Daily UPSC Prelims Current Affairs – December 25-26, 2022 [Mock Test]
January 1, 2023 January 1, 2023
1. Which of the following international groupings has signed Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief partnership?
[A] SCO
[B] ASEAN
[C] QUAD
[D] BRICS
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [QUAD]
Notes:- The Quad grouping decided to expand their scope of partnership with the signing of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) partnership guidelines during a ministerial meeting hosted by the US on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
- QUAD is the grouping of four democracies –India, Australia, the US, and Japan. All the QUAD countries are democratic nations.
- It aims to ensure and support a “free, open and prosperous” Indo-Pacific region.
- The idea of Quad was first mooted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007. Finally in 2017, India, Australia, the US and Japan, came together and formed this “quadrilateral” coalition.
2. Consider the following statements:
- Mexico, Kenya, South Korea are republics.
- Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are all constitutional monarchies.
- European nations, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Albania are commonwealth nations.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
[A] Only 2
[B] Only 1 & 3
[C] Only 1 & 2
[D] 1, 2 & 3
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Only 1 & 2]
Notes:- The United States, Mexico, India, France, Kenya, South Korea, Peru, and Indonesia are only a few of the world’s many true republics.
- The Commonwealth realm is a group of 14 countries (not including the United Kingdom) that recognise the British monarch as their head of state — a position that is explicitly stated in the constitution and laws of some of these countries.
- Besides Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, the Commonwealth realm includes Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu.
- Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are all constitutional monarchies.
- This is a group of 56 member countries, the vast majority of which are former British colonies. They are mostly in Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Pacific. Three European nations are part of the Commonwealth: Cyprus, Malta, and of course, the UK itself.
- The 14 Commonwealth realm countries are part of the larger Commonwealth. Of the remaining 41 member states, 36 are republics — this group includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The other five — Brunei Darussalam, Lesotho, Malaysia, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and Tonga — have their own monarchs.
3. With reference to IBSA, consider the following statements:
- It was formalised by the Brasilia Declaration.
- Its permanent executive secretariat is located in South Africa.
- It is a trilateral, developmental initiative between India, Brazil and South Africa.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
[A] Only 3
[B] Only 1 & 2
[C] Only 1 & 3
[D] 1, 2 & 3
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Only 1 & 3]
Notes:- The IBSA is a trilateral, developmental initiative between India, Brazil and South Africa to promote South-South cooperation and exchange.
- The grouping was formalized and named the IBSA Dialogue Forum when the Foreign Ministers of the three countries met in Brasilia (Brazil) on 6thJune 2003 and issued the Brasilia Declaration.
- IBSA does not have a headquarters or a permanent executive secretariat.
- At the highest level, it counts on the Summits of Heads of State and Government.
- Established in 2004, IBSA Fund (India, Brazil and South Africa Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation) is a unique Fund through which development projects are executed with IBSA funding in fellow developing countries.
- The fund is managed by the United Nations (UN) Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC). Each IBSA member country is required to contribute $1 million per annum to the fund.
