What is/are the consequence/consequences of a country becoming the member of the 'Nuclear Suppliers Group'? 1) It will have access to the latest and most efficient nuclear technologies. 2) It automatically becomes a member of "The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)". Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

The correct answer is A. Only statement 1 is a consequence of NSG membership.

The Nuclear Suppliers Group is a voluntary grouping of supplier countries that controls exports of nuclear material, equipment and technology through guidelines agreed by consensus. Once a country is admitted, it can take part in decisions and gain access to nuclear technology and fuel under the group's guidelines, which is why statement 1 holds. Membership brings the right to trade in controlled items, though supply still follows the export-control rules.

Statement 2 is wrong. NSG membership has no legal link with the NPT, and a country does not become a party to the NPT by joining the NSG. NPT membership is a separate treaty obligation. India, Pakistan and Israel have never joined the NPT, yet India has pursued NSG membership on its own merits. The NSG was set up after India's 1974 test, and its guidelines were tightened in 1992 and later.

• Statement 1: correct, since admission gives access to controlled nuclear technology and trade.
• Statement 2: incorrect, since the NSG and NPT are separate regimes with no automatic membership link.

The core concept is the set of nuclear non-proliferation regimes: the NPT, NSG, MTCR and Wassenaar Arrangement are overlapping but distinct export-control arrangements. For Mains GS-II and GS-III, India's NSG bid and the India-US civil nuclear deal are the natural follow-up.

Trap: assuming the NSG and NPT are one system, so that joining one automatically means joining the other.