In the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation, an initiative of six countries, which of the following is/are not a participant/ participants? 1) Bangladesh 2) Cambodia 3) China 4) Myanmar 5) Thailand Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

The Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) has six members: India, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Launched in 2000 at Vientiane, it is a sub-regional grouping for cooperation in tourism, culture, education, transport and connectivity. Since Bangladesh and China are not members, statements 1 and 3 are the ones that are not participants, so option C is correct.

• Statement 1 (Bangladesh): Not a member. Bangladesh does not belong to the Mekong basin, and it is not part of MGC.
• Statement 2 (Cambodia): A founding member, so it is a participant.
• Statement 3 (China): Not a member of MGC. China is part of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), which is an ADB-led grouping. Aspirants often mix the two up.
• Statement 4 (Myanmar): A participant.
• Statement 5 (Thailand): A participant.

This sits within India's Act East Policy and its engagement with ASEAN, which is a useful Mains angle on India's soft-power and connectivity diplomacy. Membership figures are stable, so nothing here has changed since 2015.

Trap: Confusing MGC with the Greater Mekong Subregion, which includes China, and so wrongly marking statement 3 as a participant.