UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — fifty years ago January 30, 1976
Q1. The India-U.S. Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET), which carries forward the earlier sub-commission model of institutionalised science diplomacy, is steered at its apex level by which of the following?
- A. The National Security Advisers of the two countries
- B. The External Affairs/Secretary of State
- C. The Commerce Secretaries of the two countries
- D. The Principal Scientific Advisers of the two countries
Q2. Henry Kissinger, who as U.S. Secretary of State agreed with India's Y.B. Chavan that the Indo-U.S. Joint Commission should be insulated from political fluctuations, held the office of Secretary of State during the presidencies of:
- A. Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford only
- B. Richard Nixon only
- C. Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter
- D. Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon
Q3. Before becoming India's External Affairs Minister in 1974, Y.B. Chavan had earlier held charge of how many of the following three Union ministries — Defence, Home and Finance?
- A. One
- B. Two
- C. Three
- D. None of the three
Q4. With reference to events bearing on Indo-U.S. relations between 1971 and 1976, consider the following statements. Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?
- The 1971 India-Pakistan War ended with the surrender of Pakistani forces in East Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh.
- India conducted its first nuclear test, code-named 'Smiling Buddha', at Pokhran in 1974.
- India officially described the 1974 Pokhran test as a peaceful nuclear explosion.
- The 1971 India-Pakistan War was fought while Morarji Desai was Prime Minister of India.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 3 only
- D. 4 only
Q5. India's first nuclear test, conducted in May 1974, was code-named:
- A. Smiling Buddha
- B. Operation Shakti
- C. Operation Vijay
- D. Pokhran-II
Q6. With reference to the India-U.S. technology initiatives announced in February 2025, consider the following statements. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- TRUST stands for 'Transforming Relationship Utilizing Strategic Technology'.
- The COMPACT initiative was launched during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Washington in February 2025.
- Under TRUST, the two sides launched a recovery and processing initiative for strategic minerals such as lithium and rare earths.
- The two leaders set a target of USD 1 trillion in bilateral trade by 2030.
- A. 1, 2 and 3
- B. 1 and 4 only
- C. 2, 3 and 4
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q7. The Second Meeting of the Indo-U.S. Sub-Commission on Science and Technology (January 1976) agreed to pursue collaboration across how many broad thematic areas — namely Energy, Agriculture/Food, Environment and Health?
- A. Two
- B. Three
- C. Four
- D. Five
Q8. In the technology-transfer agenda of the 1976 Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Sub-Commission, 'flat conductor cables' referred to a technology intended primarily for:
- A. House-wiring
- B. Undersea telecommunication links
- C. High-voltage long-distance power transmission
- D. Railway overhead electrification
Q9. The India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC), India's flagship economic-cooperation commission with Russia, is co-chaired from the Indian side by the:
- A. External Affairs Minister
- B. Defence Minister
- C. Finance Minister
- D. Commerce and Industry Minister
Q10. With reference to India's institutionalised bilateral commission mechanisms with Russia, consider the following statements. Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?
- The IRIGC-M&MTC (Military & Military-Technical Cooperation) is co-chaired by the Defence Ministers of India and Russia.
- The IRIGC framework was set up under an inter-governmental agreement signed in 1992.
- A '2+2' Ministerial Dialogue format between India and Russia was added in December 2021.
- The IRIGC-TEC is co-chaired from the Russian side by the President of the Russian Federation.
- A. 1 only
- B. 4 only
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 2 only