UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Jaishankar takes up U.S. sanctions law in meeting with Rubio

Q1. With reference to secondary (extraterritorial) sanctions and India's position on them, consider the following statements: 1. Secondary sanctions penalise persons of third countries for transactions with a sanctioned target, even where the transaction itself has no commercial link with the sanctioning state. 2. Section 231 of the US Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) provides for sanctions on those undertaking significant transactions with Russia's defence and intelligence sectors. 3. CAATSA contains a country-specific waiver clause under which India's defence purchases from Russia are exempted from its sanctions provisions. 4. India's stated position is that it does not subscribe to unilateral sanctions measures and recognises sanctions adopted through the United Nations. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. Secondary sanctions penalise persons of third countries for transactions with a sanctioned target, even where the transaction itself has no commercial link with the sanctioning state.
  2. Section 231 of the US Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) provides for sanctions on those undertaking significant transactions with Russia's defence and intelligence sectors.
  3. CAATSA contains a country-specific waiver clause under which India's defence purchases from Russia are exempted from its sanctions provisions.
  4. India's stated position is that it does not subscribe to unilateral sanctions measures and recognises sanctions adopted through the United Nations.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 3 only
  • C. 4 only
  • D. 2 and 4

Q2. In the context of measures such as the US Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, which one of the following best describes 'secondary sanctions'?

  • A. Restrictions that bar only the sanctioning state's own nationals and companies from dealing with a designated foreign entity
  • B. Penalties applied to third-country persons and firms for their dealings with a designated entity, even where the dealing has no link to the sanctioning state
  • C. Restrictions that a regional grouping adopts to mirror measures already imposed by the UN Security Council on a designated state
  • D. Penalties that take effect only after a sanctions monitoring committee certifies a violation of the measures already in force

Q3. The Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 authorises tariffs of up to 100 per cent to be imposed principally on which one of the following?

  • A. All member countries of BRICS and the state-owned refining companies incorporated in them
  • B. The five largest importers of Russian crude oil and natural gas, and the leading facilitators of Russian sanctions evasion
  • C. Any country whose imports of Russian crude oil exceed one-fourth of its total crude oil imports in a financial year
  • D. The ten largest importers of Russian refined petroleum products and of pipeline natural gas from Russia

Q4. Under the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, the authority to actually impose the tariffs on buyers of Russian energy, and to waive them in renewable 90-day periods, vests in which one of the following?

  • A. The Office of the United States Trade Representative
  • B. The Office of Foreign Assets Control, US Department of the Treasury
  • C. The President of the United States
  • D. The Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, US Department of State

Q5. Consider the following statements regarding the September 2026 meeting between India's External Affairs Minister and the US Secretary of State: 1. It was held on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Washington, and was the first engagement between the two since the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act was signed into law. 2. India used the meeting to reiterate its interests and concerns regarding the Act, and the two sides also took up the situations in Ukraine and the Gulf. 3. Unlike the Indian side, the US Secretary of State's public remarks after the meeting did not address the sanctions law, referring instead to coordination on regional priorities and to building on the US–India strategic partnership. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. It was held on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Washington, and was the first engagement between the two since the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act was signed into law.
  2. India used the meeting to reiterate its interests and concerns regarding the Act, and the two sides also took up the situations in Ukraine and the Gulf.
  3. Unlike the Indian side, the US Secretary of State's public remarks after the meeting did not address the sanctions law, referring instead to coordination on regional priorities and to building on the US–India strategic partnership.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q6. The Government of India's lead response to the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act — conveying to US interlocutors that pressure on India to reduce Russian crude purchases would have implications for bilateral ties and for the international energy market — was articulated by which one of the following?

  • A. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, through the Department of Commerce
  • B. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, through its Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell
  • C. The Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance
  • D. The Ministry of External Affairs

Q7. Consider the following statements about India's crude oil imports from Russia: 1. The Russian flagship grade that Indian refiners buy in the largest quantity is ESPO Blend, while Urals is the grade sold mainly to refineries on China's Pacific coast. 2. Before the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict, Russian crude accounted for roughly 0.2 per cent of India's crude oil imports. 3. In May 2026, India's total crude oil imports averaged about 4.99 million barrels per day, with Russia accounting for about 38.6 per cent of the shipments. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Russian flagship grade that Indian refiners buy in the largest quantity is ESPO Blend, while Urals is the grade sold mainly to refineries on China's Pacific coast.
  2. Before the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict, Russian crude accounted for roughly 0.2 per cent of India's crude oil imports.
  3. In May 2026, India's total crude oil imports averaged about 4.99 million barrels per day, with Russia accounting for about 38.6 per cent of the shipments.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q8. More than 85 per cent of India's total crude oil imports are sourced from how many countries?

  • A. Six
  • B. Twelve
  • C. Twenty
  • D. About forty

Q9. The October 2018 India–Russia contract that brought India within the reach of CAATSA's secondary-sanctions provisions covered the supply of how many units of the S-400 air defence missile system?

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

Q10. With reference to India's stake in Iran's Chabahar Port and its connectivity projects, consider the following statements: 1. India Ports Global Limited signed a ten-year long-term bilateral contract with Iran's Ports and Maritime Organisation for the operation of the Shahid Beheshti terminal. 2. Chabahar lies on Iran's Caspian Sea coast, in the province of Sistan-Baluchistan. 3. The conditional exemption from US sanctions for activities at Chabahar Port came to an end on 26 April 2026. 4. Chabahar is envisaged as a gateway for the International North-South Transport Corridor, a multimodal route linking India with Central Asia and Russia. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. India Ports Global Limited signed a ten-year long-term bilateral contract with Iran's Ports and Maritime Organisation for the operation of the Shahid Beheshti terminal.
  2. Chabahar lies on Iran's Caspian Sea coast, in the province of Sistan-Baluchistan.
  3. The conditional exemption from US sanctions for activities at Chabahar Port came to an end on 26 April 2026.
  4. Chabahar is envisaged as a gateway for the International North-South Transport Corridor, a multimodal route linking India with Central Asia and Russia.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 4 only

Q11. Government approval for two additional commercial-cum-strategic petroleum reserve facilities, at Chandikhol in Odisha and Padur in Karnataka, to be developed on public-private partnership mode, was accorded in which year?

  • A. 2015
  • B. 2018
  • C. 2021
  • D. 2024

Q12. In the first-phase India–US trade framework announced through the joint statement of 7 February 2026, which one of the following was the largest component measured by the value of Indian exports covered?

  • A. About USD 31 billion of exports, on which the US tariff was reduced from 50 per cent to 18 per cent
  • B. About USD 10 billion of exports, on which the US tariff was reduced from 50 per cent to zero
  • C. About USD 1 billion of agricultural exports, assured a zero reciprocal tariff by the United States
  • D. The entirety of India's merchandise exports, on all of which US tariffs were permanently and unconditionally removed