UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Modi flags weaponisation of tech, critical minerals

Q1. India's BRICS Sherpa meetings, and the issuance of the summit's multilateral documents during India's Chairship, were handled by which one of the following?

  • A. The Department of Economic Affairs under the Union Ministry of Finance
  • B. The Department of Commerce under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
  • C. The Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India
  • D. NITI Aayog, the Government of India's apex public policy think tank

Q2. The decision to expand BRIC into BRICS by admitting South Africa was taken at which one of the following?

  • A. A meeting of BRIC Foreign Ministers held in New York in 2010
  • B. The first BRIC Summit, held at Yekaterinburg in Russia in 2009
  • C. The second BRIC Summit, held at Brasilia in Brazil in 2010
  • D. The third BRIC Summit, held at Sanya in China in the year 2011

Q3. Counting the Chairship under which the 18th BRICS Summit was convened, how many times has India chaired BRICS?

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

Q4. Under the theme of India's BRICS Chairship that culminated in the 18th Summit, the 'Resilience' pillar denotes cooperation in which one of the following clusters?

  • A. Startups, MSMEs, science and technology, digital public infrastructure and artificial intelligence
  • B. Reform of global governance institutions and the strengthening of practical multilateral development work
  • C. Clean and renewable energy, climate action, nature-based solutions and sustainable consumption patterns
  • D. Health, agriculture, food and energy security, disaster management and supply chains

Q5. The critical-minerals paragraph of the BRICS New Delhi Declaration places its principal emphasis on which one of the following?

  • A. A permanent BRICS-wide prohibition on every form of export restriction on rare earth elements
  • B. An exclusive BRICS platform through which all critical-mineral exports of members must be routed
  • C. Benefit sharing and value addition in resource-rich countries, with their sovereign rights preserved
  • D. Complete substitution of all critical-mineral imports of member states within a fixed time frame

Q6. Consider the following BRICS Leaders' Summit editions, spanning the period in which the Prime Minister of India raised the weaponisation of technology and critical minerals: 1. 16th Summit (2024) — Kazan, Russia 2. 17th Summit (2025) — Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 3. 18th Summit (2026) — New Delhi, India 4. 19th Summit (2027) — to be held under the Chairship of Brazil Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. 16th Summit (2024) — Kazan, Russia
  2. 17th Summit (2025) — Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  3. 18th Summit (2026) — New Delhi, India
  4. 19th Summit (2027) — to be held under the Chairship of Brazil
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q7. At the session on 'Strengthening Multilateralism, Economic-Financial Affairs and Artificial Intelligence' of the 17th BRICS Summit — where the Prime Minister of India urged that critical-mineral supply chains be made secure and resilient — how many suggestions did he place before the grouping?

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

Q8. Consider the following statements regarding the National Critical Mineral Mission and the critical-mineral recycling incentive scheme framed under it: 1. The Mission was approved with a Government of India expenditure component of about Rs.16,300 crore, whereas the recycling incentive scheme carries a total outlay of Rs.1,500 crore. 2. Of the minerals in India's critical minerals list, a majority — but not all — have been placed in Part D of Schedule I of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. 3. Unlike the Mission, which is anchored in the Ministry of Mines, the recycling incentive scheme is administered by the Ministry of Heavy Industries. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Mission was approved with a Government of India expenditure component of about Rs.16,300 crore, whereas the recycling incentive scheme carries a total outlay of Rs.1,500 crore.
  2. Of the minerals in India's critical minerals list, a majority — but not all — have been placed in Part D of Schedule I of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.
  3. Unlike the Mission, which is anchored in the Ministry of Mines, the recycling incentive scheme is administered by the Ministry of Heavy Industries.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q9. Of the components that together make up the approved seven-year outlay of Rs.34,300 crore for the National Critical Mineral Mission, which one is the largest?

  • A. Budgetary expenditure to be incurred by the Government of India over the mission period
  • B. The outlay earmarked for the incentive scheme promoting critical mineral recycling
  • C. The provision for setting up mineral processing parks and a Centre of Excellence
  • D. Investment expected from public sector undertakings and other such entities

Q10. In the BRICS framework, the category of 'partner country' denotes which one of the following?

  • A. A state invited as a guest to the outreach segment of one particular BRICS Leaders' Summit
  • B. A state holding borrowing-member status in the New Development Bank but outside the grouping
  • C. A state that has formally applied for BRICS membership and awaits approval by consensus
  • D. A state associated with BRICS activities short of full membership, a category operative from January 2025

Q11. Among the outcomes of the 18th BRICS Summit, which one is the lead instrument for strengthening cross-sector transport logistics resilience among members?

  • A. The BRICS Global Value Chain Action Plan 2026-2030, with its Technical Council
  • B. The BRICS Logistics Supply-Chain Cooperation Framework
  • C. The BRICS Urban Mobility Hub announced under India's Chairship
  • D. The BRICS Insurance Resilience Centre and the associated Risk Lab