Prelims: International Affairs

Rakesh

Every year, there are 5-7 questions in Prelims Paper 1 that come from international current affairs. What are some of the relevant news items for this year?

Rakesh

I went through the last 3 years’ Prelims papers — almost every question had a question on multilateral institution or agreement. We need to keep an eye on all the multilateral meets and agreements happening, like:
1.)COP29 (Baku, 2024)
2.)UNFCCC Global Stocktake
3.)India–ASEAN Commemorative Summit 2024
4.)BRICS expansion (Egypt, Iran, UAE, etc.)

Praveenreddy

I think following topics may be important this year-

IMEC corridor (India–Middle East–Europe)
India–France defence cooperation after PM Modi’s Bastille visit
India’s stand at WTO on agri subsidies
Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) push at G20, Global South adoption
These are exactly the kind of factual lines UPSC turns into statements in Paper 1.

peter

UPSC asks indirect questions. Instead of asking a direction question about the event itself, they just pick up the topic from the news and then ask some indirect question about it like membership or mandate.
So rather than just relying on news items, I would say revise all regional groupings — SCO, QUAD, IORA, IPEF, and ASEAN etc.

Radoo

Thanks! Any idea how far back to go for International Affairs? Should I bother about 2023 events and 2024 events as well?

geodorus

Radoo
From what i’ve seen, current affairs from around 1.5 yrs prior to exam date up to 3 months before exam date will be relevant.

In fact, start following current affairs from when you begin your exam prep. No point in trying to cover old current affairs from guides or digests.

Praveenreddy

Let us discuss on:
India–Sri Lanka grid interconnection
World Bank reforms under Ajay Banga
India–Russia trade in rupees
U.N. Security Council reform debate — India’s position
G20 New Delhi to Rio transition