GS PRELIMS ANALYSIS & DISCUSSION | 10 YEARS (2015-2024) UPSC PYQ | INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS I Part -1

[Music] What do AIR 2 Harshita Goyal and AIR 3 Dongre Arshad Parag have in common apart from securing top ranks in UPSC CSE 2024? They both began their journey with the General Studies Foundation Course at Vision IAS. They didn't wait to feel ready; they built readiness step by step with structure, strategy, and support. If you are feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure where to begin, that's not a flaw. It's a signal. A signal that what you need is not more hours, but better direction. And that's exactly what the Vision IAS GS Foundation Course is built for. Hence, how we guide you from day one: structured, step-by-step learning. Prelims, Mains, CSAT, and Essays. All taught in a way that's easy to absorb and hard to forget. No fluff. Current Affairs. PT 365 and Mains 365 filter out the noise, so you focus only on what matters. Mentorship that adapts to you. Real one-on-one support to fix your weak spots, refine your strengths, and build your confidence. Test + Feedback loop. Not just marks, but meaningful feedback that helps you grow with each attempt. So, don't just prepare harder, prepare smarter with the same foundation that built toppers. Batches are starting from 28th April at 5 PM, 29th April at 2 PM, 30th April at 11 AM, and 7th May at 8:00 AM at Karol Bagh, and 17th April at 6 PM, 30th April at 8:00 AM at GTB Nagar. [Music] [Music] UPSC preparation is not just about reading books or watching online lectures. It requires personal guidance, real discussion, and structured practice. This is where offline mentoring makes all the difference. Unlike online learning, where doubts often remain unresolved, offline mentoring offers direct interaction, real-time feedback, and an environment of discipline and competition. One-to-one sessions help students get tailored advice, strategy corrections, and focused improvement. Every aspirant has different strengths and weaknesses. Personal mentoring helps address them effectively. Ground discussions sharpen analytical thinking and help students develop a multidimensional perspective on issues, crucial for Prelims, Mains, and Interviews. Allocation sessions help in personality development, clarity of thought, and confidence, essential for UPSC interviews. Test writing is the most crucial part of UPSC preparation. It helps in time management, structuring answers, and improving content quality. Offline mentoring is not just about teaching; it's about grooming future officers with the right guidance, discipline, and confidence. So, if you are preparing for UPSC, make sure you have the right mentor by your side. [Music] Good afternoon, all of you. Yes. So today, we are here to discuss the previous year's questions as far as International Relations is concerned. Yes. Also, International Relations happens to be one subject which is a cause of concern as far as Prelims is concerned. Yes. So, in Prelims, generally, students are comfortable with the general subjects such as Polity, Geography, History, Economics. You know what to expect there. Yes. It is IR which becomes a problem area. Yes, not knowing exactly what to expect. Yes, often, also, you find that students, not knowing what kind of questions might appear for IR, tend to maybe not delve into IR as far as Prelims is concerned. Now, the question is, is it the right strategy? Can we, can we choose not to focus on International Relations when it comes to IR, when it comes to Prelims? So, can we not look into the IR-based questions when it comes to Prelims? Yes. So, here, if I can just take the help of the document, showing you the number of questions that have been asked from IR as far as Prelims is concerned. Yes. So, you find starting from 2015 till 2024, you see that questions are coming from IR. Of course, there is no one set trend. We cannot say that, yes, you will expect around 10 questions. Yes, there have been years where there was just a single question. There have been years, right? It depends how you classify the questions. So, there are few years where we were generally, we tended to say, maybe three questions or maybe four questions were asked from IR. But other years, you find a lot of weightage being given to IR, such as nine questions, 11 questions, 13 questions, eight questions, which is an important chunk as far as Prelims is concerned, which, of course, we cannot choose to ignore. Yes, that is one point. Secondly, when it comes to, when it comes to International Relations, see, there is this cost. We are here to prepare for a competitive examination. We are here to clear the exam, getting the minimum required marks. Yes. It is a relative cut-off. There is no fixed cut-off like the academic examinations. So, it varies year on year, depending on how the paper came and how relatively students have performed. So, when it comes to IR, as far as the trend analysis is concerned, with respect to how easy were the questions, how difficult, or what was the nature of the question, you find that you find that there is an overall pattern whereby 37% of the questions are of easy level, they say. Yes. So, it is only generally 25%, so 1/4 of the questions that are asked from the IR section which would be difficult. Difficult for all to answer. Remaining otherwise, easy questions, you cannot miss out. And if you actually want to clear the exam with, with a relatively decent margin, so that you are not caught up in that cycle, "Will I clear? Will I not clear?" in that headspace, though it is advisable that irrespective of the performance in Prelims, you immediately start preparing for Mains. Yes. So, maybe a day, two days, three days, maybe five days of a break that you take. Beyond that, you need to gear up for Mains, irrespective of your performance, irrespective of the fact you are clearing or not clearing. Having said that, it is, it is easier said than done. I request you all to practice the same. Right? Irrespective of the marks you secure, as per your own calculations, after the Prelims examination, please start preparing for Mains. Otherwise, you are at a disadvantage. Not only for this year's Prelims, uh, this year's examination, this year's Mains, but you are also at a disadvantage for the next year's examination. Yes. To ensure that ultimately you are able to clear the exam, and that too with a decent rank, so as to get the service of your choice, for which all of us have gathered here, you need to start preparing for Mains immediately after Prelims, irrespective of our performance in Prelims. Having said that, but it becomes a little difficult for us to concentrate on Mains if we are caught up in the grey zone, if we feel that we might clear, we might not clear. I don't know exactly what the result will be. Yes, you are wishing to clear the exam, but somewhere you are quite uncertain about clearing the exam. Will I be able to make that cut-off or not? Yes, that happens when you are not able to answer the medium-level, right, difficult questions well. So, easy questions, you cannot miss out. But to be in a position where you will be clearing Prelims, and you know that yes, I have a decent chance at clearing Prelims, you would require that you are able to answer and answer well the questions of medium difficulty. Yes. So, if four questions were asked, one question which is difficult for all can be left out. But the remaining three questions, you should be in a position where you are able to navigate through it. Yes. So, having said that, we need to be in a position where we are prepared in such a manner as far as being able to answer those questions. Yes. And what is the tricky part when it comes to IR? Is that for other subjects, right? Be it Polity, be it Geography, be it Economics, there is relative clarity as to the syllabus that you will be preparing. Yes, the topics that you will be preparing from a Prelims perspective. Yes. So, as far as the IR section is concerned, we have some clarity when it comes to Mains. Yes, because you find that the Mains syllabus of GS Paper II has, has given few pointers that India and the neighborhood will be important. India and the developed world, their relation would be important. The diaspora will be important. The international organizations will be important. The treaties, the bilateral, regional, multilateral treaties will be important. So, there is some amount of, right, some amount of set syllabus. We know what to prepare. But when it comes to Prelims, it becomes difficult because what you are studying as part of IR for Mains is quite analytical. It is quite analytical in terms of it is about networks of relations. Yes. So, how is US-China relation having an impact on India-China relation? How is Russia becoming a factor? However, how is the Ukraine-Russia crisis becoming a factor for US-NATO relations? Yes. So, you find this labor of relations that we are dealing with, which is generally important when it comes to your Mains. Yes. Even in bilateral ties, in detail, we will discuss about the Siachen Glacier dispute in detail. We will talk about the Indus Water Treaty in detail. We will talk about India-Pakistan relations tracing to the 1971 war, when Pakistan thought of utilizing the terrorist actors as a part of the strategy to bleed India through a thousand cuts. But of course, we understand that that might not be very relevant when it comes to Prelims. So, there arises a problem, exactly what to prepare? What to prepare for IR for Prelims? Yes. And what will be the source? Because there is no one source, there is no one book like GC Leong, right, the Spectrum for Modern Indian History that you have, that you read from which we can expect questions. Yes. As far as Prelims, there is no Laxmikant for IR. Yes, because the subject is very, very dynamic. That is the nature of the subject. Fine. So, here, we need to do a thorough analysis of the previous year's questions. A thorough analysis as to what are the questions, on which line do we expect questions? Which are the areas which are repeatedly dealt by UPSC? Yes. So, here, in absence of a syllabus, thorough clear syllabus, in absence of clear book source like the GC Leong or the Spectrum or the Laxmikant, what becomes our Bible is the previous year's questions. It is the previous year's questions that we need to look into detail to understand the pattern. We need to understand the areas from which we expect questions. What is, what should be the focus areas? Yes. So, if you go through here, we will go in a step-wise process. We will look into the questions. We will look at the areas where the questions have been asked. Yes. But if at the onset, I can tell you certain areas from which the questions can be expected as part of IR. Yes. So, in case of IR in Prelims, we have done a 10-year analysis of the question paper and have found out certain areas from which questions are asked. One primary area from which questions are asked is International Organizations. Yes, this is one of the primary areas from which UPSC likes to ask questions. International Organization happens to be a very broad area, once again. So, in that also, it is the UN system from which they like to ask questions. This is one of the more favorite areas of UPSC to ask questions. Please be careful. I am not talking about UN, rather I am talking about the UN system. UN system comprises what? The UN and its six organs. It comprises the special development funds, and it comprises the specialized agencies. Yes, which are, in fact, independent agencies which are working in line with UN goals, like WHO, like ILO, like Food and Agricultural Organization, like ICAO, International Civil Aviation Organization. Yes, like World Bank, like IMF. Yes. So, there is a list of 15 to 16 specialized agencies of the UN that you need to look into. If and when they were in use, you have to pay attention to it. Yes. There are six special funds of the UN, right? Funds and programs of the UN. Yes, UNDP, UN Environment Programme, UN World Food Programme, UN Habitat. Yes, UNICEF. Yes. And and there is UN Population Fund. So, these are some six special funds and programs of the UN which you will be looking into, and the six organs of the UN. Yes. What are those? The six organs? UN General Assembly, UN SC, ECOSOC, ICJ, Trusteeship Council, and UN Secretariat. Yes. So, if and when in news, you will cover them thoroughly. Yes. You find WHO has been much in news. The WTO has been in news, though not part of the, uh, UN, uh, system as such, but WTO would be important. WHO, I have mentioned. ILO is in news. World Bank, IMF are always present. Yes. ICJ, you have ICJ which is present. You have ICC and PCA. Yes, very, very important. Yes. What does ICC stand for? International Criminal Court. You have PCA, Permanent Court of Arbitration. So, the three international, uh, courts. Yes, they are all very relevant, have been in news with respect to the various wars that have been going on, Russia-Ukraine war, Hamas-Israel conflict. Yes. So, another international organization, they are present. Of course, there are other organizations, certain regional organizations like SAARC, like ASEAN, like East Asia Summit, like GCC, Gulf Cooperation Council. Yes. If I can just put it, SCO, BRICS, ISA, QUAD, AUKUS. Yes. QUAD. Yes. I2U2. Yes. All of them. All these international organizations would be important. But I have special, specially mentioned the UN system because at times we might just ignore them. You have to pay attention. Yes. You have these groups, L69. Yes. You have C10 with respect to the UN system, which are very, very present. L69. Yes. It is a group of developing countries, around 42 developing countries, and it campaigns for reform of UNSC, membership reform of UNSC, giving membership to its small island developing states. Yes. You find India and Brazil are members of L69. There is a group called C10, Committee of 10 countries of African states, which are leading the demand of AU, African Union, as