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Q11 (IAS/2014) International Relations & Global Affairs › International Organisations & Groupings › Global economic governance Official Key

With reference to a grouping of countries known as BRICS, consider the following statements : 1. The First Summit of BRICS was held in Rio de Janeiro in 2009. 2. South Africa was the last to join the BRICS grouping. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: B
Explanation

**Statement 1 is incorrect.** The first BRICS summit in June 2009 was hosted by Russia at Yekaterinburg[2], not Rio de Janeiro. Therefore, the claim about Rio de Janeiro is factually wrong.

**Statement 2 is correct.** Before South Africa's admission, two BRIC summits were held, in 2009 and 2010.[3] On December 23, 2010, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Yang Jiechi, announced that South Africa had been officially invited to join the BRIC bloc[4], making it the fifth and last member to join the original grouping (as of the question date in 2014).

Since only Statement 2 is correct, the answer is **Option B: 2 only**.

Sources
  1. [1] https://www.mea.gov.in/distinguished-lectures-detail.htm?285
  2. [2] https://www.mea.gov.in/distinguished-lectures-detail.htm?285
  3. [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRICS
  4. [4] https://sabtt.org.za/brics/about-brics/
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Don’t just practise – reverse-engineer the question. This panel shows where this PYQ came from (books / web), how the examiner broke it into hidden statements, and which nearby micro-concepts you were supposed to learn from it. Treat it like an autopsy of the question: what might have triggered it, which exact lines in the book matter, and what linked ideas you should carry forward to future questions.
Q. With reference to a grouping of countries known as BRICS, consider the following statements : 1. The First Summit of BRICS was held in Ri…
At a glance
Origin: Mostly Current Affairs Fairness: Low / Borderline fairness Books / CA: 0/10 · 10/10
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This is a classic 'Founding Facts' question. UPSC loves testing the 'Birthplace' and 'Late Entrants' of major groupings. The trap in Statement 1 is swapping the venue with 'Rio', which is famous for Environmental summits, not geopolitical ones. If you know the 'First Summit' location of major blocs, this is a sitter.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Was the first BRICS summit held in Rio de Janeiro?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

Web source
Presence: 5/5
"The first BRICs summit in June 2009 was hosted by Russia at Yekaterinburg."
Why this source?
  • Directly states where and when the first BRICs summit occurred, giving a specific city and country.
  • This explicit location (Yekaterinburg, Russia) contradicts the claim that the first summit was in Rio de Janeiro.
Web source
Presence: 3/5
"EAM and Foreign Minister of Indonesia Sugiono met in Kazan, Russia on the sidelines of the BRICS Plus Summit on 23 October"
Why this source?
  • Mentions a BRICS-related summit held in Kazan, Russia, indicating BRICS meetings have been hosted in Russia rather than Rio for key events.
  • Provides additional context that BRICS events take place in Russian cities, supporting that the first summit was not in Rio.

NCERT. (2022). Contemporary India II: Textbook in Geography for Class X (Revised ed.). NCERT. > Chapter 1: The Rise of Nationalism in Europe > Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, 1992 > p. 4
Strength: 4/5
“In June 1992, more than 100 heads of states met in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, for the first International Earth Summit. The Summit was convened for addressing urgent problems of environmental protection and socioeconomic development at the global level. The assembled leaders signed the Declaration on Global Climatic Change and Biological Diversity. The Rio Convention endorsed the global Forest Principles and adopted Agenda 21 for achieving Sustainable Development in the 21st century.”
Why relevant

Shows that Rio de Janeiro hosted a major international summit (the first International Earth Summit) in June 1992, establishing a pattern that Rio is a venue for large multilateral meetings.

How to extend

A student could note that Rio is known for major UN environment summits and therefore check whether BRICS (a different multilateral grouping) held its first leaders' meeting there instead of in a city typically associated with BRICS activities.

Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 29: Environment Issues and Health Effects > fuo+zo > p. 427
Strength: 4/5
“• The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 4-6, 2012. • The first UN Conference on Sustainable Development was the "Earth Summit", held in 1992, and it spawned the three "Rio Conventions" - thE UNFCCC, thc UNCCD, ANd thc UNCBD.”
Why relevant

Identifies Rio as host of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development events (Earth Summit 1992 and Rio+20 in 2012), reinforcing that Rio is associated with UN environmental summits rather than necessarily with other groupings.

How to extend

A student could use this pattern to infer that if the statement names Rio, they should compare the known venues of BRICS summits (a non-UN bloc) with Rio's summit history to evaluate plausibility.

Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 21: Sustainable Development and Climate Change > THE EARTH SUMMIT > p. 597
Strength: 3/5
“The delegates from 178 nations met in Rio De Janeiro in June 1992 for the largest UN conference - 'The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)' also known as 'The Earth Summit'. The summit was intended to put sustainable development at the forefront and to frame a common action plan to stop environmental degradation. An action plan was framed in this summit with regard to sustainable development, known as 'Agenda 21'. • Outcome documents of the Earth Summit: Rio Declaration on Environment and ö Development, Agenda 21, Forest Principles. • Important legally binding agreements that were signed: Convention on Biological ō Diversity (CBD), UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).”
Why relevant

Confirms that 178 nations met in Rio in 1992 for the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), again showing Rio's role in hosting a specific, large UN summit.

How to extend

A student could distinguish UNCED-type summits (global environmental conferences) from regional or political-economic groupings like BRICS and then check lists of BRICS summit locations.

Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 21: Sustainable Development and Climate Change > Ro+20 > p. 598
Strength: 3/5
“The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD or Rio+20) was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 2012. Rio+20 re-energised the political commitment to sustainable development and its dimensions on economic growth, social improvement and environmental protection. Rio+20 focused on the Green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication and to develop an institutional framework for sustainable development.”
Why relevant

Mentions Rio+20 (2012) as another distinct UN sustainable development conference held in Rio, indicating a recurring theme of environmental UN summits in that city.

How to extend

A student could reason that multiple environmental UN summits in Rio suggest a venue specialization, so they should verify whether BRICS (an economic/political grouping) used Rio for its inaugural summit.

Statement analysis

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Statement analysis

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SIMILAR QUESTIONS

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Which one of the following statements about BRIC is not correct ?

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The first BRICS Summit, after the inclusion of South Africa, was held at