International Relations MCQs for UPSC Prelims — August 2026

Question 1

Consider the following statements about diplomatic efforts on the Russia-Ukraine war:
1. On 24 February 2026, the United Nations General Assembly, resuming its Eleventh Emergency Special Session, adopted a text titled 'Support for lasting peace in Ukraine' calling for an immediate ceasefire and the release of all unlawfully detained persons.
2. That text was adopted unanimously, no Member State voting against it and all abstentions being withdrawn before the recorded vote.
3. In May 2026 a three-day ceasefire accompanied by a prisoner exchange was announced through a United States-mediated process, whereas the earlier rounds at Geneva, Abu Dhabi and Istanbul had not produced a ceasefire.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 2

In the legal debate over strikes on power grids in armed conflict, an object is characterised as 'dual-use'. The expression denotes:

Accepted Answer

an object serving both civilian and military functions, which must nonetheless be classified as either a military objective or a civilian object, no intermediate category existing in law

Answer

an object relied upon by both sides of the conflict for the movement of supplies, which for that reason enjoys a protected status pending agreement between the parties

Answer

a weapon system capable of being employed in both offensive and defensive operations, whose lawfulness depends on the role assigned to it in a given engagement

Answer

an installation jointly owned by the state and private operators, whose destruction gives rise to compensation claims by the private owners after hostilities end

Question 3

Consider the following statements about the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, comparing its position before the conflict with its position in 2026:
1. Its six reactors have continued to generate electricity at reduced capacity through the conflict, in contrast to the Chernobyl plant, which lost all off-site power in January 2026.
2. Before the conflict the plant had ten external power lines available, whereas by early 2026 it depended on its sole functioning 750 kV Dniprovska line after its 330 kV backup line was damaged and disconnected in January.
3. Since late 2025 the International Atomic Energy Agency has facilitated a series of localized ceasefires to permit repairs to the off-site power supply needed for nuclear safety and security at the site.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 4

The Trypilska thermal power plant near Kyiv, destroyed in 2024 and struck again after being rebuilt, is run by which one of the following Ukrainian state companies?

Accepted Answer

Centrenergo, the state company responsible for operating a group of large thermal power stations

Answer

Naftogaz, the state company responsible for gas extraction, processing and supply

Answer

Ukrenergo, the state company responsible for the high-voltage transmission network

Answer

Energoatom, the state company responsible for operating the country's nuclear power stations

Question 5

India's crude oil imports from Russia touched an all-time monthly high in June 2026. That record level was of the order of:

Accepted Answer

2.7 million barrels per day, amounting to close to half of India's crude imports that month

Answer

1.5 million barrels per day, amounting to roughly a fifth of India's crude imports that month

Answer

2.0 million barrels per day, amounting to roughly a third of India's crude imports that month

Answer

3.4 million barrels per day, amounting to roughly two-thirds of India's crude imports that month

Question 6

Consider the following countries:
1. Russia
2. Saudi Arabia
3. Venezuela
4. Nigeria
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as being among India's top five sources of crude oil imports in April 2026?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2, 3 and 4

Answer

1 and 4 only

Question 7

The periodic findings that Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure raise serious concerns about respect for cardinal principles of international humanitarian law are documented on the ground by which one of the following?

Accepted Answer

The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, deployed in 2014 and reporting through OHCHR

Answer

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, through its country office in Kyiv

Answer

The International Atomic Energy Agency, through its support and assistance missions stationed in Ukraine

Answer

The United Nations Development Programme, through its damage and needs assessment teams in Ukraine

Question 8

With reference to developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict during 2026, consider the following:
1. Naftogaz's gas extraction and processing facilities in the Kharkiv and Poltava regions were among those struck in the largest attack on Ukraine's gas infrastructure since the invasion began.
2. Naftogaz facilities recorded fewer Russian attacks in 2026 than they had in 2025.
3. Ukraine carried out drone strikes on oil facilities located deep inside Russian territory.
4. Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities in August 2026 involved Zircon anti-ship missiles and Iskander ballistic missiles alongside about 120 long-range strike drones.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

2 only

Answer

1 and 3

Answer

2 and 4

Answer

3 and 4

Question 9

The announcement on 30 August 2026 that preparations had begun for 'massive strikes against facilities in Ukraine's energy sector' was issued under the authority of which one of the following?

