Current Affairs — How to Prepare

high importance~7 Q in Tier 1⚡ 12 shortcuts6 subtopics

Overview Learn (6)Formulas (0)Examples (3)Practice (88)

Summits, groupings and organisations to track

⏱ 5 min read🧩 6 question types🎯 16 practice Q

The idea in one minute

For every grouping, learn four things: members, headquarters, founding year and what changed recently. Members and headquarters rarely change, so learn them once. The host city and theme change every summit, so note them in one line each. India is not a member of APEC, ASEAN, G7, NATO or OPEC.

What a summit question asks

A summit question checks one of four details. They are the host, the members, the headquarters (HQ) and what changed.

Members and HQ stay the same for years. Learn them once. The host city and the theme change with every summit.

Example: "G20, New Delhi, 2023. The African Union joined." One line gives the host, the year and the change.

The groupings to know

Grouping	Founded	HQ	Key facts
G20	1999 (finance ministers); leaders' summits from 2008	None; the presidency rotates	19 countries + European Union; African Union joined 2023
BRICS	Name coined 2001; first summit 2009	New Development Bank (NDB) at Shanghai	Brazil, Russia, India, China; South Africa 2010; expanded 2024
SCO	2001, grew out of the Shanghai Five	Beijing (anti-terror unit RATS at Tashkent)	India and Pakistan full members 2017; Belarus 2024
QUAD	2007, revived 2017	No HQ	India, USA, Japan, Australia; leaders' meetings since 2021
ASEAN	1967, Bangkok Declaration	Jakarta	Southeast Asian bloc; India is only a dialogue partner
SAARC	1985, first summit at Dhaka	Kathmandu	8 South Asian members; SAFTA from 2006
BIMSTEC	1997	Dhaka	7 Bay of Bengal countries
Commonwealth	Modern form from the London Declaration, 1949	London (Marlborough House)	56 members; the British Sovereign is Head
NAM	1961, Belgrade	No HQ	India is a founding member

The 2024 BRICS entrants include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE. The seven BIMSTEC members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Tip: Three HQs get swapped most: SCO at Beijing, SAARC at Kathmandu, BIMSTEC at Dhaka.

The United Nations

The UN was founded in 1945 with 51 founding members. It now has 193 members. Its HQ is in New York. Its main court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), sits at The Hague.

The Security Council (UNSC) has 15 seats:

5 permanent members with a veto: the US, UK, France, Russia and China.
10 non-permanent members, elected for two-year terms.

India has been elected a non-permanent member eight times. Its latest term was 2021-22. India has long pressed for reform of the Council.

India in or out

India is a member	India is not a member
UN, G20, BRICS, SCO, QUAD	APEC
SAARC, BIMSTEC, Commonwealth, NAM	ASEAN (dialogue partner only)
IMF, World Bank, WTO, AIIB, ADB	G7, NATO, OPEC

India hosts the International Solar Alliance with France. Its HQ is at Gurugram. India has at times led the G77, the group of developing countries at the UN.

Watch: APEC is the classic trap. India trades with Pacific countries but is not an APEC member.

How to note a summit

Write one line per summit: group, host city or country, theme, what changed.

After the host, membership change is the most asked detail. Past examples are the African Union joining the G20, Belarus joining the SCO and the BRICS expansion.

Themes are often slogans. The New Delhi G20 theme was "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: One Earth, One Family, One Future".

Question types you will see

Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.

Type 1very common3 practice Q

Summit, host and theme

How to spot it:

'The X summit was hosted by', 'the theme of the summit was', or statements pairing a summit with a city.

Method

Recall your one-line note: group, host, theme, change.
Match the host city first.
If cities are swapped, reject pairs from the wrong region.
For a theme, look for the slogan you noted.

Why it works:

Hosts and themes are the most asked details of any summit.

Try this

The G20 Leaders' Summit hosted by India at New Delhi in 2023 had which theme?

Show solution

The summit was India's G20 presidency.
Its theme came from an old Sanskrit phrase.
The same summit admitted the African Union.

Answer

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: One Earth, One Family, One Future

Type 2very common4 practice Q

Grouping, members and headquarters

How to spot it:

'X is headquartered at', 'how many members does X have', or a match-the-following of groups and cities.

Method

Recall the HQ pins: SCO Beijing, SAARC Kathmandu, BIMSTEC Dhaka, ASEAN Jakarta.
Add NDB Shanghai, Commonwealth London, ISA Gurugram.
Recall counts: SAARC 8, BIMSTEC 7, UN 193, Commonwealth 56.
Cross out any option that swaps two South Asian HQs.

Why it works:

HQs and member counts are fixed, so a short list settles most questions.

Try this

The headquarters of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is at which city?

Show solution

The SCO was founded in 2001.
Its secretariat is in China's capital.
Its anti-terror unit, RATS, is at Tashkent, not the HQ.

