Question 1

India only provides unconditional grants to African nations and refuses to participate in multilateral debt restructuring frameworks.

Accepted Answer

India signed a formal MoU on debt restructuring for Ethiopia specifically under the G20 Common Framework, actively engaging in coordinated international debt treatments alongside other creditors.

Question 2

The new Data Centre in Ethiopia is a direct government grant managed entirely by local Ethiopian state telecom authorities.

Accepted Answer

The greenfield data centre at the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry is being constructed and will be maintained by RailTel, an Indian Navratna public sector undertaking, on a commercial contract basis.

Question 3

Consider the following statements regarding the recent India-Ethiopia Strategic Partnership:
1. PM Narendra Modi became the first global head of state to be conferred the 'Great Honour Nishan of Ethiopia'.
2. The MoU on debt restructuring for Ethiopia was executed outside the G20 Common Framework to maintain India's bilateral exclusivity.
3. The Indian Navratna PSU RailTel was contracted to establish a greenfield Data Centre at Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
How many of the above statements are correct?

Accepted Answer

(b) Only two — Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Statement 2 is incorrect because the debt restructuring MoU was specifically signed under the G20 Common Framework, which highlights India's commitment to coordinated multilateral debt relief, not bilateral exclusivity.

Question 4

Match List I (Entities/Programmes) with List II (Associated Bilateral Outcome/Context) regarding India-Ethiopia relations:
List I
A. ITEC Programme
B. RailTel Corporation
C. Port of Adulis
D. Mahatma Gandhi Hospital

List II
1. Construction of greenfield Data Centre
2. Historical Axumite-era trade links
3. Short-term Artificial Intelligence courses
4. Maternal and neonatal healthcare assistance

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Accepted Answer

(a) A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4 — The ITEC programme (A) was expanded to include AI courses (3). RailTel (B) was contracted to build the Data Centre (1). The Port of Adulis (C) represents the historical Axumite trade links (2). Mahatma Gandhi Hospital (D) in Addis Ababa is the site for targeted maternal healthcare assistance (4).

Question 5

Assertion (A): India upgraded its ties with Ethiopia to a Strategic Partnership with a notable focus on exporting Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and educational capacity building.
Reason (R): India seeks to provide a transparent, capacity-building alternative to the debt-trap infrastructure models that have traditionally dominated foreign investments in the Horn of Africa.
Select the correct answer from the codes given below:

Accepted Answer

(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A. — The Assertion is factually correct, as seen by the RailTel Data Centre project and ITEC AI courses. The Reason accurately explains the geopolitical motivation behind this approach: India is intentionally leveraging its DPI and capacity-building strengths to contrast itself with the opaque, debt-heavy physical infrastructure projects (often associated with Chinese investments) in the region.