UPSC Prelims 2014 GS Paper I · Q35 of 100 Current Events medium

Consider the following countries : 1. Denmark 2. Japan 3. Russian Federation 4. United Kingdom 5. United States of America Which of the above are the members of the 'Arctic Council'?

  1. (a) 1, 2 and 3
  2. (b) 2, 3 and 4
  3. (c) 1, 4 and 5
  4. (d) 1, 3 and 5 ✓ UPSC's answer

Why the answer is (d)

• The Arctic Council (1996) has eight members — the States with Arctic territory: Canada, Denmark (via Greenland), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the USA (via Alaska).

• Denmark (1), Russia (3) and the USA (5) are members; Japan (2) and the UK (4) are only observers (India became an observer in 2013).

• Hence 1, 3 and 5, option (d).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) 1, 2 and 3
Japan is only an observer.
(b) 2, 3 and 4
Japan and the UK are observers, not members.
(c) 1, 4 and 5
The UK is only an observer.

Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2014, held on 24 August 2014. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

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