UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Bihar’s famous food products make a mark at BRICS Summit

Q1. Mithila Makhana is a registered Geographical Indication. In Indian law, a Geographical Indication is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. A registration that permanently bars the cultivation or manufacture of the notified product anywhere outside the district in which it originated
  • B. A sign used on goods of a definite geographical origin whose quality or reputation is essentially attributable to that origin, registered in the name of an association or body of producers
  • C. A certificate conferring on one registered producer of the notified region permanent and exclusive ownership of the product name in all countries of the world
  • D. A licence under which the State Government concerned acquires an unrestricted and perpetual monopoly over the export of the notified product

Q2. The registration of a Geographical Indication such as Mithila Makhana is granted by an office functioning under which one of the following?

  • A. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry
  • B. Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare
  • C. Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, Ministry of Commerce and Industry
  • D. Ministry of Food Processing Industries, through its One District One Product division

Q3. The Central Sector Scheme for the Development of Makhana, with an outlay of about Rs 476 crore for 2025-26 to 2030-31, is operationalised principally through which one of the following bodies?

  • A. The ICAR-National Research Centre for Makhana at Darbhanga, Bihar
  • B. The National Makhana Board under the Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare
  • C. The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority under the Department of Commerce
  • D. The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation under the Department of Consumer Affairs

Q4. Consider the following products: 1. Shahi Litchi 2. Jardalu Mango 3. Katarni Rice 4. Kaladi Which of the above is/are correctly identified as Geographical Indication-tagged products of Bihar?

  1. Shahi Litchi
  2. Jardalu Mango
  3. Katarni Rice
  4. Kaladi
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 1 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q5. Mithila Makhana became the fifth Geographical Indication product of Bihar. Which one of the following held the position immediately before it, as the State's fourth agricultural product to obtain GI certification?

  • A. Jardalu mango of the Bhagalpur belt
  • B. Katarni rice of the Banka-Bhagalpur belt
  • C. Magahi paan of the Magadh region
  • D. Shahi litchi of the Muzaffarpur belt

Q6. Which one of the following is the theme guiding India's BRICS Chairship under which the 18th BRICS Summit was convened?

  • A. Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability
  • B. BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth
  • C. Strengthening Global South Cooperation for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance
  • D. BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth and Inclusive Multilateralism

Q7. The 18th BRICS Summit was held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, on 12-13 September 2026 under a Chairship India assumed on 1 January 2026. In the sequence of BRICS Chairships held by India, this was its

  • A. second Chairship of the grouping
  • B. third Chairship of the grouping
  • C. fourth Chairship of the grouping
  • D. fifth Chairship of the grouping

Q8. Sattu, one of the two Bihar food products carried in the media/welcome kit of the 18th BRICS Summit, is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. A coarse flour of parched maize traditionally taken as a gruel in north Bihar
  • B. Flour made from roasted Bengal gram, notified as the One District One Product of Arwal and Jehanabad districts
  • C. A fermented rice-based summer beverage of the Bihar-eastern Uttar Pradesh belt
  • D. Powdered kernels of dried fox-nut used as a thickening agent in traditional sweets

Q9. Mithila Makhana, carried in the hospitality kit of the 18th BRICS Summit, enjoys legal protection of its name as a registered product under which one of the following?

  • A. The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999
  • B. The Trade Marks Act, 1999, read with its provisions on certification trade marks
  • C. The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001
  • D. The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, read with its regulations on proprietary foods