far as permanent membership of UNSC is concerned. Yes. All such groups and organizations. Yes. So, the idea is, International Organizations is an important topic, within which the UN system and other organizations which are on and off in use that you come across. Yes. You have ECOWAS, you have the Mercosur group, you have, uh, Pacific Island Forum, right? These are all present. If you want, you can make a note of it. ECOWAS has been in news, and they have not asked ECOWAS for, I think so, past few years. ECOWAS might just be present. Yes. Yes. You have the CARICOM, Caribbean Community. Yes. So, you find that India-CARICOM, right? There have been recent summits that might be asked. Yes. So, there are a number of international organizations. We have something known as FIPIC, Forum of India-Pacific Island Cooperation. FIPIC. Yes. This has been, if PIF, Pacific Island Forum is in news, FIPIC automatically becomes present. Yes. Pacific Island Forum, the Pacific Island nations have formed a group, right? A regional organization of Pacific Island nations, and FIPIC is Forum of India-Pacific Island Cooperation. So, the summits that we have, the meetings that we have with few Pacific Island nations, not all the members of PIF, there are around 18 members in PIF, so around 14-15 members are part of FIPIC. Fine. So, all these would be relevant. What is? So, International Organizations are relevant, and when it comes to International Organizations, what is relevant in International Organizations? Membership will be present, very, very, very present. Yes. You have groups like Mekong Ganga, BIMSTEC, right? RCEP, all their memberships have been asked. Okay. You have groups like, I am just mentioning few, Mekong Ganga Cooperation. Yes. You have groups like GCC, their membership. BIMSTEC. Yes. G4, their membership have, has been asked. Yes. East Asia Summit will be important. RCEP, its membership has been asked. Yes. These are all, right? Membership of any grouping, for that matter, would be important. And when it comes to membership, the trick to remember membership is to be careful as to who is not the member of that group. Yes. Another present group, if I can mention, is IORA, very, very present. Yes. So, the trick is to remember who, at the face of it, prima facie, you feel should be a member. Yes. Who is expected to be a member, but not a member, is where you will get trapped. This is the area where you get trapped. Because I have listed down a few, quite a few international organizations. Yes. In the exam, it might be difficult to remember the member countries of all these organizations. First, it is, I am saying it might be difficult, but I am not saying it is not possible. It is very much possible if you study the membership of the organization looking at the maps. So, you will be serving dual perspective, dual purpose. Geographical mapping-based questions that come, those also will be correct in that case. Yes. So, you should always, whenever we are studying any international organization, its membership, we need to have maps ready. So, when we are studying IR from a Prelims perspective, apart from the course book that you are referring, whatever it might be, yes, the next very present thing that you should have handy is your maps. Yes. Please do not study IR as far as Prelims is concerned without maps, without looking at maps. In fact, for Mains also, you should study looking at maps. Only then you are able to retain things in your mind. Yes. There is something known as pictographic memory. We tend to remember in terms of the pictures that we have seen. It becomes easier to remember and recall and to be sure as to what we are talking about, interconnection between nations. And then membership, of course, we need to look at the maps. That is how you remember it. Yes. And, uh, and then it also helps in the mapping-based questions. And as I was telling you, the present area to focus upon is, for example, Myanmar is a country on the Indian Ocean coast. It is a, generally, it has been a friend of India. We have had decent relations with it. Yes. And there is this organization called IORA, Indian Ocean Rim Association. So, it is, it comprises countries which are the littoral countries, right, rim countries of the Indian Ocean. It is an organization led by, by India. India, Indonesia, middle power countries. India is a very important power because we sit at the head of the Indian Ocean. So, of course, we are somewhere in a position to lead this organization. Yes. Now, the, in the exam, if Myanmar is mentioned as one of the prospective members, you would be inclined because logically it makes sense. India-led organization, which is, which has member countries which are the Indian Ocean rim countries. Yes. So, Myanmar also has a coast. Myanmar is friends with India. So, general expectation, yes, maybe, maybe it should be a member of IORA. But there, we need to be careful that it is, in fact, not a member of IORA because of military junta. Yes. There has been a military coup. Previously also, since 1962, only for a decade they had democratically elected government. Otherwise, they have been under military rule. Consequently, it is not a member of IORA. Yes. Pakistan has a long coast of the Indian Ocean. Gwadar Port is based on the Indian Ocean. But Pakistan is not a member of IORA. Why? Because we do not get along with Pakistan. So, we will not give membership to Pakistan in an India-led organization when we already have faced the brunt of Pakistan being a member of, say, organizations like SAARC. Yes. So, we have to be careful. GCC, Gulf Cooperation Council, right? These are Gulf Cooperation Council, the countries, right? Are surrounding the Persian Gulf. The Persian Gulf countries are the members. And one of the most present Persian Gulf country happens to be Iran. Yes. Right? On Iran's name only, the Persian Empire was based in Iran. It is based on Iran's name that the Gulf has been named the Persian Gulf. But we have to be careful that Iran is not a member of GCC. So, UPSC in the past, when they asked questions, you, if the, if the student could just eliminate Iran, you would get the right answer there. Yes. They have asked questions on Mekong Ganga Cooperation. So, Mekong River and Ganga River, right? The countries which are littoral countries of Mekong River and Ganga River are expected to be the members. One of the prominent littoral countries of Mekong River happens to be China. Yes. So, they had asked a question on membership of Mekong Ganga Cooperation. Most of the students marked China as the correct answer. But here, in fact, this is a group, once again, created under the leadership of India. We brought in Thailand also, and the aim was to counter China through this grouping. Yes. So, you find that you have to look into the nuances. Generally, look into the countries which, by the name of it, you would expect that yes, it is a member, but in fact, it is not a member of it. Yes. The expansion of BRICS, as it has taken place. Till last year, we thought that Saudi Arabia is going to be part of the expanded BRICS grouping. But 2025, it has become clear that probably Saudi Arabia is not interested in joining this grouping. Yes. So, here, right, lies the, uh, you need to be careful there. And when it comes to the membership of groupings, apart from such little nuances that you have to keep in mind, UPSC generally has asked simple questions with respect to two membership. When I say they have asked questions on G4, they have asked membership questions on BRICS. BRICS is one of the most favorite topics of UPSC because there was a lot of geopolitical significance of BRICS as a grouping. Yes. You find that they have, they have not asked a question as of now on East Asia Summit, but they have asked a question on RCEP, membership was very much in news. Yes. So, you will be able, right? You should be able. Now, in case of Latin America and Caribbean, there is only one grouping on which they have, over the years, right, repeatedly asked questions, that happens to be Mercosur. So, go back home and look into the membership of Mercosur. Yes. India has a preferential trade agreement with this grouping. It is the only grouping of Latin America and Caribbean on which UPSC has been asking questions. Yes. For past few years, four, five times they have already asked questions on Mercosur. Not maybe in the last 10 years. In the last 10 years, once or twice they have asked questions, but previously, over a general trend, if you look, Mercosur also is one of the areas from which they are likely to ask questions. Yes. So, International Organizations, I told you the organizations to expect, the areas from which we expect questions. First and foremost is membership. Yes. Second, G20 is very present. G7 is very present. You need to know their membership. Okay. AU has become part of G20, but remains not enumerated as such. It is not counted as G21, it is still called G20. Yes. So, AU became G20's member when India was leading the G20 summit, right? In India, the G20 summit happened, and all that is present. Then you have important, you just know there may be some factual data like headquarters. Yes. Some important declarations will always be present, important declarations, right, will be very important. Yes. For example, with respect to BRICS, I always give this example, Fortaleza Declaration. UPSC had asked previously Fortaleza Declaration. Yes. So, we, right? So, headquarters and certain important declarations, certain new members which might have joined, certain old members which might have left, in context, next of membership, that we will be focusing upon. Yes. So, when it comes to International Organizations, this is what we are focusing upon. Yes. Along with International Organizations, let me here itself mention that certain alternative routes are being focused upon. Okay? So, generally, there have been the traditional routes of transportation of trade across countries, across regions in the world. But over these past few years, you find a lot of focus on alternative routes of connectivity. Yes. So, this is also one potential area from which we can expect questions. Yes. You have the IMEC corridor. Once again, right? Once again, you find it was in context of a G20 summit which happened in India. An MoU was signed on it. Yes. IMEC is part of the G7's PGII initiative. G7, as a grouping, has an initiative known as PGII. Yes. Partnership for Growth, uh, Growth and Infrastructure Investment, something of that sort. PGII is the short form. Yes. PGII itself would be present, and IMEC is part of PGII initiative. Then you have INSTC corridor, International North-South Transport Corridor. Yes. You have, uh, you have Chennai-Vladivostok Sea Link, Northern Sea Route. You have the TAPI gas pipeline. You have the TAPI gas pipeline. You have the Ashgabat Agreement. Yes. All of them would remain quite relevant. All these alternative routes of connectivity. Yes. For example, last year, the Samarkand pipeline was asked. So, maybe this time, the Panama Canal, right? The isthmus, the topic of isthmus might just become present. Right? Isthmus, what is it? Isthmus is the land corollary of straits. Yes. So, a narrow piece of land which connects two large pieces of land. So, in the world, unlike straits which are multiple straits, there are only, there were only four isthmuses. Yes. The Swiss, the Isthmus of Suez, which has been dug to create the Suez Canal. The Isthmus of Panama, which has been dug to create the Panama Canal. There is Isthmus of Kra and Isthmus of Thana Thipak. Thana Thipak is in Mexico, and this is in Thailand. Since Panama Canal is in use, so maybe the isthmus becomes relevant. Yes. Fine. So, anyways, and now, the alternative routes of connectivity, all of them generally would be important. Yes. Uh, we will focus on alternative routes of connectivity. Yes. Next area generally which is focused upon by UPSC happens to be certain strategic locations. As part of strategic locations itself, we can identify maybe disputed regions, places in news. Yes. Places in news, match with country or why in news. Yes. So, strategic locations. Strategic locations, right? There are several strategic locations that we will discuss. One among them is Levant. As we will discuss, we will see the Levant region, which is the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, has been one of the favorite areas of UPSC to ask questions. Why? Because Israel-Palestinian conflict, Arab-Israel conflict, this region has been very, very volatile. Yes. There are several such other regions. South China Sea, right? Can be another area from which they ask questions. Yes. The neighboring countries, neighboring countries, right? Now, of some important countries might be asked which are too much in news. Previously, they have asked neighboring countries of Afghanistan, for that matter. We might expect neighboring countries of Ukraine, neighboring countries of Russia. Russia is a vast country, has been in news. Yes. Neighboring countries of Israel. Yes. Uh, neighboring countries of China. Yes. Littoral countries of South China Sea. Littoral countries of South China Sea. You have littoral countries of Black Sea. Yes. All such, right? The areas which are in news, the places surrounding those areas can be asked. Yes. So, we need to be thoroughly looking at the maps when we are dealing with them. Yes. Fine. So, these are certain, certain areas that where we expect questions. One is International Organizations. Yes. Here, as part of the document, we have also identified International Security as one of the areas. So, the nuclear treaties, the international nuclear treaties, right? Various such treaties. For example, there is, look, one is the nuclear treaties, they are what? NPT, CTBT, FMCT, and Nuclear Weapon Prohibition Treaty. Yes. These are the four international treaties to check the proliferation of nuclear weapons globally. Yes. Then, once again, there is this treaty of JCPOA, Iranian Nuclear Treaty, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which