Accepted Answer

The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, in a statement posted on its Telegram channel

Answer

The Security Council of the Russian Federation, the body that coordinates national security policy

Answer

Rosatom, the Russian state corporation responsible for nuclear energy and related assets

Answer

The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, the principal internal security agency

Question 10

In UN reporting on the winter of 2025-26, strikes on Ukraine's 'combined heat and power (CHP) plants' were counted separately from strikes on electricity generation facilities. A combined heat and power plant is one that:

Accepted Answer

generates electricity and simultaneously supplies the heat recovered from that same generation to district heating networks

Answer

burns two different primary fuels, typically coal and natural gas, and can switch between them when one fuel supply is disrupted

Answer

stores surplus heat produced during off-peak hours and reconverts it into electricity when demand on the grid peaks

Answer

combines thermal and hydroelectric generating units on a single site under a common transmission connection

Question 11

Consider the following statements comparing the successive winters of Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure:
1. Between October 2025 and March 2026, Russia carried out at least 423 attacks on electricity generation, transmission and distribution facilities, besides at least 74 strikes on combined heat and power plants and other heating infrastructure.
2. The winter of 2025-26 was Ukraine's coldest since 2010, with temperatures falling below -20°C, and the resulting electricity deficit forced nationwide scheduled rolling cuts that at times left civilians with power for only a couple of hours a day.
3. The Trypilska thermal power plant, destroyed in an air attack in April 2024, was the biggest energy supplier for the Kharkiv and Poltava regions.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 12

With reference to the State visit of the President of Chile to India in April 2025 and the India–Chile Joint Statement issued on that occasion, consider the following:
1. Both sides recorded that India and Chile are Observer States to the Antarctic Treaty, though neither holds Consultative Party status.
2. The visit, from 1 to 5 April 2025, marked the completion of 76 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
3. Apart from New Delhi, the Chilean President's itinerary in India included Agra, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
4. The two sides highlighted the positive effects of the expansion of the India–Chile Preferential Trade Agreement, which took effect in May 2017, on bilateral trade.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

Accepted Answer

2, 3 and 4

Answer

1 and 2

Answer

1, 3 and 4

Answer

3 and 4 only

Question 13

On the Chilean side, negotiation of trade agreements such as the CEPA with India is conducted by which one of the following?

Accepted Answer

The Undersecretariat for International Economic Relations within Chile's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Answer

The Ministry of Mining of Chile, acting through its Undersecretariat for Mining

Answer

The Corporación Nacional del Cobre (CODELCO), the state-owned mining corporation of Chile

Answer

The Central Bank of Chile, acting through its external sector and reserves division

Question 14

Consider the following statements regarding the India–Chile Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiations:
1. The Terms of Reference for the negotiations were signed in May 2025 by Chile's Ambassador to India and a Joint Secretary in India's Department of Commerce, who is also India's Chief Negotiator for the CEPA.
2. The first round of negotiations was held in Santiago, whereas the fourth round was concluded in New Delhi.
3. Unlike the existing Preferential Trade Agreement, the proposed CEPA is intended to cover sectors such as digital services, investment promotion and cooperation, MSMEs and critical minerals.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

1 only

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 15

The Joint Study Group whose report recommended upgrading India–Chile economic ties to a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement was constituted under which one of the following instruments?

Accepted Answer

The Framework Agreement on Economic Cooperation concluded in January 2005

Answer

The India–Chile Preferential Trade Agreement concluded in March 2006

Answer

The expanded India–Chile Preferential Trade Agreement concluded in September 2016

Answer

The India–MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement to which Chile is an associate

Question 16

Consider the following statements about the election of non-permanent members of the UN Security Council:
1. Five non-permanent members are elected by the General Assembly each year, for terms of two years.
2. A candidate must obtain a simple majority of the members present and voting in the General Assembly.
3. Article 23(1) of the Charter requires that due regard be paid to a State's contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security and to equitable geographical distribution.
4. The non-permanent members are chosen by the General Assembly and the Security Council voting independently and concurrently.
Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

2 and 4

Answer

1 and 3

Answer

2, 3 and 4

Answer

4 only

Question 17

Among the four G4 countries seeking permanent seats on the UN Security Council, which one was the earliest to be elected to a non-permanent seat on the Council?

