With reference to the 'International Solar Alliance', which of the following statements is/are correct?

Question

With reference to the 'International Solar Alliance', which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. It is the first treaty-based inter-governmental organisation headquartered in India, with 38 member countries.

2. World Solar Bank and One Sun One World One Grid initiative were initiated under it.

Select the correct answer from the code given below:

1. A. Only 2 (Correct answer)
2. B. Neither 1 nor 2
3. C. Both 1 and 2
4. D. Only 1

Correct Answer

Option A — Only 2

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Only 2.

Key Points

• Statement 1 is incorrect as marked in the official key — the membership figure of 38 does not reflect the Alliance's strength, which has grown to about 100 signatory countries. The ISA *is* the first treaty-based international intergovernmental organisation headquartered in India, but the number given makes the statement as a whole wrong.
• Statement 2 is correct. Both the World Solar Bank and the One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG) initiative were taken forward under the ISA.
• Only statement 2 holds, giving option (a).

Additional Information

• The International Solar Alliance was launched jointly by India and France at the COP21 Paris climate conference in 2015, and its headquarters and Secretariat are at Gurugram, Haryana, on the campus of the National Institute of Solar Energy.
• Membership was originally restricted to countries lying wholly or partly between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn; the Framework Agreement was amended in 2020 to open membership to all UN member states.
• OSOWOG envisages a trans-national grid so that solar power can be transmitted across time zones — "the sun never sets".
• Related targets: India's commitment of 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030 and net zero by 2070, announced at COP26 Glasgow as part of the Panchamrit.