UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Inter-Ministerial Briefing on Recent Developments in West Asia

Q1. The Inter-Ministerial Briefings on Recent Developments in West Asia, convened to update citizens on the energy and supply-chain response to the conflict, are anchored (nodally led) by which Union ministry?

  • A. Ministry of External Affairs
  • B. Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
  • C. Ministry of Home Affairs
  • D. Ministry of Information & Broadcasting

Q2. With reference to the Inter-Ministerial Briefing on Recent Developments in West Asia, consider the following ministries: 1. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways 2. Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises 3. Ministry of Home Affairs 4. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Which of the above are correctly identified as ministries that delivered the briefing?

  1. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
  2. Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
  3. Ministry of Home Affairs
  4. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
  • A. 1, 2 and 4
  • B. 1, 3 and 4
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q3. During the West Asia crisis, domestic refiners were mandated to divert what percentage of their EXPORTED petrol to the domestic market?

  • A. 30%
  • B. 40%
  • C. 50%
  • D. 70%

Q4. The statement in Parliament detailing the package of measures (including the domestic-supply obligation on refiners) to counter energy-supply disruptions from the West Asia conflict was made by which Union Minister?

  • A. Shri S. Jaishankar
  • B. Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman
  • C. Shri Rajnath Singh
  • D. Shri Hardeep Singh Puri

Q5. With reference to India's Strategic Petroleum Reserves, consider the following statements: 1. The Phase-I strategic reserves comprise facilities at Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru and Padur with a combined capacity of 5.33 MMT. 2. Under the Phase-II expansion, additional reserve facilities were approved at Chandikhol (Odisha) and Bikaner (Rajasthan). 3. ISPRL, which builds and manages these reserves, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Oil Industry Development Board (OIDB). Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Phase-I reserves are at Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru and Padur, total 5.33 MMT.
  2. Phase-II reserves were approved at Chandikhol (Odisha) and Bikaner (Rajasthan).
  3. ISPRL is a wholly owned subsidiary of the OIDB.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q6. In the context of India's energy-security architecture, the 'Strategic Petroleum Reserves' built by ISPRL are best described as which one of the following?

  • A. Underground rock-cavern stockpiles of crude oil held for release during supply disruptions
  • B. Above-ground depots of refined petrol and diesel maintained for retail distribution
  • C. Bulk LPG storage maintained to meet seasonal household demand
  • D. A commercial trading buffer of petroleum products operated by oil marketing companies for price arbitrage

Q7. Approximately what share of the world's crude oil flows transits through the Strait of Hormuz?

  • A. About 10%
  • B. About 20%
  • C. About 35%
  • D. About 50%

Q8. Which one of the following is regarded as the world's most critical maritime oil-transit chokepoint, being the only sea route out of the Persian Gulf with no feasible reroute?

  • A. Strait of Malacca
  • B. Bab-el-Mandeb
  • C. Strait of Hormuz
  • D. Suez Canal

Q9. The Informal Group of Ministers (IGoM) constituted to monitor the West Asia situation and India's preparedness is chaired by which Union Minister?

  • A. The Minister of External Affairs
  • B. The Minister of Defence (Raksha Mantri)
  • C. The Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas
  • D. The Minister of Home Affairs

Q10. Which of the following is the flagship piped clean-cooking alternative being scaled up to ease household LPG demand, with its connections having grown from 25 lakh to over 1.5 crore?

  • A. Piped Natural Gas (PNG)
  • B. Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)
  • C. Biogas under the GOBARdhan scheme
  • D. Induction/electric cooking

Q11. The Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) — the principal levy applied on exports of diesel and ATF to moderate domestic availability — is imposed by which authority?

  • A. The Central (Union) Government
  • B. The respective State Governments
  • C. The GST Council
  • D. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB)
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