Joint Coordination Centre at Istanbul, to inspect and clear BRICS grain shipments
- A. 1 and 3 only
- B. 2 and 4 only
- C. 1, 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q6. The proposal for a BRICS Grain Exchange, endorsed in the New Delhi Declaration, has been championed principally by which member, and on what stated rationale?
- A. Russia, among the world's largest grain producers, to break the hold of grain trading platforms based mainly in Europe and the United States
- B. India, the world's largest rice exporter, to extend its minimum support price mechanism to buyers across the developing world
- C. Brazil, the world's largest soybean exporter, to route South American shipments through a Mercosur-linked settlement platform
- D. China, the world's largest grain importer, to convert its strategic grain reserves into a buffer stock for the Global South
Q7. The BRICS Network of Centres of Excellence on Agroecology and Regenerative Agriculture, agreed upon at Indore in June 2026, is to be coordinated initially by which institution?
- A. ICAR–Indian Institute of Farming System Research, Modipuram
- B. ICAR–Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi
- C. ICAR–Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research, Karnal
- D. ICAR–National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad
Q8. The 16th BRICS Agriculture Ministers' Meeting at Indore (12–13 June 2026) was the first such meeting to seat Member Countries and Partner Countries together. As of that meeting, how many countries held full membership of BRICS?
- A. Nine
- B. Ten
- C. Eleven
- D. Twelve
Q9. The BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, agreed upon alongside the New Development Bank, was established with a total committed pool of what size?
- A. US$ 50 billion
- B. US$ 75 billion
- C. US$ 100 billion
- D. US$ 200 billion
Q10. India is represented on the Board of Governors of the New Development Bank by which one of the following?
- A. The Union Minister of Finance
- B. The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India
- C. The Union Minister of External Affairs
- D. The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry
Q11. Consider the following statements regarding India-Russia economic ties:
1. Bilateral trade touched a record level of about US$ 68.7 billion in FY 2024-25.
2. Crude oil and petroleum products account for over 80 per cent of India's imports from Russia.
3. The two sides have set a bilateral trade target of US$ 100 billion to be reached by 2030.
4. Pharmaceuticals form the single largest component of India's imports from Russia.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Bilateral trade touched a record level of about US$ 68.7 billion in FY 2024-25.
- Crude oil and petroleum products account for over 80 per cent of India's imports from Russia.
- The two sides have set a bilateral trade target of US$ 100 billion to be reached by 2030.
- Pharmaceuticals form the single largest component of India's imports from Russia.
- A. 1 and 3 only
- B. 2 and 4 only
- C. 1, 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q12. Consider the following pairings relating to global grain trade:
1. Black Sea Grain Initiative — signed at Istanbul in July 2022 by the Russian Federation, Türkiye, Ukraine and the United Nations
2. Joint Coordination Centre of that Initiative — headquartered at Geneva and administered by the Food and Agriculture Organization
3. Termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative — July 2023, after the Russian Federation declined its renewal
4. Largest exporter of wheat in the world — the United States of America
Which of the above pairings is/are NOT correct?
- Black Sea Grain Initiative — signed at Istanbul in July 2022 by the Russian Federation, Türkiye, Ukraine and the United Nations
- Joint Coordination Centre of that Initiative — headquartered at Geneva and administered by the Food and Agriculture Organization
- Termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative — July 2023, after the Russian Federation declined its renewal
- Largest exporter of wheat in the world — the United States of America
- A. 1 and 3 only
- B. 2 and 4 only
- C. 1, 2 and 4 only
- D. 3 only