UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Each Minister has his duty, says Goyal on trade deal, oil
Q1. Under the Constitution of India, the principle of collective responsibility makes the Council of Ministers responsible exclusively to which one of the following?
- A. The Lok Sabha
- B. The Rajya Sabha
- C. The President of India
- D. Both Houses of Parliament jointly
Q2. As per the Constitution (Ninety-first Amendment) Act, 2003, the total number of Ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the Union Council of Ministers shall not exceed what percentage of the total strength of the Lok Sabha?
Q3. With reference to the India–US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) negotiations of 2026, consider the following subjects reported to be under discussion:
1. Market access
2. Digital trade
3. Non-tariff barriers
4. Mutual defence procurement offsets
Which of the above is/are NOT correctly identified as an issue in the interim BTA trade talks?
- Market access
- Digital trade
- Non-tariff barriers
- Mutual defence procurement offsets
- A. 1 only
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 4 only
- D. 3 and 4
Q4. In the India–US Bilateral Trade Agreement negotiations of 2026, which one of the following did Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal repeatedly identify as India's foremost precondition before implementing the deal?
- A. Securing a competitive tariff advantage over India's rival/competing exporting nations
- B. Complete elimination of all US import tariffs on Indian goods to zero
- C. US recognition of India as a full 'market economy' under trade law
- D. A permanent exemption from US secondary sanctions on Russian oil
Q5. Following the addition of the penalty linked to India's Russian oil purchases on 27 August 2025, the cumulative (peak) tariff imposed by the United States on Indian goods rose to which one of the following levels?
- A. 25%
- B. 50%
- C. 100%
- D. 500%
Q6. Consider the following statements regarding US tariff actions on India in 2025:
1. A 25% reciprocal tariff on Indian goods took effect on 7 August 2025.
2. An additional 25% penalty tariff linked to India's Russian oil purchases took effect on 27 August 2025.
3. The proposed 'Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025' envisaged tariffs of up to 500% on countries buying Russian oil.
4. The additional 25% Russian-oil penalty tariff was applied by the US equally to China for its Russian oil purchases.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- A 25% reciprocal tariff on Indian goods took effect on 7 August 2025.
- An additional 25% penalty tariff linked to India's Russian oil purchases took effect on 27 August 2025.
- The proposed 'Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025' envisaged tariffs of up to 500% on countries buying Russian oil.
- The additional 25% Russian-oil penalty tariff was applied by the US equally to China for its Russian oil purchases.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 4 only
- C. 1, 2 and 3
- D. 3 only
Q7. With reference to India's crude oil imports during 2025, consider the following statements:
1. Russia accounted for about 32% of India's total oil imports during January–October 2025.
2. Iraq was among India's leading crude suppliers, at roughly 18.5% of imports in mid-2025.
3. US sanctions on Russia's Rosneft and Lukoil took effect from 22 November 2025.
4. Saudi Arabia overtook Russia as India's single-largest crude supplier in 2025.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
- Russia accounted for about 32% of India's total oil imports during January–October 2025.
- Iraq was among India's leading crude suppliers, at roughly 18.5% of imports in mid-2025.
- US sanctions on Russia's Rosneft and Lukoil took effect from 22 November 2025.
- Saudi Arabia overtook Russia as India's single-largest crude supplier in 2025.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 1, 2 and 3
- C. 2, 3 and 4
- D. 1 and 4
Q8. As of March 2025, which country was India's single-largest supplier of crude oil, a position it had held for the eighteenth consecutive month?
- A. Russia
- B. Iraq
- C. Saudi Arabia
- D. United States
Q9. Which one of the following is the sole nodal attached office of the Department of Commerce entrusted with implementing India's Foreign Trade Policy?
- A. Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT)
- B. Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR)
- C. Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence & Statistics (DGCIS)
- D. Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
Q10. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) issues authorisations/licences to exporters and monitors their export obligations through a network of how many Regional Offices?
Q11. Consider the following statements about India's crude oil import dependency:
1. India's crude oil import dependency reached an all-time high of about 89% in FY2024-25.
2. Russia was India's largest crude oil supplier as of March 2025.
3. India's crude oil import dependency has fallen below 80% owing to a surge in domestic production.
4. Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were among India's other major crude suppliers in 2025.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- India's crude oil import dependency reached an all-time high of about 89% in FY2024-25.
- Russia was India's largest crude oil supplier as of March 2025.
- India's crude oil import dependency has fallen below 80% owing to a surge in domestic production.
- Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were among India's other major crude suppliers in 2025.
- A. 1 only
- B. 3 only
- C. 1 and 2
- D. 3 and 4
Q12. Consider the following provisions under WTO agreements:
1. Article XXIV of GATT 1994
2. Article V of GATS
3. The Enabling Clause
4. Article I of GATT 1994
Which of the above are correctly identified as legal bases that always permit members to form free trade areas/customs unions as an exception to the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) principle?
- Article XXIV of GATT 1994
- Article V of GATS
- The Enabling Clause
- Article I of GATT 1994
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 1, 2 and 3
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4