The term 'Digital Single Market Strategy' seen in the news refers to

The Digital Single Market (DSM) strategy was adopted by the European Commission in May 2015. It aims to remove barriers so that people and businesses can buy, sell and access online goods and services across all EU member states as if they were in one country. It rests on three pillars: better online access for consumers and firms, an environment where digital networks can thrive, and maximising the growth of the digital economy. So the answer is C) EU.

Why the others are wrong:

• ASEAN is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, founded in 1967 by the Bangkok Declaration. Its digital work sits under the ASEAN Economic Community blueprint, not a single market strategy of this name.
• BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) is a grouping of emerging economies that runs the New Development Bank. It has no digital single market scheme.
• G20 is an informal forum of major economies. It issues summit declarations and has no common market or binding single-market framework. The African Union became a permanent member in 2023.

The core concept is the single market: free movement of goods, services, capital and people, extended to the digital space. For Mains (GS-2 and GS-3), link it to GDPR (in force from May 2018), data localisation debates and India's own digital economy push.

Trap: candidates pick ASEAN or G20 because they sound like trade blocs; anchor the term to the EU's single-market project.