Daily Prelims MCQs – International Relations – 29th August 2025
- TPP
- 4 days ago
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Welcome to this daily set of UPSC Prelims International Relations Current Affairs MCQs (29th August 2025). This quiz features 5 high-quality multiple-choice questions with detailed explanations, focusing on contemporary global developments, international organisations, and India’s external engagements.
This set covers important topics such as:
India’s ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Union’s institutional structure.
The discovery of a 1,400-year-old Christian cross on Sir Bani Yas Island (UAE) and its cultural–geopolitical significance.
The UN-backed famine declaration in Gaza, with Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) criteria.
The geopolitical location of Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus, its borders, and India’s recent extradition case linked to it.
The long-standing India–Nepal border dispute over Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura, and positions of both governments under the Treaty of Sugauli (1816).
Click Here to read the Monthly Current Affairs Pointers (CAP).
QUESTION 1
With reference to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), consider the following statements:
1. It is an international organisation for regional economic integration.
2. It provides for the free movement of goods, services, capital and labour within the Union.
3. The Union is led by the Kyrgyz Republic.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) None
Answer (b)
Explanation:
India and the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) resumed negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 2025, after earlier trade talks stalled. Hence, statement 3 is not correct because the Union is not led by the Kyrgyz Republic; it is a collective body where Russia plays the dominant role.
Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Russia are the five member countries of the EAEU.
The Eurasian Economic Union is an international organisation for regional economic integration. It has an international legal personality and was established under the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union (2014). Hence, statement 1 is correct.
The EAEU ensures the free movement of goods, services, capital, and labour, and also pursues coordinated, harmonised, and integrated policies in specified sectors across member states. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
QUESTION 2
Sir Bani Yas Island, recently in the news due to an archaeological discovery, is located in:
(a) United Arab Emirates
(b) Qatar
(c) Bahrain
(d) Oman
Answer (a)
Explanation:
In a remarkable discovery, the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has announced the discovery of an ancient Christian cross on Sir Bani Yas Island, during an ongoing excavation.
The cross, moulded on a stucco plaque, is dated to around 1,400 years ago, providing evidence of early Christian communities in the Arabian Peninsula.
Sir Bani Yas Island is located off the coast of the Al Dhafra Region, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
It is known for housing an ancient Christian monastery (discovered in the 1990s), dated to the 6th–7th century CE, contemporaneous with the spread of Christianity across the Persian Gulf littoral.
Similar early Christian sites have been documented in Umm Al Quwain (UAE), Failaka Island (Kuwait), Bahrain, eastern Saudi Arabia, and southern Iran.
Cultural and Geographic Significance:
The monastery on Sir Bani Yas is considered one of the oldest Christian sites in Arabia, predating the advent of Islam in the region.
Today, the island is also known for its wildlife reserve established by the UAE leadership.
QUESTION 3
In which of the following regions has a United Nations–backed report formally declared a famine?
(a) Gaza
(b) Sri Lanka
(c) Cambodia
(d) Egypt
Answer (a)
Explanation:
In August 2025, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) — a UN-backed global standard for measuring food insecurity — declared a famine in Gaza City and surrounding areas.
The UN said the situation is “entirely man-made,” warning that without urgent humanitarian access, deaths could rise exponentially.
IPC Famine Classification:
“Famine” is the highest phase (Phase 5) of food insecurity under IPC, declared when:
≥20% of households face extreme food gaps.
Acute malnutrition affects ≥30% of the population.
Death rate exceeds 2 persons per 10,000 per day.
Affected Regions:
Gaza Governorate (north Gaza, including Gaza City).
Risk of spread to Deir al-Balah (central Gaza) and Khan Younis (south Gaza) within weeks.
Gaza’s famine declaration covers 500,000–800,000 people, most of them displaced, without shelter, and cut off from food aid.
Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Egypt are facing economic or food inflation issues but no UN famine declaration exists for them.
QUESTION 4
Which of the following countries share a land border with Azerbaijan?
Russia
Iran
Ukraine
Armenia
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 4
Answer (d)
Explanation:
In August 2023, India extradited gangster Sunil Kumar Meena alias Mayank Singh from Azerbaijan to Jharkhand.
A court in Jharkhand’s Ramgarh declined to give police remand for mobster Sunil Kumar Meena, aka Mayank Singh, who was extradited from Azerbaijan.
This incident brought Azerbaijan into Indian news, highlighting its geopolitical location in the South Caucasus.
Geographical Background:
Azerbaijan is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus region, situated at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
It shares land borders with:
Russia (to the north)
Iran (to the south)
Armenia (to the west)
Georgia (to the northwest)
Additionally, it has a long eastern coastline with the Caspian Sea (not a land border, but a crucial geographical feature).
Ukraine does not share a border with Azerbaijan. It is located across the Black Sea, separated by Russia and Georgia.
Nakhchivan Exclave: Azerbaijan also has an exclave (Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic) which shares borders with Turkey (to the west), Armenia (to the north and east), and Iran (to the south).
QUESTION 5
The territorial dispute over Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura — areas located near the tri-junction of India, Nepal and China (Tibet) — exists between which two countries?
(a) India – China
(b) Nepal – China
(c) India – Myanmar
(d) India – Nepal
Answer (d)
Explanation:
In May 2020, Nepal released a new political map incorporating Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura within its borders.
This move followed India’s inauguration of a new road link from Dharchula (Uttarakhand) to Lipulekh Pass, which India described as a shorter route for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.
Nepal’s Parliament subsequently endorsed the new map in June 2020, escalating the boundary issue.
Treaty of Sugauli (1816) between the East India Company and Nepal fixed the Kali (Mahakali) River as the western boundary of Nepal. The dispute arises over the exact origin of this river:
Nepal’s claim: The river originates at Limpiyadhura (west of Kalapani), thus including Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura in Nepal.
India’s claim: The river originates east of Kalapani, placing the disputed area within India’s Pithoragarh district (Uttarakhand).
India has maintained administrative presence in Kalapani since 1962 Indo-China war, citing security reasons.
o Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India (2020): India rejected Nepal’s new map, calling it a “unilateral act not based on historical facts and evidence.”
o Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2020): Declared the disputed areas as “integral parts of Nepali territory” lying east of the Mahakali River.
Lipulekh Pass: Altitude ~17,000 ft; used for trade and Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage.
Kalapani Valley: Strategically significant, housing Indian security forces.
Survey of India Maps (19th–20th century): Show variation in the depiction of river origin, leading to ambiguity.
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