has been in news. Yes. So, we can expect a question. JCPOA was negotiated among whom? Yes. Now, you find that Trump has, Trump was the man who had withdrawn US unilaterally from JCPOA in 2018. Yes. And now he has shown an interest to revive a JCPOA. Fine. So, all this can be present. Yes. And then you have MECARs, Multilateral Export Control Regimes. Multilateral Export Control Regimes. There are four MECARs which are particularly present. Yes. NSG, MTCR, Australia Group, Wassenaar Agreement. What in crux they deal with? UPSC previously has asked match the following questions from Wassenaar Agreement, Australia Group. They can ask standalone questions on MTCR, NSG. Nuclear Suppliers Group. It stands for NSG stands for Nuclear Suppliers Group. MTCR, Missile Technology Control Regime. Australia Group and Wassenaar Agreement. Fine. Yes. All these would be important. Right? There are several international organizations. Yes. Uh, one international organization which has been in news, CPTPP, Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership. Yes. You have IPEF, once again, very, very present. The unique nature of Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Yes. This entire year, it has been, or maybe past two years, it has been in news quite often. Yes. So, its membership, what is the unique nature of IPEF? APEC, as an organization, the, right? Here, there are not member countries, there are member economies. So, these are the nuances on which UPSC will catch hold of you. Yes. So, you have all such organizations. We will come across them. Yes. These are the, if I can identify the broad areas. One is, I have broadly classified International Organizations, and as part of Strategic Locations, we have identified all this. So, whichever area is in news, right? Whichever, uh, place is in news, they tend to ask questions. Okay, one more thing which I would want to highlight as far as Prelims is concerned. See, I often tell it in my class. I would just repeat it here. See, Prelims is now being taken as an opportunity by UPSC to ask questions from areas on which it will not be able to ask questions in Mains. In Mains, they have a limitation. Since 2015, UPSC has been asking only four questions: two 10-markers and two 15-markers. Beyond that, they do not ask IR. Yes. But you find that IR is much in news. If you are reading your newspapers regularly, which I hope you have been doing, you find that every day, minimum of two editorials. Yes. Minimum of two editorials across two newspapers would be on IR. Right? Even more, not less than that. The numbers might increase if you take the Explained section into perspective. So, there are so many developments that happen in African countries, that happen in Latin American countries. Yes. So, on which UPSC is not able to ask bilateral relations questions. But you find that, for example, the Sahel region, the West African region, yes, uh, you have, uh, Southern, Southern part of Africa, right? Which are in news. Certain, certain Caribbean nations which might be in news for maybe a coup, for maybe a famine, for maybe some treaty that they have signed, some landmark agreement that they have signed. Yes. These are the areas from which UPSC asks questions. So, UPSC, through IR, wants to see that are you reading your newspapers regularly? If you have been, if you have had read your newspapers regularly, I can tell you those questions, you will be able to answer. Right? For example, M23 group was in news in context of Congo DRC. Yes. In context of Hutus and Tutsis war that had happened in 1990, right, in Rwanda. Right? In that context, now M23 as a group was in news, and on those topics, they ask simple questions, one-liners. You just need to, this, this country was in news for this reason. Right? And the places in news also, those places regularly repeating in the newspaper, on them questions will be asked. It is not that UPSC wants to make your life difficult, but it wants you to thoroughly prepare. Right? It wants you to be a journalist with broad gauge, broad-based information, making sure that you are reading your newspapers. So, that it is trying to make sure through your IR questions. So, please note the areas which are in news. Right? From IR perspective, which you think is irrelevant from Mains perspective. A lot of things keep coming in the newspaper, right? In this country, a famine happened. Here, a military coup is happening. Here, a civil war is going on. Yes. So, those areas on which you think it is not relevant from Mains perspective, but they tend to become relevant from Prelims perspective. Yes. So, what you need to do there is, read those newspaper articles. Now, whatever you have read, you have read. Whatever comes next, read it. Yes. Even till the day you go for your exam. Make it a habit to flip through the newspaper. Do not leave the newspaper untouched. Yes. Just flip through it. Read through the headlines. Even if you are not able to read through the content. Now, if you are giving Prelims, no need to maybe go through the editorials in detail. Hardly few days are left. Yes. Hardly 20 odd days are left. So, there you can, but at least go through small newspaper as you can, right? Reading the headlines, if a topic interests you, read something about it. While you are eating your breakfast, while, while you are taking a break in the evening, just do not let go of this habit of flipping through the newspapers. Yes. So, that is what is required presently and going forward, right? With, I hope you all clear in.

This very attempt with the desired ranks that you want, but going forward, being realistic, yes, you, this is what is required, that you read through newspaper articles. Okay, don't make notes, but keep reading because that will stick to your mind. If you are reading regularly, of course, any such question that is asked can be easily done. There you will save time. This is what is strategic advantage. Cost-benefit analysis. You are able to easily tick the answer. You save time which you can invest somewhere else where you are confused between two points. Because those questions, either you will know or you will not know. If you know, then you will know very easily that yes, for sure, this is the answer. It helps you save a lot of time which can be used elsewhere. Fine. So that is one area. Yes, places in news and all such things. Now, in different countries, smaller countries, whatever is happening. What is happening in the Philippines right now? Where? What happened in the presidential election exactly, right? If there was some major development there. Locals were unhappy and there was a boycott and there was protest. Just know that yes, there was a protest in some election. There was a situation of civil war. Whatever it is. Fine. So with these, these are the areas from where we expect questions. Now, at the very onset, I said we do not have any standard book as far as your IR portion is concerned. Now we have identified the areas. Broadly speaking, we will go into details of it as we go through the document. Yes. Uh, so we have identified the broad areas. Now the question arises. Where to read from? We have reached this position and we have the exam in the next 20 days. So how do we go about preparing for IR? Yes, at this point of time. So at this point of time, your source will be any current affairs magazine which has some consolidated material as far as prelims is concerned. So, one source which I can mention is PT 365 at this point of time. Yes, PT 365 for IR or any other magazine for that matter, right? It is not necessary that you also read PT 365. If you have any consolidated magazine from any institute or forum, where they are specifically focusing upon the IR portion from a prelims perspective, you can go through it. Yes, any such material if you have access to with respect to maybe international organizations, some consolidated material with respect to the member countries, any recent development that they have, right? Any treaty, any summit, there was a Kampala summit in NAM, so what was its outcome? Yes, any such consolidated source that you can access to, that would be your reference point at this point, reference material at this point of time. Otherwise, generally newspapers. Yes. And going forward, if I have to tell you of a source further, then it will be your NCERT. Yes, but not at this point of time. Right? We do not expect you to go to NCERT. Keep flipping through newspapers. And some consolidated reference to any such material which you can get your hands on. Fine. So, these are the sources that we are being, we are going to be referring to. Fine. With this, we will be discussing the previous year questions and as part of this document, you find that they have classified the previous year questions. Preparing for the UPSC Civil Services Examination demands strong preparation across all Mains papers. And when it comes to scoring well in the Mains, your optional subject plays a crucial role. A good performance in your optional paper can be the difference between just qualifying and securing a top rank. To help you build a strong conceptual foundation and improve answer writing, WIN IAS presents the Optional Classroom Program 2026, available in both live online and classroom offline modes. Subjects offered: Geography, Sociology, Political Science and International Relations. Batch starts from 20th June. 2 PM Physics classes start from 15th July. Yes, in two international locations, strategic location, disputed region. Here we have also tried to incorporate any place which was in news, right? Which was in the news recently, tried to refer it in a consolidated manner in one place. Yes. But what is expected as far as this document is concerned, you go through, right? We will go through together, then no need to spend too much time on it. Don't spend too much time now. The primary source would be PT 365. Yes, some consolidated material of that kind. In this, you can demarcate pages, saying that this page is important, where there is a lot of consolidated information. If I want to refer back, so I will refer to only this much. Fine. Then you have international organizations that they have classified. UN bodies, UN committees, UN conventions, right? All this. UN is a favorite area. Now, if anything happens with the UN, they ask about it. Yes. Then you have international trade. They have included in it. We will see exactly what is mentioned there. You have nuclear treaties, organizations, military exercises as part of security, which, right? Or if asked, then it is simple factual. And some international diplomacy, some important agreements, like JCPOA, I just referred to. Yes, there is an agreement of Sahel countries that they have signed, right? So, any international agreements, treaties of this kind. Uh, some important terms which were in news with respect to IR. Yes, for example, UPSC has previously asked questions on phrases like the Coffee Club. What do you mean by Coffee Club? Yes, and they have just given four options. If you knew that Coffee Club is against G4's candidature to UNSC, you can easily answer that. Fine. So, such simple phrases and terms. Fine. So, starting with international organizations. Fine. So, in, sorry, international locations, you find that a total of 18 questions have been asked there in the past 10 years. Yes, two on strategic location and 16 on disputed regions. Yes. So, strategic location first. What is the significance of developing Chabahar Port by India? Chabahar Port is important in what context? Alternative routes of connectivity. Right? Chabahar is very, very important as far as alternative routes of connectivity are concerned. Over the years, they have asked questions on Chabahar a number of times. We have given one example, but it does not stop at one question that has been asked on Chabahar. Chabahar has also been in news in 2024, May 2024. We have signed a 10-year agreement to operationalize Chabahar. India, for the first time, has signed an agreement where it would operate another country's port for 10 years. So, Chabahar, once again, very, very relevant. Chabahar has been repeatedly in news over the year. Why has Chabahar been in news? Because there is the INSTC corridor. See, I am discussing from a perspective where I expect you to know a few points, right? That you know a little, have some background. So, what are the nodes of INSTC? Jawaharlal Nehru Port of India would be connected to Bandar Abbas Port of Iran, then via Iran, via Caspian Sea, where they will find Baku as one of the port cities. Baku is the capital of Azerbaijan. Yes. You will move forward to Moscow and Saint Petersburg. This is the traditional node of connectivity that we draw. In this, the Kaladan multimodal project will also be very, very relevant, right? So, all these alternative routes of connectivity, India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral, all these are very, very relevant. Fine. So, anyways, so this is just, so why was Chabahar in news recently? Chabahar has been in news. Why? Because you find that USA, under Joseph Biden, because of the Russia-Ukraine war, had imposed several sanctions. More sanctions on Russia. They had already imposed sanctions on Iran for a long time. Yes. So, now Russia and Iran have got together saying that we will come out. Let us together join our forces because we have a common enemy in the US, which is trying to dampen our economic growth. And they have, there is a rapprochement. There is an engagement between Iran and Russia. And they have said that Chabahar Port, sorry, would be the Chabahar Port would be linked to the INSTC corridor. Yes. So, Chabahar Port has been in news also because of that. Chabahar Port and also directly in context of India. So, why is Chabahar Port important? What is the significance of developing Chabahar Port by India? India will not depend on Pakistan for access to Afghanistan and Central Asia. Yes. So, it is an alternative to ensure India's connectivity with its western flank. If