UPSC Prelims 2022 Q66: India in AIIB, MTCR and SCO — Explained
Consider the following:
1. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
2. Missile Technology Control Regime
3. Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
India is a member of which of the above?
- 1 and 2 only
- 3 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3
Statement-wise explanation
- 1: correct — India is a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). India signed the Articles of Agreement in Beijing in 2015. The bank's charter came into force on 25 December 2015, and the bank opened for business on 16 January 2016. India is the second-largest shareholder after China, with about 7.6% of voting power against China's roughly 26.5%. It is also one of the bank's largest borrowers.
- 2: correct — India became the 35th member ("Partner") of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) on 27 June 2016. The MTCR Chair announced this after all 34 existing members agreed. This was India's first entry into any multilateral export-control regime. China is not an MTCR member, although it has said it will follow the regime's guidelines.
- 3: correct — India became a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), together with Pakistan, at the Astana summit in June 2017. The process began at Ufa in 2015, and India had been an observer before that. India took over the SCO chair at the Samarkand summit in September 2022 and hosted the SCO summit virtually on 4 July 2023.
How to eliminate
This question can only be solved by knowing the facts. There are no absolute words to test, and every option is a plausible combination. A few anchors still help. India joining the SCO in 2017 is basic current affairs. That rules out the option without statement 3, leaving three options that all contain 3 or depend on it. The common trap is the guess "AIIB is China-led, so India must have stayed out". That is wrong: India refused China's Belt and Road Initiative but joined the AIIB as a founding member and its second-largest shareholder. The other trap is mixing up MTCR with the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). In June 2016, China blocked India's NSG bid in Seoul, but India entered the MTCR the same month. Remember the four export-control regimes: India joined MTCR (2016), Wassenaar Arrangement (2017) and Australia Group (2018), but is still outside the NSG.
Know more
Three groupings, three different kinds of body
| Body | Type | Founded / HQ | India's entry | Key fact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIIB | Multilateral development bank | Charter in force Dec 2015; HQ Beijing | Founding member (2015–16) | 2nd-largest shareholder after China; one of the largest borrowers |
| MTCR | Informal export-control regime (not a treaty) | 1987, set up by G7 countries | 35th member, June 2016 | Covers missiles/UAVs able to carry 500 kg to 300 km or more |
| SCO | Regional political-security organisation | 15 June 2001, Shanghai; Secretariat Beijing, RATS in Tashkent | Observer 2005, full member June 2017 | Grew out of the "Shanghai Five" (1996) |
AIIB. AIIB is a China-led bank that lends for infrastructure across Asia. Do not confuse it with the BRICS New Development Bank (Shanghai), where all five founders hold equal shares, or the Asian Development Bank (Manila, Japan-led).
MTCR. The MTCR has no legally binding obligations. Members follow common guidelines and a control list (the Annex). Category I items, such as complete rockets and UAVs beyond 300 km / 500 kg, face a strong presumption of denial. Category II items, such as dual-use parts, get case-by-case review. For India, membership eased access to high-end missile and space technology and opened the way to exporting systems like BrahMos.
India and the four export-control regimes
| Regime | Controls | India |
|---|---|---|
| MTCR | Missiles, UAVs | Member 2016 |
| Wassenaar Arrangement | Conventional arms, dual-use goods | Member 2017 |
| Australia Group | Chemical and biological weapons | Member 2018 |
| Nuclear Suppliers Group | Nuclear material and technology | Not a member |
SCO. The SCO's members are China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, Iran (2023) and Belarus (2024). Its permanent bodies are the Secretariat (Beijing) and the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (Tashkent).
In the news
India's memberships are static facts. The SCO was in the news in the run-up to the 2022 exam: it marked its 20th anniversary in June 2021, and India was due to take over the SCO chair at Samarkand in September 2022. That made India's place in groupings both with and without China a likely theme.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Export controls: The MTCR is an export-control regime; knowing what export controls are helps you place it next to Wassenaar, the Australia Group and the NSG.
- Technology denial: Regimes like the MTCR began as technology-denial clubs; this explains why joining one mattered so much to India.