International Relations MCQs for UPSC Prelims — July 2026

Q1. The 2026 certification granted by Japan to the ACME–IHI low-carbon (green) ammonia supply chain from Odisha was made under a Japanese scheme designed primarily to do which one of the following?

• A. Bridge the price gap between low-carbon hydrogen derivatives and their conventional fossil-based equivalents
• B. Wholly exempt all imported ammonia from every Japanese customs duty
• C. Mandate blending of green ammonia in each and every Japanese thermal power plant
• D. Provide sovereign loan guarantees exclusively to Japanese electrolyser manufacturers

Q2. Compared with the Japan-India AI Cooperation Initiative, the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) - a key node of India's technology diplomacy - was announced in which year, and it holds the distinction of being India's first-ever such council with any partner?

• A. 2022
• B. 2019
• C. 2024
• D. 2020

Q3. In which year was the India-Japan relationship first elevated to a 'Special Strategic and Global Partnership', the framework within which the AI cooperation now sits?

• A. 2014
• B. 2000
• C. 2006
• D. 2025

Q4. As part of the deepening India-Japan digital and technology partnership announced at the 2025 Annual Summit, Japan set a record investment target in India over the next decade of approximately how much?

• A. USD 68 billion (about 10 trillion yen)
• B. USD 110 billion
• C. USD 200 billion
• D. USD 100 billion

Q5. The India-Japan Digital Partnership 2.0 is stated to cover cooperation in several fields. Consider the following: 1. Semiconductor ecosystem 2. Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) 3. Start-up and innovation cooperation 4. Joint civil-nuclear fuel reprocessing Which of the above is/are correctly identified as areas covered by the Digital Partnership 2.0?

1. Semiconductor ecosystem
2. Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)
3. Start-up and innovation cooperation
4. Joint civil-nuclear fuel reprocessing

• A. 1, 2 and 3
• B. 2, 3 and 4
• C. 1 and 4
• D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q6. The 'Joint Vision for the Next Decade: Eight Directions' adopted by India and Japan is best understood as which one of the following?

• A. A ten-year roadmap of eight thematic directions to steer the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership
• B. An eight-point mutual defence treaty obligating collective military response
• C. A plan to build eight physical economic corridors linking Indian and Japanese ports
• D. A framework designating eight Indian states for exclusive Japanese investment

Q7. Under the India-Japan Joint Vision for the Next Decade, funds for start-up companies, including those in the AI field, are to be mobilised primarily through which one of the following instruments?

• A. India-Japan Fund of Funds
• B. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank window
• C. India-Japan Act East Forum
• D. National Investment and Infrastructure Fund's sovereign wealth arm

Q8. The first India-Japan AI Strategic Dialogue was hosted in which one of the following Indian cities?

• A. Mumbai
• B. New Delhi
• C. Bengaluru
• D. Tokyo

Q9. In the context of India-Japan cooperation on Artificial Intelligence, the 'India-Japan AI Strategic Dialogue' is best described as which one of the following?

• A. A recurring government-to-government bilateral dialogue mechanism dedicated to AI, whose first edition was co-chaired at the Joint Secretary level
• B. A track-II dialogue between the two countries' private AI companies with no governmental participation
• C. A judicial forum for resolving AI-related intellectual property disputes between the two countries
• D. A multilateral summit of G20 members convened by Japan to negotiate a binding AI treaty

Q10. Consider the following statements comparing the origin of the Japan-India AI Cooperation Initiative (JAI) with its subsequent elevation: 1. JAI was first launched at the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit (2025), and was later elevated through a dedicated AI Strategic Dialogue and named deliverables. 2. The later AI Joint Statement, unlike the 2025 launch, invokes governance frameworks such as the Hiroshima AI Process and the New Delhi AI Impact Summit. 3. The AI Joint Statement abolished the India-Japan Digital Partnership and merged it wholly into JAI. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. JAI was first launched at the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit (2025), and was later elevated through a dedicated AI Strategic Dialogue and named deliverables.
2. The later AI Joint Statement, unlike the 2025 launch, invokes governance frameworks such as the Hiroshima AI Process and the New Delhi AI Impact Summit.
3. The AI Joint Statement abolished the India-Japan Digital Partnership and merged it wholly into JAI.

