UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — BRICS in a fragmented world order, a test of relevance

Q1. With reference to the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Like the capital of the New Development Bank, contributions to the CRA were made in equal shares by the five original members.
  2. The CRA works through currency swap lines that supply liquidity to a member under short-term balance-of-payments pressure, not by financing infrastructure projects.
  3. The CRA is counted as a part of the global financial safety net, alongside resources such as those of the IMF.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 3 only

Q2. With reference to decision-making in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A member's voting power is the sum of basic votes, shared equally by all members, and votes proportional to its quota.
  2. Since quota changes need an 85 per cent majority of total voting power, any member holding more than 15 per cent of the votes can block them on its own.
  3. An amendment to the Articles of Agreement needs acceptance by three-fifths of the members having 85 per cent of the total voting power, so it needs both a numerical and a weighted majority.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q3. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Raising the share of basic votes in the total voting power of the IMF increases the relative voice of its smallest members.
  2. In the IMF, basic votes are allotted equally to every member, irrespective of the size of its quota.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q4. With reference to the procedure for amending the Charter of the United Nations under Article 108, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Once in force, an amendment binds every UN member, including members that voted against it or did not ratify it.
  2. Each member ratifies an amendment in accordance with its own constitutional processes.
  3. Adoption of an amendment by a two-thirds vote of the members of the General Assembly is sufficient by itself for it to bind all members.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 2 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q5. In the context of settling international trade in national currencies, as promoted in the 2026 BRICS New Delhi Declaration, consider the following statements with reference to India's Special Rupee Vostro Account (SRVA) arrangement: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. An Indian importer pays in rupees, which are credited to the special vostro account of the partner country's correspondent bank, so the transaction need not be converted through a third currency.
  2. Settling trade in national currencies in this way requires the participating countries to give up an independent monetary policy.
  3. Partner banks may invest surplus rupee balances in Indian government securities, which makes holding rupees more attractive to them.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q6. With reference to the way BRICS is organised, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. BRICS does not have a permanent secretariat.
  2. Its chairship rotates every year, following the order of the letters of the acronym.
  3. Its financial institutions, the New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement, rest on separate legal agreements rather than on a BRICS founding charter.
  4. Summit declarations of BRICS are legally binding on all members under its founding charter.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • B. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1 and 4 only

Q7. Consider the following facts: BRICS expanded from five to eleven full members between 2010 and 2025; it takes decisions by consensus; in May 2026 its foreign ministers could not agree on a joint statement on the West Asia conflict; in September 2026 its leaders unanimously adopted the New Delhi Declaration, which carried language on West Asia. Which of the following inferences can validly be drawn from the above?

  1. Each enlargement of a consensus-based grouping increases the number of members whose objection can prevent a common text.
  2. The unanimous adoption of the Declaration shows that the differences among members on West Asia had been fully resolved.
  3. Expansion has turned BRICS into a treaty-based alliance whose members owe each other collective obligations.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 only

Q8. With reference to the 'partner country' category of BRICS, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The category was created to widen BRICS' outreach without changing the composition of its full membership.
  2. Partner countries join the consensus on BRICS summit declarations on the same footing as full members.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 only
  • C. Both 1 and 2
  • D. Neither 1 nor 2