UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Trade, energy, and global conflicts at top of agenda during PM’s Norway visit
Q1. Sweden became the most recent Nordic country to accede to NATO in which one of the following years?
- A. 2022
- B. 2023
- C. 2024
- D. 2025
Q2. Which one of the following is the intergovernmental body through which the Nordic countries operationalise their regional cooperation?
- A. The Nordic Council of Ministers
- B. The Baltic Assembly
- C. The European Free Trade Association (EFTA)
- D. The Council of the Baltic Sea States
Q3. In the context of India-Norway Arctic and blue-economy cooperation, the 'Northern Sea Route' is best described as which one of the following?
- A. An Arctic shipping lane running along Russia's northern coast, connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific
- B. A trans-Atlantic cable corridor linking Norwegian and Indian data centres
- C. A proposed rail link connecting Nordic capitals to the Arctic Circle
- D. A deep-sea mining zone jointly demarcated by India and Norway in the North Sea
Q4. Which one of the following is the nodal Union ministry that coordinates and briefs on the Prime Minister's bilateral state visits such as the May 2026 five-nation tour?
- A. Ministry of External Affairs
- B. Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- C. Ministry of Home Affairs
- D. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
Q5. Norway's 'Government Pension Fund Global' is best described as which one of the following?
- A. A sovereign wealth fund financed by the state's share of oil and gas revenues, the world's largest of its kind
- B. A contributory pension scheme funded by payroll deductions from Norwegian workers
- C. A joint India-Norway maritime investment fund set up under the 2026 partnership
- D. The foreign-exchange reserve managed by Norway's central bank for currency stabilisation
Q6. How many civilians were killed in the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack, whose aftermath led to the postponement of the India-Nordic Summit that year?