Answer

Beijing

Type 3common3 practice Q

India's membership: in or out

How to spot it:

'India is NOT a member of', or statements placing India inside or outside a grouping.

Method

Recall the 'out' list: APEC, ASEAN, G7, NATO, OPEC.
Check each option against it.
Remember ASEAN gives India dialogue-partner status only.

Why it works:

The 'out' list has only five names, so it is quicker than the 'in' list.

Try this

India is NOT a member of which of the following? (a) SCO (b) BIMSTEC (c) APEC (d) G20

Show solution

SCO: India joined in 2017.
BIMSTEC and G20: India is a member.
APEC is on the 'out' list.

Answer

Type 4common3 practice Q

Founding years and new members

How to spot it:

'When did India join the SCO', 'which body joined the G20', or arranging groupings by founding year.

Method

Recall years: UN 1945, NAM 1961, ASEAN 1967, SAARC 1985, BIMSTEC 1997, G20 1999, SCO 2001.
Recall changes: India-Pakistan into SCO 2017, AU into G20 2023, BRICS expansion 2024, Belarus into SCO 2024.
Match the change to the right group before reading other options.

Why it works:

Each change belongs to one group and one year, so pair them as a unit.

Try this

In which year did India and Pakistan become full members of the SCO?

Show solution

The SCO was founded in 2001.
Both countries were admitted together.
Belarus joined later, in 2024.

Answer

2017

Type 5common3 practice Q

UN structure and India at the UN

How to spot it:

'How many members does the UN have', 'UNSC non-permanent members serve for', or India's UNSC terms.

Method

UN: 1945, 193 members, HQ New York; ICJ at The Hague.
UNSC: 15 seats, 5 permanent with veto plus 10 non-permanent.
Non-permanent terms are two years.
India has been elected eight times; latest term 2021-22.

Why it works:

The UN numbers are fixed and asked again and again.

Try this

Non-permanent members of the UN Security Council are elected for a term of how many years?

Show solution

The Council has 15 seats.
5 are permanent with a veto.
The other 10 rotate on fixed terms.

Answer

Two years

Type 6occasional

Name the grouping from its members

How to spot it:

A list of countries is given and the grouping is asked, e.g. 'India, USA, Japan and Australia form'.

Method

Count the countries in the list.
Four democracies across the Indo-Pacific means QUAD.
Seven Bay of Bengal countries means BIMSTEC.
Eight South Asian countries means SAARC.

Why it works:

Each small grouping has a member list that fits no other group.

Try this

India, the USA, Japan and Australia are the four members of which grouping?

Show solution

The list has exactly four countries.
It began in 2007 and was revived in 2017.
It has no HQ.

Answer

QUAD

Shortcuts that save time

⚡ HQ trio

SCO sits at Beijing, SAARC at Kathmandu and BIMSTEC at Dhaka. ASEAN at Jakarta is the fourth to learn.

Example

Where is the BIMSTEC secretariat?

Show solution

BIMSTEC is the Bay of Bengal group.
SAARC, the other South Asian group, is at Kathmandu.
BIMSTEC is at Dhaka.

Answer

Dhaka

⚡ Five 'not a member' names

India is outside APEC, ASEAN, G7, NATO and OPEC. Any option with one of these is the answer to a 'not a member' question.

Example

India is not a member of which of these: SCO, BRICS, APEC, BIMSTEC?

Show solution

SCO, BRICS and BIMSTEC all include India.
APEC is on the 'not a member' list.

Answer

APEC

Mistakes to avoid

Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.

Mistake 01

Marking India as an APEC member.

India is not in APEC. It is also outside ASEAN, G7, NATO and OPEC.

Mistake 02

Putting SAARC's HQ at Dhaka.

SAARC is at Kathmandu. Dhaka is the BIMSTEC HQ.

Mistake 03

Taking 2008 as the year the G20 was founded.

The G20 began in 1999 with finance ministers. Leaders' summits began in 2008.

Mistake 04

Calling India an ASEAN member.

India is only a dialogue partner of ASEAN.

Mistake 05

Giving UNSC non-permanent members a five-year term.

Their term is two years. Five is the number of permanent members.

Quick revision

Read this the night before the exam.

G20: 1999, leaders' summits from 2008, no HQ; African Union joined 2023.
BRICS: first summit 2009; NDB at Shanghai; South Africa 2010; expanded 2024.
SCO: 2001, Beijing; India and Pakistan joined 2017; Belarus 2024.
QUAD: India, USA, Japan, Australia; revived 2017.
ASEAN 1967 Jakarta. SAARC 1985 Kathmandu (8). BIMSTEC 1997 Dhaka (7).
UN 1945, 193 members; UNSC = 5 permanent + 10 non-permanent (two-year terms).
Commonwealth: 56 members, London. NAM: 1961, Belgrade.
India is not in APEC, ASEAN, G7, NATO or OPEC.

Practice: 16 questions

Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.

Topic test · 10 questions

Suggested time 4 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.

Continue learning