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15 Jul 2026ECONOMY3 questions

Sixty Years On, India and the Maldives Start Writing a Trade Text

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Article summary

India and the Maldives concluded the first round of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement, held virtually from 29 June to 7 July 2026. India's team was led by Chief Negotiator Ujjwal Kumar Ghosh, Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce, and the Maldivian delegation by Chief Negotiator Yusuf Riza. The round involved text-based discussions across eight technical sessions covering eight policy areas, with both sides reporting substantive progress and broad convergence on several issues. On 8 July the two governments' ministers reviewed the wider set of bilateral economic initiatives and reaffirmed a commitment to expedite both the FTA and a Bilateral Investment Treaty, agreeing also to deepen cooperation in tourism, startups, digital payments, MSMEs and trade. The timing carries weight: the two countries are marking sixty years of diplomatic relations, and the negotiation follows a period in which the relationship had cooled before being deliberately repaired. In pure trade terms the Maldives is a very small partner for India; the significance lies in what a treaty-level economic architecture signals in an Indian Ocean neighbourhood where external powers have been competing for influence.

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recallTests whether you read the article and retained key facts.
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applicationTests whether you can apply the concept to a new scenario.
1Q
analysisTests whether you can reason across multiple related facts.
1Q

Sample questions — answers revealed after test

ECONOMYRecallEasy

Q1. With reference to the Maldives and its relations with India, which one of the following statements is correct?

AIt is an archipelago of over 1,190 islands in 26 atolls and the world's lowest-lying country, separated from India's Minicoy Island by the Eight Degree Channel.
BIt is separated from Minicoy Island in Lakshadweep by the Ten Degree Channel.
CIn Operation Cactus (1988), Indian forces intervened in the Maldives without any request from the Maldivian government.
DThe first round of India–Maldives free trade agreement negotiations was held at Malé in June 2026.
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ECONOMYApplicationMedium

Q2. An analyst argues that the India–Maldives free trade agreement ought not to be assessed on its projected trade volumes. Which one of the following best states the reasoning?

ATrade volumes cannot meaningfully be projected until a tariff schedule has been agreed between the parties.
BThe Maldives, being a net importer, would derive no benefit from tariff liberalisation.
CFree trade agreements between neighbouring states are never commercially motivated.
DThe Maldivian economy is small and concentrated in tourism and fisheries, so no plausible schedule makes it a material market; the agreement's function is to create a ratified framework that outlasts a change of government.
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ECONOMYAnalysisHard

Q3. Consider the following statements regarding India–Maldives relations: 1. The first round of free trade agreement negotiations was held in virtual mode from 29 June to 7 July 2026 across eight technical sessions, with a Bilateral Investment Treaty being negotiated in parallel. 2. India's engagement is framed by Neighbourhood First and SAGAR, and recent projects include the Greater Malé Connectivity Project and the extension of RuPay. 3. The Maldives holds one of the largest coral reef systems in the world and has an average elevation of over ten metres above mean sea level. Which of the statements given above are correct?

A1 only
B1 and 2 only
C2 and 3 only
D1, 2 and 3
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