Question 1

BRICS is a formal treaty-based international organization like the European Union.

Accepted Answer

BRICS is an informal, consensus-driven grouping of major emerging economies that coordinates through annual summits and dialogues.

Question 2

All six countries invited to join BRICS at the 2023 Johannesburg summit became members in 2024.

Accepted Answer

Only Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates formally joined. Argentina officially withdrew its membership application.

Question 3

Consider the following statements regarding the 10th BRICS Policy Planning Dialogue:
1. It was the first policy planning dialogue to officially integrate senior representatives from newly inducted members like Egypt and Ethiopia.
2. The Indian delegation at the dialogue in Brasilia was led by the Union Minister of External Affairs.
3. A major focus of the dialogue was evaluating frameworks for ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI) governance.
How many of the above statements are correct?

Accepted Answer

(b) Only two — Statements 1 and 3 are correct. The 10th dialogue integrated the newly expanded membership (effective Jan 1, 2024) and focused heavily on emerging tech like AI governance. Statement 2 is incorrect; the Indian delegation was led by Raghuram S, Joint Secretary (Policy Planning & Research), MEA, not the Union Minister.

Question 4

Match List I (BRICS Events/Milestones) with List II (Details/Locations):

List I
A. 1st BRIC Summit
B. 16th BRICS Summit
C. Formal BRICS Expansion Date
D. 10th BRICS Policy Planning Dialogue

List II
1. Kazan, Russia
2. January 1, 2024
3. Yekaterinburg, Russia
4. Brasilia, Brazil

Select the correct code:

Accepted Answer

(a) A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4 — The 1st BRIC Summit took place in Yekaterinburg in 2009 (A-3). The 16th BRICS Summit was held in Kazan, Russia in 2024 (B-1). The formal expansion of the bloc took effect on January 1, 2024 (C-2). The 10th Policy Planning Dialogue was hosted in Brasilia in 2025 (D-4).

Question 5

Assertion (A): The 10th BRICS Policy Planning Dialogue heavily emphasized the reevaluation of BRICS' internal institutional structures and consensus processes.
Reason (R): The recent expansion of BRICS to include nations with diverse geopolitical alignments necessitates updated frameworks to prevent institutional paralysis.
Select the correct answer:

Accepted Answer

(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A. — Both statements are correct. Moving from a five-member group to an expanded bloc with new countries from the Middle East and Africa introduces varied geopolitical dynamics. To maintain the group's effectiveness and consensus-driven approach, reevaluating its internal structures (Assertion) is a direct, necessary response to the expansion (Reason).

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