UPSC Prelims 1997 · General Studies
Question 35: Economy and Social Development
One of the important agreements reached in the 1996 Ministerial Conference of WTO relates to
AnswerThe answer is (a).
The first WTO Ministerial Conference, held in Singapore in December 1996, produced the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), in which a large group of countries agreed to remove tariffs on many IT products. The Multilateral Agreement on Investment was an OECD negotiation, and the Multi-Fibre Arrangement was being phased out under the Uruguay Round deal and not agreed in 1996.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Right: the Singapore conference produced the Information Technology Agreement.
- (b) The Multilateral Agreement on Investment was negotiated among OECD countries, not at the WTO conference.
- (c) The Multi-Fibre Arrangement was being phased out under the Uruguay Round, not agreed in 1996.
- (d) No agreement on exchange of technical personnel came out of the Singapore conference.
Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 1997, General Studies. UPSC's own paper isn't online; the words are from a published compilation. The paper on upsc.gov.in.