UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — India-Belgium Joint Statement on the visit of the Prime Minister of Belgium to India
Q1. Which one of the following correctly identifies the Belgian leader who visited India as Prime Minister in September 2026, together with the year in which he assumed that office?
- A. Bart De Wever, who assumed the office of Prime Minister in 2025
- B. Alexander De Croo, who assumed the office of Prime Minister in 2020
- C. Maxime Prevot, who assumed the office of Prime Minister in 2025
- D. Theo Francken, who assumed the office of Prime Minister in 2024
Q2. Consider the following statements regarding India's engagement with Belgium and the European Union in the period preceding the Belgian Prime Minister's visit to India in September 2026:
1. The decision to establish an India-Belgium Strategic Dialogue at the ministerial level was taken during the External Affairs Minister's visit to Brussels earlier in 2026.
2. The high-powered Belgian Economic Mission that visited India in March 2025 was led by the Minister-President of Flanders, whereas the 2026 engagement was led by the Belgian Prime Minister.
3. The 16th India-EU Summit, held in India during a State Visit by the Presidents of the European Council and the European Commission, preceded the Belgian Prime Minister's visit in the same year.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The decision to establish an India-Belgium Strategic Dialogue at the ministerial level was taken during the External Affairs Minister's visit to Brussels earlier in 2026.
- The high-powered Belgian Economic Mission that visited India in March 2025 was led by the Minister-President of Flanders, whereas the 2026 engagement was led by the Belgian Prime Minister.
- The 16th India-EU Summit, held in India during a State Visit by the Presidents of the European Council and the European Commission, preceded the Belgian Prime Minister's visit in the same year.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q3. With reference to India's trade with the European Union around the time the India-EU Free Trade Agreement negotiations were concluded, which one of the following statements is correct?
- A. The EU was India's largest trading partner for goods, with bilateral goods trade of about USD 137 billion in 2023-24
- B. The EU was India's largest trading partner for goods, with bilateral goods trade of about USD 76 billion in 2023-24
- C. The EU was India's second largest trading partner for goods after the United States, with goods trade of about USD 137 billion in 2023-24
- D. The EU was India's largest trading partner for goods, with bilateral goods trade of about USD 61 billion in 2023-24
Q4. Under the concluded India-EU Free Trade Agreement, across how many services sub-sectors has the European Union extended market-access commitments to India?
Q5. The 3.6-metre Devasthal Optical Telescope, remotely activated in 2016 by the Prime Ministers of India and Belgium, is operated by which one of the following?
- A. Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, an autonomous institute under the Department of Space
- B. Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology
- C. Indian Institute of Astrophysics, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology
- D. Physical Research Laboratory, an autonomous institute under the Department of Space
Q6. With reference to India-Belgium cooperation in observational astronomy, consider the following:
1. The 3.6-metre Devasthal Optical Telescope was built by the Belgian firm AMOS (Advanced Mechanical and Optical Systems).
2. The telescope was remotely activated in March 2016 jointly by the Prime Ministers of India and Belgium.
3. The telescope is installed at Devasthal in Ladakh, in the vicinity of India's high-altitude Indian Astronomical Observatory.
4. The Belgo-Indian Network for Astronomy and Astrophysics (BINA) was created to increase academic interaction between Indian and Belgian astronomers and engineers.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- The 3.6-metre Devasthal Optical Telescope was built by the Belgian firm AMOS (Advanced Mechanical and Optical Systems).
- The telescope was remotely activated in March 2016 jointly by the Prime Ministers of India and Belgium.
- The telescope is installed at Devasthal in Ladakh, in the vicinity of India's high-altitude Indian Astronomical Observatory.
- The Belgo-Indian Network for Astronomy and Astrophysics (BINA) was created to increase academic interaction between Indian and Belgian astronomers and engineers.
- A. 2 only
- B. 3 only
- C. 1 and 4
- D. 2 and 3
Q7. The Protocol amending the India-Belgium Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement was signed on behalf of India by the head of which one of the following bodies?
- A. The Central Board of Direct Taxes, the apex body for direct tax administration in India
- B. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, the apex body for indirect tax administration in India
- C. The Financial Intelligence Unit-India, the central agency for financial intelligence in India
- D. The Department of Economic Affairs, the nodal department for external financial matters in India
Q8. Which one of the following best describes what the Protocol amending the India-Belgium Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement actually did?
- A. It broadened the framework for exchange of tax-related information and enabled mutual assistance in the collection of taxes
- B. It shifted the taxation of capital gains on shares from the country of residence to the country of source, with grandfathering of earlier investments
- C. It abolished withholding tax on dividends between the two countries and capped the rate on royalties at ten per cent
- D. It extended the coverage of the Agreement beyond taxes on income to indirect taxes such as value added tax
Q9. The Belgian Economic Mission that visited India in March 2025 under the leadership of HRH Princess Astrid included how many companies?
Q10. Consider the following statements regarding the Belgian Economic Mission to India of March 2025:
1. It was the first ever Belgian Economic Mission to India to be led by HRH Princess Astrid.
2. Its delegation, numbering over 300, consisted exclusively of company representatives, with no academic or public sector participation whatsoever.
3. Thirty-eight Memoranda of Understanding were signed in the course of the Mission.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- It was the first ever Belgian Economic Mission to India to be led by HRH Princess Astrid.
- Its delegation, numbering over 300, consisted exclusively of company representatives, with no academic or public sector participation whatsoever.
- Thirty-eight Memoranda of Understanding were signed in the course of the Mission.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 3 only
- D. 2 and 3 only
Q11. With reference to sectoral cooperation between India and Belgium, consider the following:
1. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is the Indian nodal ministry for the bilateral understanding on renewable energy cooperation with Belgium.
2. The India-Belgium renewable energy understanding was concluded not as a bilateral instrument but as a component of the India-EU Clean Energy and Climate Partnership.
3. Green hydrogen is among the sectors identified for India-Belgium bilateral cooperation.
4. Bilateral cooperation in the ports sector links the Port of Antwerp with the Jawaharlal Nehru Port.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is the Indian nodal ministry for the bilateral understanding on renewable energy cooperation with Belgium.
- The India-Belgium renewable energy understanding was concluded not as a bilateral instrument but as a component of the India-EU Clean Energy and Climate Partnership.
- Green hydrogen is among the sectors identified for India-Belgium bilateral cooperation.
- Bilateral cooperation in the ports sector links the Port of Antwerp with the Jawaharlal Nehru Port.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1, 3 and 4
- D. 3 and 4 only
Q12. Consider the following statements about Belgium:
1. Belgium was one of the twelve original signatories of the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949.
2. Belgium is a federal state comprising the regions of Flanders, Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region.
3. Brussels hosts the headquarters of NATO and is also the principal seat of the institutions of the European Union.
4. Belgium, together with the Netherlands and Luxembourg, forms the customs and economic grouping known as the Nordic Council.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- Belgium was one of the twelve original signatories of the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949.
- Belgium is a federal state comprising the regions of Flanders, Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region.
- Brussels hosts the headquarters of NATO and is also the principal seat of the institutions of the European Union.
- Belgium, together with the Netherlands and Luxembourg, forms the customs and economic grouping known as the Nordic Council.
- A. 1 only
- B. 4 only
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 2 and 4