Current Affairs — How to Prepare
🔒 Log in to trackSummits, groupings and organisations to track
🔒 Log in to trackNote host city, theme, membership change, HQ per summit. Anchors: UN 1945 (193 members, UNSC 5+10), NAM 1961, ASEAN 1967 Jakarta, SAARC 1985 Kathmandu (8), BIMSTEC 1997 Dhaka (7), G20 1999/2008 (AU joined 2023), SCO 2001 Beijing (India-Pak 2017), first BRICS summit 2009 (NDB Shanghai), Commonwealth 56/London. India is not in APEC, ASEAN, G7, NATO or OPEC.
Detailed notes
What summit questions ask
Four details, every time: host country/city of the latest summit, the group's membership, its headquarters, and what changed (a new member, a theme, an outcome). The membership and HQ are permanent; learn them once.
The groupings to know cold
| Grouping | Founded | HQ | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| G20 | 1999 (finance ministers); leaders' summits from 2008 | No permanent HQ — rotating presidency | 19 countries + the European Union; the African Union joined in 2023 (New Delhi summit) |
| BRICS | term coined 2001; first summit 2009 | NDB at Shanghai | Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (2010); expansion approved 2024 (Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE among entrants) |
| SCO | 2001 (from the Shanghai Five) | Beijing (RATS at Tashkent) | India and Pakistan full members since 2017; Belarus joined 2024 |
| QUAD | 2007, revived 2017 | — (no HQ) | India, USA, Japan, Australia; leaders'-level since 2021 |
| ASEAN | 1967, Bangkok Declaration | Jakarta | Southeast Asia's ten-nation bloc; India is a dialogue partner, not a member |
| UN | 1945 | New York | 51 founders; 193 members; UNSC = 5 permanent (veto) + 10 non-permanent (2-year terms) |
| SAARC | 1985 (first summit Dhaka) | Kathmandu | 8 South Asian members; SAFTA from 2006 |
| BIMSTEC | 1997 | Dhaka | 7 Bay of Bengal littorals: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand |
| Commonwealth | London Declaration 1949 (modern form) | London (Marlborough House) | 56 member states; the British Sovereign is its Head |
| NAM | 1961 Belgrade | — | India a founding member |
India's membership map — a favourite trap set
Member: UN, G20, BRICS, SCO, QUAD, SAARC, BIMSTEC, Commonwealth, NAM, IMF/World Bank/WTO, AIIB, ADB. Not a member: APEC (the classic trap), ASEAN (dialogue partner only), G7, NATO, OPEC. India led the G77 (developing-countries caucus at the UN) at times and hosts the International Solar Alliance (HQ Gurugram) with France.
How to note a summit in the window
One line per event: group — host city/country — theme — what changed. Themes are quoted in one-liners; membership changes (AU into G20, Belarus into SCO, BRICS expansion) are the second-most asked detail after hosts.
Quick revision
- G20: 1999/2008; AU joined 2023; rotating presidency, no HQ.
- BRICS: 2009 first summit; NDB Shanghai; 2024 expansion. SCO: 2001, Beijing; India-Pak 2017.
- QUAD = India-US-Japan-Australia (revived 2017). ASEAN 1967 Jakarta; India = dialogue partner.
- UN 1945, 193 members; UNSC 5+10. SAARC 1985 Kathmandu (8). BIMSTEC 1997 Dhaka (7).
- Commonwealth 56, London. NAM 1961 Belgrade.
- India is NOT in APEC, ASEAN, G7, NATO, OPEC.
Types of questions asked
Every way this subtopic shows up in exams — how to recognise it, the formula or logic to use, and a solved example.
Type 1: Summit ↔ host ↔ themevery common3 practice Q
'The X summit was hosted by', statements pairing a recent summit with its host city or theme.
- For each summit in the window, memorise group — host city/country — theme as one line.
- Themes quoted in exams are usually slogans (e.g. G20 New Delhi's 'One Earth One Family One Future').
- When options swap cities, eliminate by continent logic first — the wrong pair is almost always from a different region.
Example: The G20 summit hosted by India (New Delhi, 2023) carried the theme —
'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — One Earth, One Family, One Future'; the same summit admitted the African Union as a permanent member.
Type 2: Group ↔ membership ↔ headquartersvery common4 practice Q
'The SCO is headquartered at', 'how many members does BIMSTEC have', matching groups with HQ and member counts.
- HQ pins: SCO — Beijing; SAARC — Kathmandu; BIMSTEC — Dhaka; ASEAN — Jakarta; NDB (BRICS) — Shanghai; Commonwealth — London.
- Counts: SAARC 8; BIMSTEC 7; UN 193; Commonwealth 56; UNSC 5 permanent + 10 non-permanent.
- India-led or India-hosted bodies: International Solar Alliance — Gurugram.
Example: The headquarters of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is at —
Beijing — the anti-terror arm (RATS) sits at Tashkent; India and Pakistan became full members in 2017.
Type 3: India's membership map (in / out)common3 practice Q
'India is NOT a member of', statements placing India inside or outside a grouping — APEC and ASEAN are the classic traps.
- In: UN, G20, BRICS, SCO, QUAD, SAARC, BIMSTEC, Commonwealth, NAM, AIIB, ADB.
- Out: APEC (the evergreen trap), ASEAN (dialogue partner only), G7, NATO, OPEC.
- Founding credits: India co-founded NAM, G77 work, SAARC-era bodies and the International Solar Alliance (with France).
Example: India is not a member of which grouping?
APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) — despite bordering the Pacific's trade flows, India sits outside it; ASEAN membership is also absent (dialogue partner only).
Type 4: Groupings: founding years and expansionscommon3 practice Q
'BRICS expansion happened in', 'when did India join the SCO', ordering groups by founding year, new-member questions.
- Years: UN 1945, NAM 1961, ASEAN 1967, SAARC 1985, G20 1999, SCO 2001, BIMSTEC 1997, first BRICS summit 2009.
- Expansions: AU into G20 (2023); BRICS expansion (2024); Belarus into SCO (2024); India-Pakistan into SCO (2017).
- Match the change to the group before checking other statements.
Example: India and Pakistan became full members of the SCO in —
2017 — the SCO (founded 2001) admitted both together; Belarus followed as a full member in 2024.
Type 5: UN structure and India's UN trackcommon3 practice Q
'How many members does the UN have', 'UNSC non-permanent members serve for', how many times India has been an elected UNSC member.
- UN: founded 1945, 193 members, HQ New York; principal judicial organ ICJ at The Hague.
- UNSC: 15 members — 5 permanent with veto (US, UK, France, Russia, China) + 10 non-permanent for two-year terms.
- India has been elected a non-permanent UNSC member eight times (latest term 2021-22) and has long pressed for permanent reform.
Example: Non-permanent members of the UN Security Council are elected for a term of —
Two years — ten of the Council's fifteen seats rotate; the five permanent members hold vetoes.
Shortcut tricks
⚡ HQ trio
SCO — Beijing; SAARC — Kathmandu; BIMSTEC — Dhaka — the three most-swapped headquarters. ASEAN sits at Jakarta as the fourth.
Example: BIMSTEC's secretariat is at?
Dhaka — while SAARC (the other South Asian bloc) is at Kathmandu.
Where students lose marks
Marking India an APEC member — it is not.
Putting SAARC's HQ at Dhaka (that is BIMSTEC); SAARC sits at Kathmandu.
Confusing the G20's founding (1999) with its first leaders' summit (2008).
Practice sets — 16 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Each answer comes with a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 10 questions
Suggested time 4 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.