• A. 1 only
• B. 1 and 2 only
• C. 2 and 3 only
• D. 1, 2 and 3

Q11. The India-Japan Joint Statement on cooperation in the field of Artificial Intelligence was issued on the Indian side through which one of the following?

• A. Prime Minister's Office (PMO), released via the Press Information Bureau
• B. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
• C. Department of Science and Technology (DST)
• D. NITI Aayog

Q12. With reference to the India-Japan Joint Statement on cooperation in the field of Artificial Intelligence, consider the following features attributed to it: 1. It launches the Japan-India AI Cooperation Initiative (JAI). 2. It frames Artificial Intelligence as an 'era-defining general-purpose technology'. 3. It sets a target of hosting 500 skilled Indian AI professionals in Japan by 2030. 4. It commits India to hosting the next G20 Leaders' Summit. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

1. It launches the Japan-India AI Cooperation Initiative (JAI).
2. It frames Artificial Intelligence as an 'era-defining general-purpose technology'.
3. It sets a target of hosting 500 skilled Indian AI professionals in Japan by 2030.
4. It commits India to hosting the next G20 Leaders' Summit.

• A. 1, 2 and 3
• B. 2, 3 and 4
• C. 1 and 4
• D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q13. With reference to the Japan-assisted Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) project, which one of the following statements is NOT correct?

1. Its alignment passes through Maharashtra, Gujarat and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
2. It uses Japanese Shinkansen technology, including J-Slab ballastless track deployed for the first time in India.
3. It is being implemented by the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL).
4. Its entire alignment is elevated, with no tunnel section anywhere on the corridor.

• A. 1 and 2
• B. 4 only
• C. 3 and 4
• D. 1, 2 and 3

Q14. The 'Quad', whose cooperation India and Japan reaffirmed, is a grouping of which four countries?

• A. India, Japan, Australia and the United States
• B. India, Japan, Brazil and Germany
• C. India, Japan, France and the United Kingdom
• D. India, Japan, South Korea and the United States

Q15. On the Indian side, the India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is administered principally by which one of the following?

• A. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Department of Commerce)
• B. The Ministry of External Affairs
• C. The Ministry of Finance
• D. NITI Aayog

Q16. Consider the following pairs of India-Japan documents and the summit at which each was adopted. Which pair is NOT correctly matched?

1. Joint Declaration on Economic Security Cooperation — 16th Annual Summit (2026)
2. Joint Vision for the Next Decade: Eight Directions — 15th Annual Summit (2025)
3. Digital Partnership 2.0 — 15th Annual Summit (2025)
4. 'Partnership for a Peaceful, Stable and Prosperous Post-COVID World' Joint Statement — 16th Annual Summit (2026)

• A. 1 only
• B. 4 only
• C. 1 and 2
• D. 3 and 4

Q17. Which of the following documents/outcomes is/are correctly identified as having been adopted or issued during the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit (2026)?

1. A Joint Declaration on Economic Security Cooperation
2. A Joint Statement on AI cooperation
3. A fresh Joint Statement reviewing progress since the 15th Annual Summit
4. The Tokyo Declaration on the Special Strategic and Global Partnership

• A. 1 and 3
• B. 2 and 4
• C. 1, 2 and 3
• D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q18. At which India-Japan Annual Summit was the Japanese private investment target for India first doubled to 10 trillion Yen?

• A. The 15th Annual Summit (2025)
• B. The 16th Annual Summit (2026)
• C. The 14th Annual Summit
• D. The 13th Annual Summit

Q19. Which one of the following documents is regarded as having first designated India-Japan relations as a 'Special Strategic and Global Partnership'?

• A. The Tokyo Declaration
• B. The India-Japan Joint Vision for the Next Decade: Eight Directions
• C. The India-Japan Vision Statement
• D. The 'Partnership for a Peaceful, Stable and Prosperous Post-COVID World' Joint Statement

Q20. India-Japan bilateral relations were elevated to the level of a 'Special Strategic and Global Partnership' in which year?

• A. 2014
• B. 2006
• C. 2011
• D. 2000

Q21. In the context of India-Japan relations, the 'Annual Summit' is best described as which one of the following?