we do not have Chabahar Port, it becomes difficult for India to access its western neighborhood. Because land-based access to the western neighborhood is blocked by Pakistan. Pakistan effectively blocks India's access to India's western neighborhood. Right? And now the relations have become even worse. Yes. In that context, further blocking of such access to the western neighborhood. But we cannot surrender the western neighborhood to countries like, say, China. So, we have to reach our western neighborhood, and especially landlocked western neighborhood, such as Afghanistan, which is a landlocked country, Central Asia, which is landlocked. Yes. So, it becomes important. I am also mentioning whatever comes to my mind as an important topic. So, I have told you Kaladan, the Kaladan multimodal project would be quite relevant. The trilateral highway will also be relevant. Yes. These are all alternatives. Then here, you can also go back through Bangladesh. If you have some notes made, then in Bangladesh, the Chattogram Port, the Mongla Port, right? All these can come in match-the-following questions, because these were alternative routes to access, right? Alternative routes to access Northeast India. Right? Chattogram and Mongla Port through it, we got access, land-based access to Northeast India. So, Northeast India could send its goods, and we could send goods to Northeast through Chattogram and Mongla Port in Bangladesh. So, right? These would be these are important notes that you should know. Fine. So, where is the location of Chabahar Port? Exactly. And you should know Chabahar Port is located. Yes, in the Gulf of Oman. It is located, it is an Iranian port and located in the Gulf of Oman. It is an oceanic port. You can make a note. These are some keywords. What is their exact location? Then Bandar Abbas Port, which I was referring to, where exactly is it located? Strait of Hormuz, right? On top of the Strait of Hormuz sits the Bandar Abbas Port, which is the Iranian port, once again, through which is our INSTC, right? The yellow line that you see, the green, the neon line that we see, is in fact, the line which is drawn to show the INSTC corridor. Recent additions are Astara, Khan, etc., which have recently been added because of the Russia-Iran rapprochement onto the INSTC corridor. Fine. Yes, Ashgabat Agreement, once again, would remain important. Fine. As I have told you, we have signed this agreement to operationalize. And here, Chabahar Port comprises two terminals: the Shahid Beheshti Terminal and the Shahid Kalantari Terminal. And we have signed an agreement to operationalize the Shahid Beheshti Terminal. And we have also developed only the Shahid Beheshti Terminal. Yes. And Chabahar Port is also, how will we reach Afghanistan through Chabahar Port? Through the Zaranj-Delaram Highway that we have developed in Afghanistan. Yes, the Zaranj-Delaram Highway has been developed by India in Afghanistan. Here it is mentioned. Yes, the existing Iranian road network can link up to Zaranj in Afghanistan, connect India to the Zaranj-Delaram Road, which I was constructing by India in 2009 at the cost of 680 crores, and finally to Afghanistan's Garland Highway. Yes, these are the four major cities of Afghanistan. Yes, Herat, Kandahar, Kabul, and Mazar-i-Sharif. So, you find that they have asked match-the-following questions on such important cities. For example, in one of the years, they had asked about Mazar-i-Sharif, and which country is it associated with? So, even if you are not aware of the news item that year, now we should be in a position to identify that these are the four important cities of Afghanistan. Yes. So, Herat, Kandahar, Kabul, and Mazar-i-Sharif. Yes, yes, all these regions. Why was it in news? JCPOA, etc., in context too. Yes. And then they have also discussed how, by going through the options, can we, if we don't even know the correct option, how can we eliminate? Can we come out with the answer itself? So, in this format, coming out with the answer was easier. But today, what is it? UPSC has made it a little more difficult, right? Has dialed up the difficulty level by asking. Now, how are the options? Earlier, it was A, B, C, A, C, D, A, B. So, elimination used to work relatively easily in an easier fashion. If one was eliminated, at least two options were eliminated, many times three options were eliminated, and you would directly get the answer. But now, the questions are only one, only two, only three. So, it becomes a little difficult. But anyway, it does not mean that they have eliminated this format. So, this can always be kept in mind. Yes. So, what is written now? Let's read through. India's trade with African countries will increase enormously. Who knows? India's relations with oil-producing Arab countries will be strengthened. India will not depend on Pakistan for access to Afghanistan and Central Asia. Pakistan will facilitate and protect the installation of a gas pipeline between Iraq and India. Reading through these options, can you, can you eliminate a few? First, Pakistan will facilitate and protect the installation of a gas pipeline between Iraq and India. Will Pakistan do that? They will bomb it, right? So, that is not an option. But okay. India's trade with African countries will enormously increase. Will increase is okay. Enormously? Such an enormous increase? And then, if a UPSC student doesn't know, they know if such an enormous fundamental change happens. So, this word "enormously" creates doubt. Then, India's relations with oil-producing Arab countries will be strengthened. Here also, you find that our relations with oil-producing Arab countries have been good. 2017, maybe, was good enough. Yes. And now, you find we have good relations with these countries. Over the years, India has been able to strengthen its relations with these countries. So, it would not so much depend, say, on the Chabahar Port also. Another way in which you choose, that maybe one of these two options is the correct answer. You see the theme of Pakistan is getting repeated twice. "Enormously" creates doubt. Right? With oil-producing Arab countries, it might improve, but it is already better. And now, most oil-producing Arab countries are GCC countries, right? You have Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar. These countries do not really have very good relations with Iran, on which the Chabahar Port is based. So, if you know that the Chabahar Port is based on Iran, you can think that this might not be so relevant. Yes. Another way in which you narrow down the scope between these two is by identifying that when a single theme repeats twice, that is UPSC's way to confuse you, that yes, they know that you will be able to relate it somehow to Pakistan. Yes. And so, they will confuse you with two statements on the same theme. So, if there are two statements on the same theme, the higher is the chance that the correct answer is between those two statements itself. Right? So, that is how logically you can narrow down the options between probably these two. And this does not seem probable. So, this would be the right answer in that case. Even if I had not to know and I had to take, right? A well-guessed answer if I had to write. Then the theme getting repeated, and if I am able to eliminate one of the two statements, then the other statement, in most likelihood, would be the correct answer. Yes. So, this is how the technique of elimination would generally work. Yes. So, this was last year's question. The SUMED pipeline is a strategic route for Persian Gulf oil and natural gas shipments to Europe. Okay. So, it is a strategic route for Persian Gulf oil and natural gas shipment to Europe. SUMED pipeline connects Red Sea with Mediterranean Sea. Yes. These were the two statements. Statement one and statement two. So, here are both, right? What is it? Which of the following options are correct? Both statement one and statement two are correct, and statement two explains statement one. Or both one and two are correct, but statement two does not explain statement one. Yes. Here you have to be careful, right? See, both statements can be correct. Both can be linked to each other, but it is not necessary that statement two is the explanation of statement one. It might so happen. Statement one is the explanation of statement two. Statement two is a fact, and the causal, the cause factor is given in statement one. So, here you have to be clear. Right? Be careful with respect to. Both statements are correct. But both are independent. Statement one is correct. Statement two is incorrect. Statement one is incorrect, and statement two is correct. If both of these are options, then it is relatively easier. But if in these, when both the statements are correct, to establish the cause-effect relation is essential. Yes. So, let us read it once again. SUMED pipeline. So, you should know about the SUMED pipeline by now. Otherwise, this question becomes very difficult to answer. Right? What is the SUMED pipeline? The SUMED pipeline is in the Suez Canal in Egypt, right? In the Sinai Peninsula, there is the Suez Canal. And the Suez Canal happens to be the traditional route linking trade between Asia and Europe. So, Asian countries trade to Europe via Suez Canal. So, they enter the Red Sea, through the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, Red Sea, Red Sea to Suez Canal, Mediterranean Sea, and they reach Europe. Yes, this is the traditional route of trade. Now, apart from the Suez Canal, there also exists what is known as the SUMED pipeline in Egypt, which runs parallel somewhere to the Suez Canal. And this pipeline is, in fact, a pipeline. It is a strategic route for Persian Gulf oil and natural gas shipments. Pipelines are generally for what? For oil and natural gas shipments only, right? So, in that context, right? The pipeline that exists in South Asia becomes important. So, India has built such petroleum pipelines with Nepal, with Bangladesh. The pipeline that we built with Nepal was the first such pipeline that has been built in South Asia. Yes. We have also built similar pipelines with, uh, with Bangladesh. But of course, right? Now, you find in both these countries, and especially in Bangladesh, very adverse aerial government, and in Nepal, maybe KP Oli government, not favorable to India. So, anyways, it is a strategic route for Persian Gulf oil and natural gas shipments to Europe. This is a correct statement. This pipeline connects Red Sea with Mediterranean Sea. Yes. So, now both these statements are correct. Now, is it linked or not? We have to find out. So, SUMED pipeline is a strategic route for Persian Gulf oil and natural gas shipments to Europe. Because SUMED pipeline connects Red Sea with Mediterranean Sea. Right? Continuity in the sentence makes sense. It, in fact, explains why it is a strategic route for Persian oil and natural gas shipment to Europe? Because it connects Red Sea with Mediterranean Sea. Yes. So, in fact, the answer is option A. Right? So, you have to make that link, right? In the exam, be careful there. And it was in the news, the Suez, right? The Hindu or other articles were there, which talked about the attacks on the Red Sea by the Houthis. Who are the Houthis? They are, yes, they are the proxies of Iran in Yemen, and they, in solidarity with Hamas, were launching attacks, right? From early 2024, they started attacking shipments, right? Especially in the Red Sea, especially which were expected to assist its allies and Israel. Right? So, you find that the traditional route was blocked. In that context, this SUMED pipeline could, was in news. These are a few facts that I have just made a note of. You can go through later on. Yes. So, they are both located in Egypt and connect Red Sea with Mediterranean Sea. Yes. So, this is the SUMED pipeline, which has been shown, which connects the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea. Uh, there is this another pipeline, the Druzhba oil pipeline. It is the world's longest oil pipeline. Yes. It carries oil from the eastern part of Russia to points in Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Germany. Then disputed regions. So, Golan Heights was in news, right? Golan Heights is regularly in news, every year in news, for that matter, because every year the UN General Assembly passes a resolution asking Israel to end its annexation of Golan Heights. Yes. Right now, in fact, the Druze, the community is in news. If you have been reading your newspapers, you would have read that Israel is launching attacks on Syria, right? Syria, which has been under occupation or which has been controlled by an Islamist group, HTS. And these radicals, these radical groups, right? To ensure that the Druze community, which is living within Syria, is not attacked by HTS. Yes. So, Israel has launched attacks in Syria in support of the Druze community, so that they are saved from the deadly attacks launched by the Islamist radicals on them in Syria. Right? Why has Israel come out in support of the Druze community? Because the Druze community lives on Golan Heights. Golan Heights presently has around 40,000 people living on it. Right? And out of these 40,000, around 20,000 are members of the Druze community. These Druze community practices an offshoot of Islam, right? A variant of Islam that they practice. Yes. Now, these Druze community live in Golan Heights. Golan Heights was part of Syria. It was captured by Israel in the 1967 war, which was a six-day war. In that, Syria had captured Golan Heights and finally annexed Golan Heights in 1981. Internationally, it said it is our part. Right? So, once it was annexed, so they gave the option to the people living on Golan Heights that you accept Israeli citizenship. But the Druze community did not accept Israeli citizenship. They said we continue to be Syrian citizens. So, probably they are doing so somewhere, right? One is their dislike of the radical Islamist groups, plus maybe to gain the trust of the Druze community. Druze community, right? Is