UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Gor calls on Bangladesh to join Pax Silica initiative and discusses bilateral relations

Q1. In the context of the Pax Silica initiative, the expression 'silicon stack' is best understood as which one of the following?

  • A. The layered sequence of lithography, doping and packaging steps by which a single wafer is converted into finished integrated circuits
  • B. The end-to-end chain running from critical minerals and energy inputs through advanced manufacturing to AI deployment infrastructure
  • C. The stockpile of refined polysilicon and wafer inventory that member states agree to hold as a strategic reserve against supply shocks
  • D. The layered set of software libraries, model weights and compute schedulers on which frontier artificial-intelligence systems are trained

Q2. The following countries are identified as having been among the original partner countries associated with Pax Silica at its launch in December 2025: 1. Japan 2. Singapore 3. Philippines 4. Australia Which of the above is/are NOT correctly identified?

  1. Japan
  2. Singapore
  3. Philippines
  4. Australia
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 3 only
  • D. 3 and 4

Q3. The AI supply-chain credentialing and provenance platform announced at the second Pax Silica Summit of June 2026 was to be first piloted with which one of the following countries?

  • A. The Philippines, which had acceded to the coalition shortly before the summit was convened
  • B. Qatar, one of the partner countries associated with the coalition from its founding summit
  • C. Greece, a founding partner country of the coalition and a major maritime logistics hub
  • D. Panama, whose participation was tied to the platform's provenance-tracking objectives

Q4. Which one of the following statements about the United States agency that operationalises the Pax Silica initiative and its associated Fund is correct?

  • A. The Department of Commerce alone administers the initiative, the Fund being drawn entirely from its semiconductor incentive appropriations
  • B. The Office of the United States Trade Representative necessarily leads it, since all Pax Silica commitments take the form of binding trade agreements
  • C. The Department of State leads it, the initiative having been launched by its Under Secretary responsible for economic affairs and the Fund proposed as foreign assistance
  • D. The Department of Defense exclusively directs the initiative, membership being confined to the country's formal treaty allies in every case

Q5. Which one of the following best describes the additional designation held by Sergio Gor, the U.S. Ambassador to India, at the time of his Dhaka engagement of 1 August 2026?

  • A. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment, the office from which the coalition was launched in December 2025
  • B. Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs, a regional mandate held concurrently with his bilateral ambassadorial posting
  • C. Head of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, an appointment retained by him after his confirmation to the New Delhi mission
  • D. U.S. Special Representative for Global Critical Minerals, a mandate created to negotiate accessions to the supply-chain coalition

Q6. With reference to the offices and official acts of Sergio Gor as U.S. Ambassador to India, consider the following: 1. He signed on the U.S. side, along with Under Secretary Jacob Helberg, the declaration by which India acceded to Pax Silica. 2. He presented his credentials to the President of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan in January 2026. 3. His appointment was cleared by the U.S. Senate through an en bloc confirmation vote. 4. He holds the office of Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. He signed on the U.S. side, along with Under Secretary Jacob Helberg, the declaration by which India acceded to Pax Silica.
  2. He presented his credentials to the President of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan in January 2026.
  3. His appointment was cleared by the U.S. Senate through an en bloc confirmation vote.
  4. He holds the office of Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment.
  • A. 1 and 4
  • B. 2, 3 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 3 and 4 only

Q7. Of the following subjects — trade and investment; the revised U.S. travel advisory for Bangladesh; Bangladesh's accession to the Pax Silica initiative; and regional cooperation — how many figured on the agenda of the engagement between the U.S. Special Envoy for South and Central Asia and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh on 1 August 2026?

  • A. Only one of them
  • B. Only two of them
  • C. Only three of them
  • D. All four of them

Q8. Consider the following statements comparing Bangladesh's engagement with Pax Silica in August 2026 with that of other countries: 1. Whereas India had signed the Pax Silica Declaration in February 2026, Bangladesh had, as of 1 August 2026, only been invited and was not yet a participant. 2. The invitation to Bangladesh was conveyed in Dhaka by the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment, whereas India's accession document was signed for the U.S. by the Ambassador to India alone. 3. The Philippines had joined the initiative in May 2026, that is, before the second Pax Silica Summit was convened. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Whereas India had signed the Pax Silica Declaration in February 2026, Bangladesh had, as of 1 August 2026, only been invited and was not yet a participant.
  2. The invitation to Bangladesh was conveyed in Dhaka by the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment, whereas India's accession document was signed for the U.S. by the Ambassador to India alone.
  3. The Philippines had joined the initiative in May 2026, that is, before the second Pax Silica Summit was convened.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q9. China's extension of export restrictions to seven rare earth elements, including terbium, yttrium, dysprosium and samarium, was imposed in which one of the following?

  • A. April 2024, alongside its restrictions on the export of processed gallium and germanium
  • B. April 2025, amid escalating trade friction over technology and tariff measures
  • C. December 2025, in the month in which the U.S.-led silicon supply-chain coalition was launched
  • D. May 2026, in the month in which the Quad's critical minerals framework was unveiled

Q10. The Quad Critical Minerals Initiative Framework unveiled in New Delhi in May 2026 seeks to mobilise government and private-sector support across mining, processing and recycling of up to how much?

  • A. Up to 20 billion U.S. dollars
  • B. Up to 250 million U.S. dollars
  • C. Up to 2 billion U.S. dollars
  • D. Up to 50 billion U.S. dollars

Q11. With reference to India's position in U.S.-linked critical-mineral and semiconductor mini-lateral groupings, which one of the following statements is correct?

  • A. India was among the founding signatories of Pax Silica, being the first Asian country to sign its declaration at the launch summit
  • B. India entered the Minerals Security Partnership in 2023 as its fourteenth member
  • C. India is the sole member of the Minerals Security Partnership drawn entirely from outside the membership of the Quad grouping
  • D. India chairs the Minerals Security Partnership, which is exclusively a European Commission-led body with no U.S. participation

Q12. The oath of office to Tarique Rahman as Prime Minister of Bangladesh in February 2026 was administered by which one of the following functionaries?

  • A. The Chief Adviser who had headed the interim government during the preceding eighteen months
  • B. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, in accordance with the practice for judicial oaths
  • C. The President of Bangladesh, Mohammed Shahabuddin
  • D. The Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad, at whose precincts the ceremony was held