Accepted Answer

Brazil

Answer

Japan

Answer

India

Answer

Germany

Question 18

In the General Assembly's 2025 debate on Security Council reform, the demand for an effective increase in the representation of developing countries, with priority and special arrangements for Africa's demands, was pressed by the representative of:

Accepted Answer

China

Answer

Brazil

Answer

France

Answer

Japan

Question 19

Consider the following statements comparing China's posture on India's Security Council candidatures then and now:
1. In August 1976 China, then a permanent member of the Council, joined the rest of the Asian Group in backing India's candidature for a non-permanent seat.
2. In the General Assembly's 2025 debate on Security Council reform, China cautioned against an expansion that would make the Council too broad to preserve its effectiveness and authority.
3. France and the United Kingdom, unlike China, have withheld public support for permanent seats for the G4 countries.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 20

The mutual withdrawal of ambassadors that reduced India-China representation below ambassador level, and which was reversed only in 1976, followed which one of the following events?

Accepted Answer

The Sino-Indian war of October-November 1962, fought principally over the disputed Aksai Chin region

Answer

The India-Pakistan war of 1965, in which China issued an ultimatum to India over the Sikkim frontier

Answer

The Tibetan uprising of 1959 and the grant of asylum in India to the fourteenth Dalai Lama

Answer

The India-Pakistan war of 1971, after which China opposed Bangladesh's admission to the United Nations

Question 21

Consider the following milestones in India-China relations and the years assigned to them:
1. Sino-Indian war fought largely over the Aksai Chin region - 1962
2. Restoration of ambassador-level diplomatic representation between the two countries - 1976
3. Visit of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to China, the first by an Indian Prime Minister in over three decades - 1988
4. Establishment of diplomatic relations between India and the People's Republic of China - 1954
Which of the above is/are NOT correctly matched?

Accepted Answer

4 only

Answer

1 and 2

Answer

2 and 3

Answer

3 and 4

Question 22

Under the pattern of distribution adopted along with the enlargement of the Security Council, how many of the ten non-permanent seats are allotted to African and Asian States taken together?

Accepted Answer

Five

Answer

Four

Answer

Six

Answer

Seven

Question 23

The enlargement of the UN Security Council from eleven to fifteen members took effect under a Charter amendment which was:

Accepted Answer

adopted by the General Assembly in 1963 and brought into force in 1965 on ratification by two-thirds of Members

Answer

adopted by the Security Council in 1963 and brought into force in 1965 on ratification by two-thirds of Members

Answer

adopted by the General Assembly in 1965 and brought into force in 1971 on ratification by two-thirds of Members

Answer

adopted by the General Assembly in 1963 and given effect immediately upon its adoption without further ratification

Question 24

Which one of the following was the first biennium in which India sat on the UN Security Council as an elected non-permanent member?

Accepted Answer

1950-51

Answer

1947-48

Answer

1952-53

Answer

1967-68

Question 25

In UN electoral practice, the position created for the Asian seat in 1976 — after the Philippines and Mongolia withdrew in India's favour — is best described as one in which:

Accepted Answer

the region forwarded exactly as many endorsed candidates as it had seats, India still having to be elected by the General Assembly

Answer

the regional group's endorsement itself vested the seat in India, the General Assembly's ballot being dispensed with

Answer

the seat was left unfilled for the session and later filled by the Council co-opting a State from the region concerned

Answer

a State that had already served on the Council stood down so that a State never previously elected could take the seat

Question 26

Consider the following statements regarding the Asian Group's nomination of India for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council in August 1976:
1. The Asian seat for which India was nominated was one falling vacant on the completion of Japan's two-year term.
2. The Asian Group numbered 34 members at the time, whereas its present-day successor, the Asia-Pacific Group, numbers 53.
3. The nomination was formally notified to the other UN regional groups by the Asian Group's Chairman, a position then held by Mongolia.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

1 only

Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 27

With reference to India's connectivity architecture towards landlocked Central Asia, consider the following:
1. Under a contract of May 2024, India is to equip and operate the General Cargo and Container Terminal of Shahid Beheshti Port at Chabahar for a period of ten years.
2. The Indian party to that contract is India Ports Global Limited and the Iranian party is the Ports and Maritime Organization.
3. A trilateral Working Group on the joint use of Chabahar Port has been constituted by India, Iran and Uzbekistan.
4. The International North-South Transport Corridor is a multi-modal route linking the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea through Iran and onward to northern Europe.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

Accepted Answer

1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer

1 and 4 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 4 only

Question 28

A Bilateral Investment Treaty of the kind India concluded with Uzbekistan is best described as an agreement that does which one of the following?

