Read the following statements about Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) – (i) In the context of International trade, supply chain resilience is an approach that helps a country to ensure uninterrupted supply of import in an unexpected situation. (ii) This is an initiative of five countries, India is one of them. Choose the correct code -

Correct — option (1), Only (i) is true.

Statement (ii) is false. The Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) was launched as an initiative of three countries, not five. The trade ministers of Australia, India and Japan launched it at a ministerial videoconference on 27 April 2021, according to their joint statement released by PIB the same day.

The three ministers were Dan Tehan (Australia), Piyush Goyal (India) and Kajiyama Hiroshi (Japan). The statement says: "The Ministers hereby launch the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI)."

Statement (i) describes supply chain resilience as a way to keep imports flowing in an unexpected situation. That wording rests on RPSC's key, which treats it as true; the joint statement does not define the term.

The closest the joint statement comes is noting the "importance of risk management and continuity plans in order to avoid supply chain disruptions".

So only (i) is true: option (1).

The idea to remember: SCRI = Australia, India and Japan, launched 27 April 2021.

Why the others are wrong

• (2)
  Only (ii) is true — Option (2) gets both statements the wrong way round. It accepts (ii), but the SCRI was launched by three countries, Australia, India and Japan, not five.

  It also rejects (i), which RPSC's key treats as true.

• (3)
  Neither (i) nor (ii) is true — Option (3) is right to reject (ii), since the SCRI was launched by three countries, but it also rejects (i).

  Statement (i) is the statement RPSC's key treats as true, and its wording rests on that key. The joint statement of 27 April 2021 does not define supply chain resilience, though it stresses risk management and continuity plans to avoid supply chain disruptions.

• (4)
  Both (i) and (ii) are true — Option (4) accepts (ii), the five-country claim. The joint statement names three countries: Australia, India and Japan.

  On membership, it says only that the Ministers "consented that expansion of the SCRI may be considered based on consensus, if needed, in due course". The statement itself names only the three.

A supply chain is the sequence of producers, suppliers and transport links that brings goods to a buyer. It is resilient when it can keep supplies moving, or recover quickly, after a shock such as a pandemic or a sudden trade disruption.

The Australia-India-Japan joint statement says the COVID-19 pandemic "had revealed supply chain vulnerabilities globally and in the region".

It names two possible policy measures: supporting the enhanced use of digital technology, and supporting trade and investment diversification.

Key facts

• 27 April 2021: the trade ministers of Australia, India and Japan launched the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) at a virtual meeting.
• Ministers: Dan Tehan (Australia), Piyush Goyal (India) and Kajiyama Hiroshi (Japan).
• Initial projects: sharing best practices, and investment promotion and buyer-seller matching events.
• The Ministers decided to convene at least once a year to guide the SCRI.
• The joint statement says expansion of the SCRI may be considered based on consensus, if needed, in due course.

Common traps

• Counting members: the SCRI was launched by three countries (Australia, India, Japan), not five.
• Confusing the SCRI with the Quad: the Quad also includes the United States, but the SCRI was launched by Australia, India and Japan.
• Reading an expansion clause as membership: the statement allows expansion to be considered by consensus, which is not a list of new members.

UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2018 here once that paper is published on this site.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI), launched on 27 April 2021, is an initiative of which countries?

  • (a)Australia, India and Japan
  • (b)India, Japan and the United States
  • (c)India, Australia and the United States
  • (d)India, Japan and France
  Answer(1) — The joint statement of 27 April 2021 records that the trade ministers of Australia, India and Japan launched the SCRI. Options (2), (3) and (4) each include a country that is not among its three launching members.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which of the following is named in the joint statement of 27 April 2021 as an initial project of the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative?

  • (a)Sharing of best practices on supply chain resilience
  • (b)A common currency for trade among members
  • (c)A free trade agreement among the three countries
  • (d)A joint naval exercise to protect shipping lanes
  Answer(1) — The Ministers instructed officials to implement sharing of best practices on supply chain resilience, along with investment promotion and buyer-seller matching events, as initial projects. Options (2), (3) and (4) are not in the joint statement.