How many times India and Pakistan exchanged the list of their nuclear installations under an agreement that aims to prevent both sides from attacking such installations till January 2018?
- (a)25
- (b)26
- (c)27
- (d)28
Correct — C, 27. India and Pakistan are bound by the 1988 Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities, under which each side hands the other a list of its nuclear installations and facilities on 1 January every year. The first exchange took place on 1 January 1992, so the exchange on 1 January 2018 was the 27th consecutive one.
- (a)25 — A count of 25 would correspond to 1 January 2016 — two exchanges too early.
- (b)26 — A count of 26 corresponds to 1 January 2017 — one short of the January-2018 total.
- (d)28 — The 28th exchange was reached only on 1 January 2019 — one year after the date in the question.
The India–Pakistan non-attack agreement is a confidence-building measure (CBM): both states pledge not to attack each other's nuclear installations, and to make that pledge credible they exchange lists of those installations every 1 January. Signed on 31 December 1988, it entered into force on 27 January 1991 and the annual exchange has continued unbroken even through periods of high tension.
Reason from the start year rather than memorising the count: the first exchange was on 1 January 1992, so the number for any January equals (year − 1992 + 1). For 2018 that is 27.
- Agreement signed 31 December 1988; entered into force 27 January 1991.
- Lists of nuclear installations are swapped every 1 January.
- First exchange: 1 January 1992.
- The 1 January 2018 exchange was the 27th consecutive one.
- 1988 — Agreement signed (31 Dec)
- 1991 — Enters into force (27 Jan)
- 1992 — First list exchange (1 Jan)
- 2018 — 27th consecutive exchange
Lists of nuclear installations are exchanged every 1 January; the January-2018 swap was the 27th.
- Off-by-one errors in counting the annual exchanges
- Confusing this bilateral pact with the NPT or CTBT
- Mixing up the signing year (1988), the in-force year (1991) and the first-exchange year (1992)
Usually a current-affairs count ('how many times / which year') or a matching item asking which agreement provides for the annual exchange of nuclear-installation lists.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under the India–Pakistan non-attack agreement, on which date each year are lists of nuclear installations exchanged?
- (a)26 January
- (b)1 January
- (c)14 August
- (d)15 August
Answer(b) 1 January — the exchange is made on the first day of each year.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The India–Pakistan Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities was signed in:
- (a)1972
- (b)1988
- (c)1998
- (d)1999
Answer(b) 1988 — it entered into force in January 1991.