IR · 18 Jul 2026

Indus Waters Treaty renegotiation

With reference to the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty and a recent IIT Gandhinagar study, consider the following statements:

  1. The eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) were allocated fully to India under the treaty.
  2. The study found a statistically significant precipitation decline in the catchments of the western rivers allocated to Pakistan.
  3. India sent formal treaty modification notices to Pakistan under Article XII(3) in 2023 and
  4. 4. Most of the world's over 800 transboundary river treaties allocate entire rivers to one party, similar to the Indus Waters Treaty model.

How many of the above statements are correct?

AOnly one
BOnly two
COnly three
DAll four
This question is based on: The Number That Makes the Case for Renegotiating the Indus Waters Treaty
Take this in full test mode → Instructions for 18 Jul 2026
About this question

Why in news

An IIT Gandhinagar study found a 20% precipitation decline in India's eastern river catchments against a statistically insignificant 6% decline in Pakistan's western rivers, strengthening India's case for renegotiating the treaty.

Why for UPSC

This format tests whether aspirants catch the precise reversal of a key statistic (western vs eastern significance) - a classic UPSC technique of flipping which side a fact applies to.

Prelims summary

Eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) are India's under the IWT; the significant 20% precipitation decline was in these eastern catchments, not Pakistan's western rivers; India sent Article XII(3) notices in 2023-24; most global river treaties use percentage-based, not full-river, allocation.

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