• A. The apex leaders-level bilateral mechanism under which the two Prime Ministers meet each year, held alternately in the two countries
• B. The annual India-Japan Foreign and Defence Ministerial (2+2) Meeting
• C. The yearly Quad Leaders' Summit in which India and Japan participate
• D. The annual Foreign Secretary-level strategic dialogue between the two countries

Q22. Besides the leader-level Annual Summit with Japan, India maintains institutionalized 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogues with several partners. With which of the following countries does India hold such a 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue? 1. Japan 2. Australia 3. Russia 4. Germany Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

1. Japan
2. Australia
3. Russia
4. Germany

• A. 1, 2 and 3
• B. 1 and 4 only
• C. 2, 3 and 4
• D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q23. Which single project was announced at the 16th Summit as the first-ever India-Japan defence co-development project?

• A. The naval radio antenna 'UNICORN'
• B. The 'Kaveri-2' fighter jet engine
• C. The anti-submarine warfare sonar 'Sagar'
• D. The US-2 amphibious aircraft

Q24. Among the commemorative programmes announced for the 2027 'Year of Shared Horizons', which was launched as the flagship people-to-people partnership specifically for animation, gaming, comics and immersive creative technologies?

• A. IMAGE-75
• B. Cricket Kizuna-75
• C. Business Connect-75
• D. Cool Japan-75

Q25. The year 2027 has been designated the 'India-Japan Year of Shared Horizons'. What precisely does this designation commemorate?

• A. 75 years since the establishment of India-Japan diplomatic relations
• B. 70 years since the India-Japan Peace Treaty
• C. 75 years since Japan's first Official Development Assistance loan to India
• D. 50 years of the India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement

Q26. In the India-Japan critical minerals outcomes, 'JOGMEC' — the Japanese counterpart to the Geological Survey of India for mineral exploration — stands for which of the following?

• A. Japan Organisation for Metals and Energy Security
• B. Japan Overseas Geological and Mineral Exploration Company
• C. Japanese Office for Green Energy and Manufacturing Cooperation
• D. Japan-Global Mineral Extraction Consortium

Q27. With reference to the critical minerals and semiconductor outcomes of the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit, consider the following: 1. A Memorandum of Cooperation between the Geological Survey of India and JOGMEC for mineral exploration. 2. Development of an e-waste recycling ecosystem to improve recovery of critical minerals. 3. Encouraging greater participation of Japanese companies in India's Semiconductor Mission 2.0. 4. Establishment of a joint rare-earth mining venture in the South China Sea. Which of the above is/are correctly identified as summit outcomes?

1. A Memorandum of Cooperation between the Geological Survey of India and JOGMEC for mineral exploration.
2. Development of an e-waste recycling ecosystem to improve recovery of critical minerals.
3. Encouraging greater participation of Japanese companies in India's Semiconductor Mission 2.0.
4. Establishment of a joint rare-earth mining venture in the South China Sea.

• A. 1, 2 and 3
• B. 1 and 4 only
• C. 2, 3 and 4
• D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q28. Which instrument was elevated at the 16th Summit as the principal document capturing the expanding government-to-government (G2G) and business-to-business (B2B) economic engagement between India and Japan?

• A. Fact Sheet 2.0
• B. Joint Vision for the Next Decade
• C. Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)
• D. Digital Partnership 2.0

Q29. Under the India-Japan AI cooperation outcomes of the 16th Summit, India's IndiaAI Mission is institutionally paired with which Japanese programme/framework for compute and generative-AI cooperation?

• A. METI's GENIAC
• B. JPNIC
• C. RIKEN
• D. JOGMEC

Q30. The 15th India-Japan Annual Summit adopted the 'Joint Vision for the Next Decade', structured as eight directions/pillars. Which of the following is/are correctly identified as pillars under this Joint Vision? 1. Economic Security 2. Mobility 3. Health 4. Nuclear Disarmament Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

1. Economic Security
2. Mobility
3. Health
4. Nuclear Disarmament

• A. 1, 2 and 3
• B. 1 and 4 only
• C. 2, 3 and 4
• D. 1, 2, 3 and 4