Accepted Answer

Lays down the standards of protection and treatment for investors of each country in the other, with a mechanism for settling investor-State disputes

Answer

Removes or reduces customs duties on goods traded between the two countries and prescribes rules of origin for claiming such concessions

Answer

Allocates taxing rights over cross-border income between the two countries so that the same income is not taxed twice in both of them

Answer

Permits the two central banks to exchange each other's currencies up to an agreed ceiling to meet short-term balance of payments needs

Question 29

With reference to instruments concluded by India with Uzbekistan, consider the following:
1. A Bilateral Investment Treaty was signed at Tashkent, with the Union Finance Minister signing on the Indian side.
2. An Agreement on Security Cooperation has been concluded between the two countries.
3. A long-term contract for the supply of natural uranium ore concentrates has been concluded between the two countries.
4. The Long Term Main Contract for equipping and operating the General Cargo and Container Terminal of Shahid Beheshti Port was signed by India with Uzbekistan.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

4 only

Answer

1 and 4 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1 only

Question 30

With reference to the institutional architecture of India-Central Asia engagement, consider the following:
1. The first India-Central Asia Summit was hosted by India in virtual format on 27 January 2022.
2. The Presidents of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan took part in that Summit.
3. The Delhi Declaration was adopted at the third India-Central Asia Dialogue held in New Delhi in December 2021.
4. The India-Central Asia Culture Ministers' meeting is a mechanism distinct from the Foreign Ministers'-level Dialogue.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

3 only

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

3 and 4 only

Answer

1 and 4 only

International Relations MCQs for UPSC Prelims — August 2026

Q2. In the legal debate over strikes on power grids in armed conflict, an object is characterised as 'dual-use'. The expression denotes:

Q4. The Trypilska thermal power plant near Kyiv, destroyed in 2024 and struck again after being rebuilt, is run by which one of the following Ukrainian state companies?

Q5. India's crude oil imports from Russia touched an all-time monthly high in June 2026. That record level was of the order of:

Q6. Consider the following countries: 1. Russia 2. Saudi Arabia 3. Venezuela 4. Nigeria Which of the above is/are correctly identified as being among India's top five sources of crude oil imports in April 2026?

Q7. The periodic findings that Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure raise serious concerns about respect for cardinal principles of international humanitarian law are documented on the ground by which one of the following?

Q9. The announcement on 30 August 2026 that preparations had begun for 'massive strikes against facilities in Ukraine's energy sector' was issued under the authority of which one of the following?

Q10. In UN reporting on the winter of 2025-26, strikes on Ukraine's 'combined heat and power (CHP) plants' were counted separately from strikes on electricity generation facilities. A combined heat and power plant is one that:

Q13. On the Chilean side, negotiation of trade agreements such as the CEPA with India is conducted by which one of the following?

Q15. The Joint Study Group whose report recommended upgrading India–Chile economic ties to a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement was constituted under which one of the following instruments?

Q17. Among the four G4 countries seeking permanent seats on the UN Security Council, which one was the earliest to be elected to a non-permanent seat on the Council?

Q18. In the General Assembly's 2025 debate on Security Council reform, the demand for an effective increase in the representation of developing countries, with priority and special arrangements for Africa's demands, was pressed by the representative of:

Q20. The mutual withdrawal of ambassadors that reduced India-China representation below ambassador level, and which was reversed only in 1976, followed which one of the following events?

Q22. Under the pattern of distribution adopted along with the enlargement of the Security Council, how many of the ten non-permanent seats are allotted to African and Asian States taken together?

Q23. The enlargement of the UN Security Council from eleven to fifteen members took effect under a Charter amendment which was:

Q24. Which one of the following was the first biennium in which India sat on the UN Security Council as an elected non-permanent member?

Q25. In UN electoral practice, the position created for the Asian seat in 1976 — after the Philippines and Mongolia withdrew in India's favour — is best described as one in which:

Q28. A Bilateral Investment Treaty of the kind India concluded with Uzbekistan is best described as an agreement that does which one of the following?