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

Q1. With reference to the re-routing of India's crude oil imports in the wake of the 2026 West Asia crisis, consider the following statements. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. About 70% of India's crude imports are now sourced from routes outside the Strait of Hormuz, up from about 55% earlier.
  2. India currently sources crude oil from more than 40 countries.
  3. About 55% of India's crude imports are now routed through the Strait of Hormuz, up from about 70% earlier.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q2. The Informal Group of Ministers (IGoM) set up in 2026 to monitor the evolving situation in West Asia was chaired by which one of the following?

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

Q3. Which one of the following ministries was the lead ministry that convened and released the April 2026 Inter-Ministerial Briefing on Recent Developments in West Asia?

  • A. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
  • B. Ministry of External Affairs
  • C. Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
  • D. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways

Q4. As reported at the 5th IGoM meeting on West Asia, approximately how many days of LPG rolling stock did India hold?

  • A. About 45 days
  • B. About 60 days
  • C. About 30 days
  • D. About 90 days

Q5. Under the government order enabling refinery and petrochemical complexes to divert minimum C3 and C4 streams for critical sectors during the crisis, which body was designated to determine the critical sectors?

  • A. Centre for High Technology (CHT)
  • B. Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH)
  • C. Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC)
  • D. Oil Industry Development Board (OIDB)

Q6. During the crisis, India widened its LPG sourcing to suppliers located outside the Strait of Hormuz. Which of the following are correctly identified as such suppliers named by the government?

  1. United States
  2. Norway
  3. Brazil
  4. Algeria
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 3 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 2 and 4

Q7. In the context of the government's response to the West Asia crisis, the scheme 'RELIEF' stands for which one of the following?

  • A. Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation
  • B. Rapid Emergency Logistics and Import Enablement Fund
  • C. Refinery Linked Import Equalisation and Export Facility
  • D. Resource Enhancement for Logistics, Insurance and Export Finance