UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Goyal in Egypt, to discuss strengthening bilateral ties

Q1. With reference to the Suez Canal, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Like the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal depends on a system of locks to lift ships between two seas at very different levels.
  2. The canal runs north–south across the Isthmus of Suez and joins the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea.
  3. Port Said lies at the canal's Mediterranean end, while its southern end opens into the Gulf of Suez, an arm of the Red Sea.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1 only

Q2. Suppose attacks on merchant ships near the Bab-el-Mandeb strait lead major shipping lines to divert their Asia–Europe services away from the Red Sea for several months. Consider the following possible consequences: Which of the above are likely consequences of such a diversion?

  1. Longer transit times and higher freight costs for Indian container cargo bound for European ports
  2. A rise in the number of vessels sailing around the Cape of Good Hope
  3. A sharp rise in voyage time for India's crude oil imports loaded at Persian Gulf ports, since these cargoes normally pass through the Suez Canal
  4. A fall in the volume of trade passing through the Suez Canal
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2, 3 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • D. 2, 3 and 4 only

Q3. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Attacks on shipping near the Bab-el-Mandeb strait reduce traffic through the Suez Canal, even though they take place far from the canal itself.
  2. For ships coming from the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, entered through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, is the only sea approach to the canal's southern end.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q4. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. When an Indian importer pays a foreign exporter through a Special Rupee Vostro Account, India does not have to draw on its foreign-exchange reserves for that payment.
  2. Balances held in a Special Rupee Vostro Account cannot be repatriated and must be used only to pay for imports from India.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q5. Consider the following facts: The first summit of the Non-Aligned Movement was led by Tito of Yugoslavia, Nasser of Egypt, Nehru of India, Nkrumah of Ghana and Sukarno of Indonesia; by the early 21st century the movement counted about 120 member states, most of them developing countries. Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above?

  1. The movement's founding leadership came from Europe, Africa and Asia, so it was not a purely Afro-Asian grouping.
  2. Every founding leader's country was a former colony that had won independence only after the Second World War.
  3. A membership of about 120 states implies that members are bound to follow a common foreign-policy line decided by majority vote.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only