inhabiting Golan Heights, which is part of Israeli territory. Fine. So, this is the idea. So, of Golan Heights. UPSC asks quite a few questions. It has asked questions on Golan Heights two or three times. This was not the only time that they have asked a question. Yes. So, in 2015 also, rockets from Syria strike Golan Heights, right? Because they want to capture it. Fine. So, this is the entire discussion, right? The various wars, 1973 Yom Kippur War, then arms agreement, 1981, and it, and all such things. Yes. Population 40,000 Druze. Druze community might be important for this year's prelims, right? A question might come on the Druze community because it is quite in the news these days. Here also, for that matter, it is mentioned, Druze, I guess, somewhere, right? The Arabs from the Druze sect, they inhabit this region. Then disputed regions. Yes. Towns sometimes mentioned in news and the corresponding country. Yes. So, Catalonia, Spain. Crimea, Hungary. Mindanao, Philippines. And Oromia, Nigeria. Yes. Of which, which are correctly matched are correctly matched? So, what we know, if we don't know much, then Crimea, we know now. Crimean Peninsula, right? It was part of Ukraine till 2014, and was annexed by Russia after that. Yes. Mindanao, in fact, is an island of the Philippines. Yes. Catalonia is a region in Spain, in northeastern Spain, right? And there are separatist movements going on here. Catalonia, and the Basque region. These are in Spain. And these are restive parts of Spain. Here, separatist movements are quite active. Right? And Catalonia and the Basque region. Fine. And Oromia. Oromia is not correctly matched, but Oromia is, let me also see. Oromia is in Ethiopia and was in news for ethnic clashes. In fact, they ask quite a few questions from Africa because there are quite a few ethnic clashes, conflicts, etc., going on here. So, they tend to ask those questions from Africa. Yes. Fine. So, this is the Catalonia region. Spain, right? France is above, and this is the northeastern part of Spain. Yes. Mindanao. Mindanao happens to be a big island of the Philippines. Yes. Ukraine. Ukraine has been much in news because of Russia. The Ukraine war, and these four provinces of Ukraine have also been in news. Yes. They were captured by Russia, right? As soon as they started the war. So, this war started on 24th Feb 2022. Yes. And in fact, by September 2022, Russia had already captured these two provinces, Luhansk and Donetsk. These continue to be in news. Sometimes a village is captured, sometimes another is captured. Yes. And this constitutes what is known as the Donbas region. Donbas region of Ukraine. Yes. It is called the Donbas region. And this region has Russian ethnicity. The people here are of Russian ethnicity. And it is therefore a pro-Russia region of Ukraine. Right? So, it has always been restive, always, or especially since 2014, when Russia was able to capture the Crimean Peninsula. Since then, there has been a lot of insurgency in this region. Right? The Minsk agreement is also associated with this region. If somewhere they ask you to identify, the Minsk agreement is an important agreement, right? Because of the increasing restiveness following the 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by Russia. You find this was a sort of a peace agreement, right? France and Germany trying to mediate peace between Russia and Ukraine, but it failed. They never followed it much. Yes. And then, what else? Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. These are the southern provinces of Ukraine. Yes. Zaporizhzhia has the nuclear power plant, the nuclear power plant of Ukraine. So, initially, there was a lot of fear that if the fighting continues in Zaporizhzhia, the Ukraine power plant might be impacted, which might lead to a nuclear catastrophe. Yes. So, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. UPSC has asked questions on match-the-following with respect to these two. You never know, the Donbas region might just become important. Donbas, which is the name, right? Collectively, this region is, which comprises Donetsk and Luhansk. Right? Fine. So, this is about Ukraine, and these four provinces are more or less in control of Russia. In fact, it is said that with the control of these four provinces, Russia has been enabled to get a land bridge access to Crimea. Earlier, there was no direct land access between the Crimean Peninsula and Russia. Right? They had built a bridge. What is this? This is the Kerch Strait. Here, Russia built a bridge, right? To ensure direct land access. Yes. Uh, this. Okay, here also, there are some important cities of Russia. You should know their names. They were in news. It skips my mind immediately, but it was quite in news. In fact, Ukraine had launched attacks, quite a few attacks on this side of Russia. Right? Check once when you go back home. Yes. So, here is the Kerch Strait, and they built a bridge on it, which was also bombed by Ukraine to, right? So, this land bridge was finished between them. But with gaining control of these territories, now Russia can access the Crimean Peninsula via land also. Uh, in the Crimean Peninsula, there is a very important port, because of which, which became one of the factors why Russia had annexed the Crimean Peninsula, which was also in news, is the Sevastopol Port. Sevastopol Port. So, match Sevastopol Port with the Crimean Peninsula. Yes. Right? The Russian Black Sea Fleet used to be stationed at Sevastopol Port on the Crimean Peninsula. So, if a simple question comes, it will be match-the-following, nothing more than that. Yes. So, if you should make a note of the Sevastopol Port on the Crimean Peninsula. Yes. In Ethiopia, you have this region of Oromia, which is, right? Yes, at this Addis Ababa, which happens to be the capital, is also located in this region of Oromia. Yes. All these places were in news because of conflict or war-like situations. Fine. Very recently, "Lii" in which of the following countries? This question came in 2018. Have lakhs of people either suffered from severe famine or acute malnutrition or died due to starvation caused by war or ethnic conflicts. Yes. So, ethnic, if you were following the news, all this was in news. If someone had read the newspaper regularly, they could answer it easily. Right? And especially when it comes to ethnic conflict, then you find Sudan becomes important. Yes. So, ethnic conflict, or in Yemen too, at that time, there was a proxy war going on between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Yes. Saudi Arabia used to support the government of Yemen, while Iran was supporting the Houthis in Yemen. So, it was a proxy war, right? For a long time, a proxy war was based between Iran and Saudi Arabia over Yemen. So, that is the reason it was also in news. So, you find they have mentioned the source, right? This is, I think, from The Hindu itself. Yes. Why 20 million people in South Sudan, Nigeria, Somalia? Somalia, when you hear the name of famine again, Somalia should come to mind. Yes. For the longest time, has faced famines. Yes. Right? For almost three decades, they have been on the brink of famine. A lot of conflict in Somalia. Yes. Are either in a state of war or recovering from decades of conflict. Fine. So, they have mentioned this. Once again, disputed regions. Yes. Towns sometimes mentioned in news and the country. Yes. First, you find Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan. Correctly matched. Mazar-i-Sharif is also one consulate of India in Afghanistan which was bombed at that time. Right? Recently, in those years, in 2018, in 2017 or 16, Mazar-i-Sharif, the consulate at the Indian Consulate was bombed in Afghanistan. Yes. Then you have Mosul. Yes. So, you do not find, at least not in Palestine. Kirkuk, not in Yemen. Iraq, right? That side. Aleppo. Aleppo is a very important city of Syria. In fact, I think it is the second biggest city of Syria. Yes. So, you find that in this, now what is it? Only two options are correct. Right? Only two options are correct. Two are incorrect. We can know through this. So, even if we supposedly did not know this, then we know that Aleppo, Aleppo and Mazar-i-Sharif. So, one and four are correct. Yes. Looking for expert mentoring to crack UPSC? Lakshya Mentoring Program is your answer. 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Alipo, Russia seeks to rebuild. Alipo, the Bashar al-Assad regime was supported by Russia and Iran, right? And now, why did the Bashar al-Assad regime fall? Because Russia is weakened because of the Russia-Ukraine war, and Iran is also weakened because, right, there's an attack on Hamas. There's an attack on Houthi rebels. Yes, you have Hezbollah in Lebanon, who are also under attack. So, this, uh, this, right, the axis of resistance, which was developed by Iran, is suffering attacks. In fact, this operation that has been launched, Operation Sea Guardian, was launched by the UK and US against the Houthis in Yemen. This can be a question that we can expect in Prelims. Operation Sea Guardian. Okay? Even now, the UK is joining hands with the US to launch attacks on Houthis in Yemen. In fact, these proxies, matching them with the correct countries, can also be a question. Yes, Operation Sea Guardian. Fine. So, yes, Kirkuk in Iraq, you have Mosul also in Iraq, not Iran. Yes, and Alipo in Syria, and Mazar-i-Sharif. Fine. Now, the Siachen Glacier is situated. Yes, what is the exact location of Siachen Glacier? East of Aksai Chin. East of Aksai Chin is the Siachen Glacier. Do you remember the map? Yes, east of Leh. Leh is the biggest district, right? The Ladakh UT of Ladakh comprises only two districts: Kargil and Leh. Kargil is a smaller district; Leh is the bigger district. North of Gilgit, right? Where is Gilgit-Baltistan? Right? It's like Siachen. Yes. And north of the Nubra Valley. Yes. So, let us, right, in fact, whenever the Siachen Glacier is discussed, right, Siachen, in fact, is a source of the Nubra River and the Shyok River. The Shyok River, which is a tributary of the Indus River, and Nubra is a tributary of the Shyok River. Okay? So, when we generally study the Siachen Glacier, we tend to mention, uh, the Nubra River and the Shyok River. Nubra is a tributary of Shyok. Shyok is a tributary of Indus. Yes. So, if we can, uh, maybe look at this map. Yes. So, this is the general map, right? Although we claim this entire, right, what is shown in the red borders, we claim it all. Yes. But in reality, since 1962, Aksai Chin is with China. Gilgit-Baltistan and PoK are with Pakistan. Yes. This is the Shaksgam Tract. Yes. The Shaksgam Valley was transferred or ceded by Pakistan to China in 1963. It is the Trans-Karakoram Tract. Right? The Karakoram Mountains. Okay. And here, what is there? You have the, the Karakoram Pass. Yes. This is the Saltoro Ridge. Yes. And here, NJ 9842. Yes. So, what is this? This is the Siachen Glacier. Yes. And you find that the Line of Control, LoC, yes, which was earlier called the Ceasefire Line. Yes, through the Karachi Agreement in 1949, and later on through the Shimla, uh, Agreement, through which it was renamed into LoC, right? In 1972, demarcates the LoC only up to the point NJ 9842. At that point, we say the LoC comes to a dead end. Okay? Beyond that, the Karachi Agreement and the Shimla Agreement say that beyond this point of NJ 9842, the LoC moves northward. It moves in the north direction. Yes. But you find a lack of clarity has led to two different interpretations by India and Pakistan. From India's perspective, it moves north in the northwest direction. From India's perspective, it moves in the northwest direction, parallel to the Saltoro Ridge. Yes, such that Siachen becomes part of India. But from the perspective of, from the perspective of Pakistan, it moves in the northeast direction to meet the Karakoram Pass, such that it becomes part of the Gilgit-Baltistan region. Yes. So, this is the, the Siachen Glacier dispute between the two countries. Yes. So, just if you would have, if you know this much, this idea, now you can, now can we look at the options once again? So, north of Gilgit. Where is the Siachen Glacier located? Where is Gilgit? Is it located, right? If you know Gilgit-Baltistan is here, then you would also know that, right, Siachen is not located north of Gilgit. Yes, you would know that much. Then, it is located east of Aksai Chin. No, Siachen is in fact located west of Aksai Chin. Yes. Then, so these two options are eliminated. East of Leh. Is it located east of Leh? Leh is right here. We are claiming to go up there. So, it is not east of Leh, right? It is northwest of Leh. Yes. So, all the three options are incorrect. If even if you knew this much, you could have arrived at that it is probably located north of the Nubra Valley. Yes. Fine. And you have the Nubra River and the Shyok River, which you can see. And this is the base camp of the Siachen Glacier. Who controls the Siachen Glacier now? Yes, India, since Operation, Operation Meghdoot of 1984. Right? Now, India-Pakistan is in the news. The Indus Water Treaty might also become important, right? So, whatever information is there on the Indus Water Treaty, the Permanent River Commission, yes, Siachen Glacier, etc., whatever disputes, look into them a bit. Yes. Okay, which I was telling you, since Pakistan's defeat in the 1971 war, it changed its strategy to fight against India, right? To its defeat in the 1971 war, that we trace, right, using cross-border terrorism. This is also called non-conventional or sub-conventional warfare. Sub-conventional warfare. And it decided to develop nuclear weapons to balance India's strategic conventional weapons. Right? These two things they adopted post the 1971 war. They changed their strategy to develop nuclear weapons to gain strategic parity with India and adopted that they would not engage in direct war, not in open field war, but would engage in covert war, fight secretly, cross-border terrorism. They adopted the strategy to bleed India through a thousand cuts. Fine. The