UPSC Prelims 2018 GS Paper I · Q26 of 100 Economy easy

India enacted The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 in order to comply with the obligations to

  1. (a) ILO
  2. (b) IMF
  3. (c) UNCTAD
  4. (d) WTO ✓ UPSC's answer

Why the answer is (d)

• Geographical Indications are covered by Articles 22–24 of the WTO's TRIPS Agreement, which obliges members to protect GIs against misuse.

• India, a WTO member, enacted the GI Act, 1999 (in force 2003) to meet this obligation and to protect products such as Darjeeling tea and Basmati — option (d).

• The ILO (a) deals with labour, the IMF (b) with finance and UNCTAD (c) with trade and development policy — none sets IP obligations.

• Hence option (d).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) ILO
ILO concerns labour standards, not IP.
(b) IMF
IMF concerns monetary matters, not IP.
(c) UNCTAD
UNCTAD does not impose IP obligations.

Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2018, held on 3 June 2018. 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.

Practise this paper free