UPSC Prelims 2017 · Question 18 of 99

UPSC Prelims 2017 question on Indian Ocean Naval Symposium

Consider the following in respect of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS):

1. Inaugural IONS was held in India in 2015 under the chairmanship of the Indian Navy.

2. IONS is a voluntary initiative that seeks to increase maritime co-operation among navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: B. 2 only

Verdict

The answer is 2 only. The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium is a voluntary maritime cooperation initiative, but the inaugural meeting was in 2008, not 2015.

Analysis

Statement 2 is CORRECT. The Symposium is a voluntary initiative seeking to increase maritime cooperation among the navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region, providing an open and inclusive forum for regionally relevant maritime issues, with members grouped into South Asian, West Asian, East African and South East Asian and Australian sub regions. Statement 1 is INCORRECT on the date. The inaugural Symposium was held in New Delhi in 2008 under the chairmanship of the Indian Navy.

Source

The Hindu reporting on the Indian Navy.

How to crack it

For any grouping, the founding year is the single most tested fact after the membership, and it is worth logging the moment the body appears in the news. Note the structural clue as well: a symposium described as having rotated its chairmanship through several countries cannot have been inaugurated only two years before the question was set. Internal arithmetic of that kind often disproves a date without recall.

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