location of Pahalgam, etc., also once, right, on the map. Be careful there. So, post the division of the state of J&K into two UTs, there are several districts in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, but only two districts in Ladakh. So, it is written about the Siachen dispute. Yes, yes. Which of the, which of the following countries have a border with Afghanistan? I was telling you that any country in the news, like Ukraine, this year, as part of your CDS examination, they have asked a question on the countries bordering Ukraine. Yes. So, you will look into the countries which border Ukraine. Which countries are there? Which border Ukraine? Yes, yes. Which are the countries which border Ukraine? You have, you can just note it down right now: Belarus, Belarus, Belarus, Hungary, Belarus, Hungary, Moldova, Belarus, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Slovakia. Russia and Slovakia. Right? So, you find these, these preliminary, these ancillary exams of UPSC, you can refer to their question papers when you are tired of studying, studying, studying, and you are not in the mood to study too much. If you don't feel like studying too much right now, maybe that is the time you pick up these papers and just go through the papers. Right? They tend to repeat themes. Right? In the same year, they often repeat themes. This question. In fact, I was listening to the topper's talk of the second rank. She talked about how two-three questions in the CSAT question paper were repeated from these ancillary exams. Imagine questions were repeated in CSAT. So, she had prepared, right, for other. She had gone after looking at the question papers of these in the ancillary exams of UPSC, and she found two-three questions exactly the same. So, this year, they have asked a question on, right, neighboring countries of Ukraine, which we have been expecting for the past two-three years. Yes. So, earlier, in 2022, in fact, they asked about Afghanistan. Why? Because in 2021, the Taliban had come back to power. So, what are the neighboring countries of Afghanistan? There are six countries. Okay? Out of them, three are the CAR, Central Asian Republics. So, what are those three CARs? Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Yes. There are three other countries: Pakistan, China, India on the maps, and Iran. We formally claim it on our map, but in reality, we do not share a border. Right? And China shares a border with Afghanistan across what is known as the Wakhan Corridor. So, the Wakhan Corridor itself can be a question. It is a panhandle-shaped corridor. Yes. Which was created through Tsarist Russia and the British Imperial Empire signing a treaty to create a buffer zone so that Russia, Tsarist Russia, which was an imperial power, would not come into direct border with the British, right, empire, the British Indian Empire. So, the Wakhan Corridor was created. And we also, if we had not lost Gilgit-Baltistan to Pakistan, we would have also shared a border with Afghanistan via the Wakhan Corridor. It's a narrow corridor. Fine. So, these are the six countries. So, Azerbaijan is not there. Kyrgyzstan is not there. Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. Yes. Option C is correct. All these countries, Afghanistan, etc., will be important. Look at the neighborhood of the Central Asian Republics too, right? Russia, China, Israel. In this context, I said, look at the neighborhood of all of them. The neighborhood of Palestine will not be asked because Palestine's statehood itself is not recognized. Okay? Yes. So, you find that, right, all the remaining, you, whatever countries of this type, the major countries, look at the neighborhood of Iran. Which are the neighboring countries of Iran? Those in this geopolitically volatile region, right? You see the neighboring countries. Yes. Fine. This is also one of this year's, in the CAPF, CDS paper, and in the CAPF, CDS exam, this question was asked. The Order of Mubarak Al-Kabir is the highest national award. This was in the news, right? Because Prime Minister Modi was recently given this award. Yes, of Kuwait. Check Kuwait once, right? Yes. These I have added here. Yes. Does not share its territorial border with Ukraine. Easy question. Lithuania. It's a Baltic country, Lithuania. Okay? So, because of this, it does not share. But we should know which are the countries with which it shares its borders. And there, please be careful. The way "not" is used, you have to be careful in those questions. Yes. Many times, we do not pay attention to them. So, India and its neighborhood and border disputes, all of them are, every point in this is important. Yes. Especially important are Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldi. Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldi. Yes. Because in October 2024, India and China signed an agreement to end the engagement at Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldi after how many years? After four years. Yes. So, the engagement started in 2020 on the five. What were those five points? These five points are important for that matter. Yes. What were those? Galwan Valley. You have Gogra Hot Springs, Demchok, Daulat Beg Oldi, and Chumar. Yes. So, you will look at all this, right? All these you need to pay attention to. So, Aksai Chin. Why is Aksai Chin important for China? Why will China not return Aksai Chin to India? It is not going to happen. They are never going to give Aksai Chin back to India. Why? Because, because Aksai Chin provides all-weather connectivity between two restive provinces of China. That is the Tibet Province and the Xinjiang Province. Okay? So, it gives them direct access. So, for this reason, they are not going to return that territory to India. So, Aksai Chin is that important. Yes. Siachen Glacier, we have just seen. Yes. You have Kuar Shipkila in Kinnaur. Okay. This was also in the news. Barahoti, Barahoti plains, right? Barahoti plains of, of Uttarakhand, right? They were in the news in the context of this Galwan Valley incident, etc. After that, it was observed that Pakistan, sorry, China had caused an incursion in the Barahoti plains, which are under India's control. Then, when it comes to Nepal, you have the Kalapani and the Susta dispute, right? Kalapani and Susta, both are very, very important. It is written here: they are controlled by Nepal. No, they are, they are controlled by India and claimed by Nepal. This is reversed. Okay? They are under India's effective control. But the people there do not accept themselves as part of India. Yes. Presently, they are part of the Champaran district of Bihar. And why does the dispute arise over Susta? Because of the shifting of the Gandak River, which is also known as the Narayani River in Nepal. Right? So, these Susta and Kalapani are always very important topics. They can be asked in any year. Why in the news? Why are they relevant? They are areas of dispute. Okay? And the specialty of Susta is that it talks about that to resolve border disputes, you need to take an ecosystem perspective. Because what happened? The Gandak River, or Himalayan rivers, are known to change their river courses. To begin with, our treaty between India and Nepal, the Treaty of Suguali. Right? Treaty of Suguali, which was signed in 1816 between British India and Nepal, which demarcates borders between these two countries. So, you find that initially, this Susta region was part of Nepal. Even at the time of India's independence, it was part of Nepal. But because of the changing river course, what has happened? Today, it has become part of the left bank of this river. Earlier, it was located on the right bank. And now it has shifted. And the left bank is under India's control. So, India claims, India is in control, but the people of those, of this region, have been Nepali citizens. So, they do not really accept India's citizenship or that they are part of India. But it is a matter of dispute. And what is Kalapani? It is a finger-like intrusion, right? And its source of dispute is the Kali River, right? Uh, the Kali River, whose source of origin is disputed. So, from India's perspective, it originates in, it originates in Lipulekh, and from Nepal's perspective, it originates in Limpiyadhura. See, these are some fundamental land disputes that we should know. This is the disputed area. Otherwise, 98% of our borders with Nepal are settled as such. But we have done a lot of exercises to clearly demarcate the borders between the two countries. But these surveys, through which 98% of the border is expected to be settled, but both countries have not reciprocally accepted these surveys because of political reasons. But anyway, we say that 98% of the borders are settled, except Kalapani and the Susta region. Yes. You have the Shaksgam Valley. You will go through it. Right? Now, you look at the rest. Saltoro Ridge, yes. Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, right? Once again, this will come in the middle sector between India and Nepal. This dispute. Right? Uh, all these places: Nelang, Pulam Sumda, Sangjanda, Lapthal. Arunachal Pradesh itself is claimed. Then you have the Kabaw Valley. Do a Google search on Kabaw Valley and India-Myanmar dispute would be important. So, I have also shown the Narayani River as you can see, because here, in this context, otherwise there is confusion, what is the left bank or the right bank? Yes. So, the Narayani River as it is flowing down. Yes. So, you find that previously, uh, the Susta region was located on the right bank, so it was considered to be part of Nepal. But now it has shifted to the left bank. Yes. Considered part of India. So, this is the region where Susta is located and happens to be disputed between the two. Yes. Next disputed regions, once again. So, what are they? Chad: setting up of a permanent military base by China. Chad is where? It is an African country. Yes. Guinea: suspension of constitution and military by the government. Right? Again, a West African country. Guinea. Lebanon: severe and prolonged economic depression. And Tunisia. What is Tunisia? It is a North African nation. Yes. Please go through the political map of Africa. Okay? These small countries of Africa, there are several, 55 countries are part of the AU itself. So, region-wise, you will have to go through. In Tunisia, suspension of the, and Tunisia is also the place where the Arab Spring started. From this, a simple question has also been asked by UPSC. I think so, in 2015 itself, they asked, 15-16, around the same time, they asked a question: Arab Spring started from which country? It is Tunisia. Yes. So, which of the following are correctly matched? So, in the year 2022, as they were in the news, yes. So, you find three pairs are correctly matched. You find, except Chad, you find the remaining three are correctly matched. In Tunisia, at that time, suspension of the parliament by the president. In Lebanon, severe and prolonged economic depression. Yes. And in Guinea, suspension of constitution and government by the military had taken place. Yes. Fine. They have shown on the map the Sahel region, right? Sahel region: what is it? Sub-Saharan Africa. So, this is the Sahara Desert, and below it is the Sahel region, which is Sub-Saharan Africa, and below that, you have the savanna, right? Savanna vegetation. So, it is a transitional area between the desert and the savanna. Yes. So, in the Sahel region, you have all these countries which are shown. Yes. You have, you have Senegal, you have Guinea-Bissau, you have Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Nigeria. Yes. Sudan. All these countries. The Sahel region is generally important. Simple questions have also been asked on the Sahel. Sahel refers to what? So, just Sub-Saharan Africa. Right? In G.C. Leong also, Sahel, right? From a geography perspective, the Sahel is a very important region. Yes. These are the countries, transitional zones between the Sahara Desert and the savannas. Yes. In fact, I have included this entire political map of Africa, which you will go through. Right? And how, right? This is the classification. On the basis of this, you can go through North Africa, Western, Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa. Yes. So, you find that there is this grouping called ECOWAS. Economic Community of West African States, which has been in the news. Why? Because Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have left the ECOWAS grouping. ECOWAS is a grouping, is, right? It is alleged that ECOWAS aligns itself with the previous colonial powers. So, now, whether it was Britain or France, whoever the colonial power was, according to them, it aligns its policies. So, you find these three countries have formed what is known as the Alliance of Sahel States. Yes. They have formed an alliance or agreement of Sahel States. And they have withdrawn themselves from ECOWAS. Yes. So, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger. Right? Then Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria. Yes. They are all members of ECOWAS. Yes. There is also something known as SACU, Southern African Customs Union. Right? This has also been in the news. Yes. So, SACU: Eswatini, Lesotho, Southern Africa, Botswana, and Namibia. Right? Here, you have the Horn of Africa, which is known by the acronym S.E.A.D. Yes. Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Eritrea. These are the four, right? So, see, which are the members? Which are the countries located on the Horn of Africa? The Horn of Africa is a special area of focus for China. China established its first overseas military base in Djibouti. Yes. And now also it is working to link landlocked parts of Ethiopia with the Red Sea. Right? Via Eritrea, via Djibouti, it is trying to provide sea access to landlocked Ethiopia. Fine. Then here, you have these four countries forming what is known as the Maghreb region. UPSC has also asked a question on this. What is the prominent geographical feature in the Maghreb region? If you just knew that it is Northwest Africa, you could easily identify that the Atlas Mountains is the right option. And this is the region, right? Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, where the Arab Spring happened. Right? So, it started from Tunisia. It spread to Libya. It spread to Algeria. It spread to Syria as well. Right? So, here you have Syria. This country of Syria. Yes. So, it had spread the Arab Spring to all these regions. Yes. There is also the East African Community. East African EAC member, member states of EAC. You can note down the member states of EAC. Eastern African countries. Yes. Write down: You have Uganda, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, South Sudan, you have South Sudan. You have Tanzania, Tanzania, Kenya. These were, earlier, these six countries were its members. Yes. So, South Sudan, Uganda. You can remember Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi together. Yes. U.R.B., right? Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi. Then you have South Sudan, Kenya, and Tanzania. Now, but you find DRC and Somalia have also become part of the East African Community. So, there are eight member countries. Fine. Then, of course, you have other groupings. African Union, etc. Okay. Among these, this is also very important. Generally, we study the African island nations here. Seychelles, Comoros, Mauritius, Madagascar, French Réunion. Comoros has a part called Mayotte. Mayotte has been in the news. So, Mayotte can be important. Mayotte Island, which is part of the Comoros archipelago, and Mayotte is a French territory. There was a cyclone there, Cyclone Freddy, in the context of which this was in the news. Yes. So, Mayotte and French Réunion. France is also part of IORA, Indian Ocean Rim Association. Why? Because of having territories in the Indian Ocean. Apart from this, you find islands here too. Atlantic Ocean islands of, of the African continent. This you study as part of geography. Right? They will also be important. Okay? So, you have these islands, or whatever islands in the Atlantic Ocean: Madeira, Canary, Cape Verde, right? These islands here, they are also important. Know them. Fine. Fine. So, there is a list of the African countries because questions are generally asked from them, and why they were in the news. You will go through. These kinds of information-loaded pages, you can identify them, and you can refer to them. Right? In Tanzania, IIT Madras has established its first international campus. In fact, this is the second international campus of, of IIT. The first was established in UAE, uh, this, right? And the second is in Tanzania. Check this. First or second, it is UAE and Tanzania. Senegal witnessed clashes. Comoros, right? The fourth island, Mayotte, is claimed by the country of Comoros, but administered by France. Emerged as a result of volcanic activity. Ethiopia. All this you can go through. Yes. Next, you have the regions often mentioned in the news and the country. So, Anatolia, Turkey region. It is associated with Turkey. Amhara is, right? Ethiopia is mentioned here. Cabo Delgado is not with Spain, yes. And Catalonia, we have already seen, is part of Spain. So, you find that these, these, whatever is mentioned, Anatolia, etc., all Amhara, all have been repeated. Yes. Cabo Delgado, all these are common regions that you should be aware of. Yes. So, you find only two pairs are correctly matched. Yes. Anatolia with Turkey is correctly matched, and Amhara with Ethiopia is correctly matched. Cabo Delgado is the northernmost province of Mozambique, was in the news because of the Al-Shabaab extremist group at that point in time. And Catalonia, we know, is a secessionist movement in Spain. Catalonia is a repeated theme also, and you find repeated questions being asked. Okay? Here, they have mentioned all this, some of these, which are repeated, right? So, you have the Okavango Delta. Yes. It is of, just look at the country. Yes. Botswana. Both Botswana, Zimbabwe is Zimbabwe. Yes. Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. Right? Sumatra Island is the biggest island of Indonesia. Jakarta of Indonesia. Yes. All these. Mindanao of the Philippines. Yes. Golan Heights, Chabahar, Anatolia of Turkey, Crimea of Ukraine. Yes. Atlas Mountains, I had told you, they had asked. Catalonia of Spain, right? Amhara, yes, of Ethiopia. Oromia of Ethiopia. Yes. Abyssinian Plateau of Ethiopia. Very, very important. Right? So, all these common repeated themes on which questions are being asked, and these are some regions that you should know. So, they have mentioned. You can identify them. Then, the Shaka Islands. Why were they in the news? Shaka happens to be disputed between China and Japan. Japan calls it Senkaku. And Japan is our friend, so we also call it Senkaku. But China calls it Diaoyu Islands. Right? And they are in the East China Sea. Shaka is quite in the news. Yes. It was also in the news that year. Yes. So, here is Senkaku, close to Taiwan in the East China Sea. Yes. Then they have also mentioned the Kuril. Kuril is another group of islands which remains disputed between Russia and China. Yes. Under Russia's control presently. And they will be important too. I have previously also mentioned Japan's islands: Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, all these are important. Japan's, maybe I can attach it to this PDF, or else you can just do a Google search. Type "Islands of Japan," right? Hokkaido, Honshu, right? You will find all these islands. Okinawa. There is a military base of the US in Okinawa. Ryukyu, R.Y.U.K.Y.U., right? All these islands, they are, these islands of Indonesia, and islands of Japan, do a Google search. They are important when it comes to Prelims. Fine. Then you have the South China Sea. That has been mentioned. Very, very, very important. Can never be discounted. Yes. South China Sea. In the context of the South China Sea, first, we should know the littoral countries of the South China Sea. Yes. I have previously given a shortcut to remember the littoral countries of the South China Sea. Remember all the countries of the Borneo Island. What is this island called? Borneo Island. B.O.R.N.E.O. Borneo Island. This island is divided into three countries: Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Yes. So, these three. Apart from that, Vietnam, of course. Apart from that, the Philippines. Apart from that, China. So, these six countries. Sometimes Taiwan is also considered littoral. But otherwise, these six countries constitute the littoral. So, you will always remember Vietnam. You will keep in mind. Indo-China's long coast. Then the Philippines, you will remember. Confusion happens among these: Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia. So, all the nations of this Borneo Island. Yes. And then China is there, of course. Which islands are there in this that are disputed? Paracel, Scarborough, Spratly. These are the famous ones. Yes. Apart from it, you find Paratas. Paratas was included when first, actually, when Kuomintang was in power in China. Right? The Communist Party of China has been in power in China since October 1st, 1949, when the PRC was proclaimed. Before that, China was under the control of the Kuomintang, which was led by Chiang Kai-shek, who was forced to flee to Taiwan, and there he proclaimed the Republic of China. Yes. So, when the Kuomintang Nationalist Political Party was in power in China, they had drawn the 11-dash line, through which they had also claimed the Paratas Islands. But generally, what is important are these three only: Paracel, Scarborough. Scarborough is disputed between the Philippines and China. Yes. And then Paracel and Spratly Islands. Okay. Apart from that, Second Thomas Shoal, right? Swallow Reef. You tend to remember. Yes. They have mentioned a timeline. You can go through it. Marshall Reef is also here, which is disputed and, meaning, in the South China Sea. Okay. One important part to remember here is that the Philippines had taken China to the Permanent Court of Arbitration over its dispute over the South China Sea, right? Because of their dispute over Scarborough, the Philippines had taken China to the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which ruled in favor of the Philippines. But China never accepted the ruling. So, you need to, in fact, look into the jurisdiction. Look into everything: ICC versus ICJ, plus versus PCA, whatever the member countries are, what is the jurisdiction, what is the nature of jurisdiction, you should know. Yes. Very, very, very important. All three have been in the news for several years. Right? Now, for the past three-four years, they have been quite in the news because of the Russia-Ukraine war, Russia, uh, or Hamas-Israel conflict. Then, as I told you, the Levant region, a favorite area of UPSC. Let's see. Eastern Mediterranean shores, or the region along the North African shores stretching from Egypt to Morocco, a region along the Persian Gulf and the Horn of Africa, the entire coastal area of the Mediterranean Sea. So, generally, what is it? Two themes are repeating: Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean shores, or the entire coastal area of the Mediterranean Sea. Yes. And Levant. Levant is a French word. It symbolizes a crescent, actually. Okay? So, a crescent, a fertile land. Levant has that meaning. So, in that case, right? It is Eastern Mediterranean shores. Right? So, if a theme is repeating, it means the answer is hidden within that theme. That is the reason UPSC is repeating that theme. See, this is a general way to remember things. Now, of course, it is not necessary that it will always be correct. But if you have to guess, this is how it works. Yes. Rising Sun. In this, Levant is also about this idea of a fertile crescent. Right? Now, the exact interpretation, I will also have to check. But it is also about the, right, fertile land. Fertile crescent, symbolic. So, maybe it is linked in that way somehow. But what I know of is this. Yes. Okay. So, Levant is generally in the news. So, they have asked a question. And, okay, the Levant region comprises Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and Cyprus. Questions have been asked on this region in different ways. For example, once UPSC has asked: they have named all the four countries: Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan. Which of them do not share a border with the Mediterranean Sea? Which do not have a Mediterranean Sea coast? Yes. So, you should know Syria, Lebanon, and Israel do. Yes. So, Jordan, in fact, does not have a coast, and Cyprus. At times, you also find that the Hatay province of Turkey is also included, and the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt is also included. Yes, yes. And in fact, you can see here. Okay, see, they have also mentioned this: the western end of the fertile crescent, and it is somehow associated with that, the coastal. It is also at times associated only with three countries, right? So, in fact, I think it is Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. Cyprus is not included, and Israel is not included, something like that. Yes. You will have to look into it. But it is semi-arid, which is true. Right? It is semi-arid. In fact, Mediterranean type of climate, right? Winter rain and summer dryness. Capillary action, etc., is there in the soil. Yes. Then, in 2023, which one of the following countries has been suffering from decades of civil strife and food shortages? What will it be? Somalia. Decades. Three decades, four decades, this has been going on. Yes. Once again, these were the countries, right? Maps of acute food insecurity hotspots. These types of questions can automatically come. Hunger hotspots. This is a report released by the Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Food Programme. Both are part of the UN system. Right? FAO is part of the specialized agencies, and the World Food Programme is a special fund and program of the UN. Okay? They say that acute food insecurity is likely to deteriorate in these 18 hunger hotspots, comprising a total of 22 countries. So, you can just know that who released this report, and their key finding is that hunger might increase. Yes. The hotspots of concern which they have shown, just know these regions. If asked, I think hunger hotspots can be a question in itself. Otherwise, maybe any region is mentioned for acute food shortage, hunger, poverty, you can identify them because the Sahel region, right? Primarily Pakistan, Afghanistan. Yes. You have Palestine, Syrian Arab Republic. Yes. You have Central American countries, yes, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, Haiti. Yes. In recent years, they have caught international attention for, right? Chad, Guinea, Mali, and Sudan. All have had successful coups. Military coups. Once again, see, this was asked in 2023. Donbas region, right? Luhansk and Donetsk, right? It is part of Ukraine. We have seen. Kachin. Kachin is a state which, which has generally been in the news with respect to Myanmar, right? There has been an insurgency. Kachin Independence Army is the name of the ethnic armed organization, right? Kachin Independence Army. And Tigray. Tigray is in Ethiopia. Yes. So, you find that none of them are in fact correctly matched. Fine. So, they have shown this, maybe DRC, right? These Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, these are all important. The East Coast of Africa. Have a little idea of the relative location. Look a bit into Ethiopia. These two regions are important. Tigray is asked about more often. But Afar is also another region. Yes. Once again, North Kivu and Ituri. These are regions of DRC. Okay? Then you have the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, which has been in the news, right? Quite often. Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, we had referred it to Ukraine. So, in fact, none of them are correctly matched. Yes. They have mentioned it. You can see DRC. Now, it has become important for M23. So, you will go through M23, right? Who.

The Hutu and Tutsi conflict that happened in Rwanda was ethnic cleansing. Yes. So how is that linked with M23? You should know. I think so they have also mentioned it, yes. M23 is associated with March 23, 2009. This M23 group, yes. The conflict of DRC of Congo dates back to 1990 when two civil wars were fought. The Rwandan genocide, around 2 million Hutu refugees crossed into Rwanda, crossed from Rwanda into North Kivu and South Kivu provinces of DRC. Then this Minsk group with respect to Nagorno-Karabakh, but it has not yielded any agreement, which we mentioned with respect to the Donbas region.

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Yes. So Argentina's worst economic crisis. Yes, Argentina has been witnessing a very bad economic crisis. That is why a libertarian government has come into power here now. Yes, I think so in 2023 itself they had elected, or 2024 they had elected a libertarian government. Argentina was also given membership of expanded BRICS, but it refused that membership eventually because of the change in government and the libertarian government getting elected. Sudan, there was a war between the country's regular and paramilitary forces. Yes, there was such a war. Turkey has rescinded, given away its membership of NATO. Incorrect, isn't it? Turkey has been a hindrance for the membership of Sweden and Finland. As of today, there are 32 member states. Sweden and Finland both have joined NATO. But Turkey has not given away its membership. But Turkey has been identified as the problematic factor because decisions have to be taken by consensus, and Turkey can stop consensus from happening. NATO will become, isn't it? NATO will be very, very important. Article 5 of NATO, which gives the idea of collective defense, isn't it? Will be important. Yes. So you find NATO has been mentioned. What is the reason for the Russia-Ukraine war? Ukraine wanted to join NATO, and it, isn't it, it was made into a partner country, and it was agreed that Ukraine might be given membership of NATO. But now Donald Trump has refused. Donald Trump has said that Ukraine will not be given membership of NATO. Yes. What is Ukraine? It is a post-Soviet state, isn't it? Following the Soviet Union's disintegration, it was one of the former Soviets which became independent. Now, a former Soviet getting NATO membership means NATO coming to the borders of Russia, which was not liked by Russia. But is it the first time that NATO has come to the borders of Russia? No, it is not the first time. Previously, former Soviet states of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, which are the Baltic states. Let me see, yes, these three countries, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. What are they? These are also former Soviet states of the Soviet Union. Former states of the Soviet Union. Okay? They also became members in 2004. So, on this, now, they and here is Russia. So here too, NATO came to the borders of Russia. Then they did not have a problem, but now when Ukraine, yes, Ukraine wants to get membership, then they have a problem. Because Ukraine, I always say, Ukraine is comparable to Nepal. What Nepal is to India, Ukraine is to Russia. What is Nepal to India? Nepal acts as a buffer. Why? Because if China enters Nepal, then China can directly through the Terai of Nepal enter into the northern Indian plains. Unimpeded access to the heart of India. This is the problem. That is why Nepal is very important for India. We don't want China in Nepal. Yes. Therefore, we had a policy previously of micromanaging affairs in Nepal. Similarly, if NATO reaches Ukraine, then Ukraine opens into the northern European plains of Russia. Direct access, isn't it? To Moscow. Unimpeded, there will be no geographical barrier. Easy movement to Moscow. And previously, whenever there was a threat against Moscow, except during a Russia-China war or USSR-China war and USSR-Japan war in World War II, the Russia-China war which had happened in 1969, okay, apart from those two wars, threats to Russia have always emerged via Ukraine, via the northern European plains, that the enemy entered to attack Moscow. So, just as we cannot compromise Nepal to China, we can never accept Chinese military in Nepal. Similarly, Russia can never accept NATO in Ukraine because of unimpeded access to the northern European plains of Russia. Yes. Therefore, the Russia-Ukraine war, and therefore now the US has said we will not give, isn't it, membership to Ukraine in NATO. Yes. But presently, 32 member countries. Just as we have NATO, there is this organization called CSTO, Collective Security Treaty Organization. Yes. It is an organization. It is an organization comprising Russia and the former Soviets. Okay? So, what is it? Former Soviets, you know, or not? Which are the 15 countries? The USSR disintegrated into 15 countries. Yes, seven in Europe and eight in Asia. Yes. Which are the seven countries in Europe? The three Baltic countries. Yes. Then you have Russia itself, Ukraine, Belarus. Belarus, which is very pro-Russia, okay? Supports Russia and the Russia-Ukraine war, and Moldova. These are them. And here, eight in Asia: the five Central Asian republics, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and the three Caucasus countries. Which are they? Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia. So, out of these 15 countries, six countries have come together to create CSTO, which is similar to NATO. So, in NATO, Article 5 talks about collective defense. Okay? So, an attack on one will be considered an attack on all. And this Article 5 was operationalized only once, yes, during the 9/11 incident, isn't it, which happened to the US, the Twin Tower attack, only then, isn't it, this Article 5 was invoked. And in CSTO, the same guarantee is provided under Article 4 of collective defense. Yes. And these are the member countries. However, Armenia wants to withdraw from CSTO. Yes. Why does Armenia want to withdraw from CSTO? Because of their conflict with Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh, okay? So, in that, CSTO did not come to the assistance of Armenia. And why did they not come? Because the Russia-Ukraine war was going on. Taking advantage of the Russia-Ukraine war, Azerbaijan took away territorial control from Armenia. The Nagorno-Karabakh region was claimed as the territory of Azerbaijan, but was inhabited by Armenians. Armenians lived there. But you, Azerbaijan could not do anything, isn't it? It could not take the territory back and push out the Armenians because the status quo was maintained by Russia. In all these countries, mostly, isn't it? Here, here, isn't it, here, the balance of power is maintained by Russia. Okay? So, here, Azerbaijan could not take back its territory because of the status quo being maintained by Russia. But as Russia got involved in the Russia-Ukraine war, Azerbaijan took it as an opportunity and pushed out the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. Okay? So, the security of the Armenians got compromised. They lost territory, but CSTO did not come to support them. So, Armenia wants to withdraw from CSTO. Fine. And these are, isn't it, you have three Central Asian Republics, then Belarus, so it is a very close friend of Russia, okay? For this reason, Belarus has also been given membership in SCO. Fine, fine. Yes, once again, two statements. You can read through. Both statements are correct, and one is, isn't it, statement two explains statement one. Yes, there is instability and a worsening security situation in the Sahel region because there have been military takeovers, because there have been coups in several countries of, isn't it, the Sahel region in the recent past. Isn't it, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, all have had coups. Just finish this once. We will discuss the rest tomorrow. Yes, you can look at these maps. This shows the Balkan region. Yes, which used to be once the country of Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia disintegrated into six countries. Yes, one of them is also Kosovo. If Kosovo is considered, then it becomes seven countries. Yugoslavia disintegrated into Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, and Macedonia. Okay, there is Macedonia, there is Kosovo. Not all countries recognize Kosovo, so we say Yugoslavia broke into six countries. And this word "Balkanization" comes from the fact that this Balkan region got, isn't it, here, Yugoslavia disintegrated, isn't it? So, disintegration is equal to synonymous with Balkanization. Do you follow? Okay? So, here, these countries, look at them. Okay? There is a small country called Monaco. You should know. What are these? Flame-shaped islands. Sardinia belongs to Italy. Corsica, I think so, belongs to France. Isn't it? Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia, all this you should know. Sicily, Malta, isn't it? You should know all this. The Black Sea is once again very, very important. The littoral of the Black Sea can be asked. Previously, they have asked about the littoral of the Caspian Sea. Caspian Sea's littoral. How can you remember? Through the acronym TARIQ. TARIQ stands for Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran, and Kazakhstan. Yes. Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran, and Kazakhstan. And when it comes to the Black Sea, the acronym is BURGER, BURGER T or T BURGER. Yes. Remove the E from it. T stands for Turkey, B stands for Bulgaria, U for Ukraine, R for Romania, R for Russia, and G for Georgia. G is for Georgia. Yes. So, I told you about the three Caucasian nations: Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia. Azerbaijan is a littoral state of the Caspian Sea. Georgia is a littoral country of the Black Sea. Armenia is landlocked. That is how you remember: Georgia on the Black Sea, Azerbaijan on the Caspian Sea, Armenia in between, landlocked. Okay? Here, these are the littoral countries. Then you have these two. This is the Black Sea. This is the Sea of Azov. Sea of Azov. This is the Kerch Strait. Then this is the Bosphorus Strait. This is the Sea of Marmara. This is the Dardanelles Strait. Yes. You have the Aegean Sea. You have the Ionian Sea. Here, here, you have the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Okay? Turkey is a very important country, isn't it? Look at their coast: Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea. And Turkey is in Asia, but Istanbul is in Europe. Because of this, Turkey for the longest time wanted EU membership. But then they realized they would not get membership because of their human rights record, again, vis-à-vis their current president. There is a dictatorial regime there. Yes. Mediterranean Sea bordering countries, isn't it? So you find Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt. Yes. Then here, you have Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus (so it's an island), Turkey, yes, Greece, Albania. All these you can go through. Yes. Here, you have Spain, France, Italy. Yes, all these. The entire list. Yes. I have already spoken about the littoral countries. The littoral of the Caspian Sea has also been asked. The Aral Sea is landlocked between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Region in focus: this is the West Asian region. West Asia, which comprises GCC countries. Which are the GCC countries? Okay, first let us identify the Levant region. Okay? Levant is done. Then, after that, which are the GCC countries? Oman, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar. This is the GCC. These are six countries. Iran, isn't it? Iraq is a Gulf country but not a member of GCC. You should know the sequence. Kuwait you remember generally. Bahrain and Qatar can cause confusion. So, in alphabetical order, B comes first, then Q. Bahrain first, then Qatar. Qatar's capital is Doha. Bahrain's capital is, yes, Manama. Yes. So you find all these countries. Yemen is another country, isn't it? This is in the Arabian Peninsula. Then you have Iraq. We have mentioned across the Persian Gulf, you have Iran, you have Turkey, Egypt. As such, Egypt is not considered part of West Asia, but it is considered part of the Middle East, as the US calls it. Okay? And then you have the three Caucasus: this is Georgia, this is Azerbaijan, and this is Armenia. Above is Russia. Fine. Bandar Abbas port on the Strait of Hormuz, you can locate. On the Gulf of Oman, here is Chabahar Port, close to Gwadar Port of Pakistan. Yes. You have Central Asia. Afghanistan is not part of Central Asia. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan. Look at the Caspian Sea, Aral Sea. And here, always remember which countries border China? Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan. This is how you will remember several memberships of several organizations. China shares a border with three Central Asian Republics. India shares a border with how many Central Asian Republics? Zero. We have, we do not have land access to Central Asia. This is the reason for low trade between India and Central Asia. This is the reason we want to develop Chabahar Port. Yes. You will read through why all these have been in the news. Fine. So, the next set of questions, we will start in the next class. So, this is it for today's class. Fine. Thank you. We will continue tomorrow and hopefully, we will complete the booklet. Fine. Thank you. [Music]