The International Day of Yoga is observed every year on 21 June following a proposal by which country?

The correct answer is B, millets. The United Nations General Assembly declared 2023 the International Year of Millets on a proposal moved by India and supported by more than seventy countries, and the Food and Agriculture Organization led the observance; India promoted the crops at home under the name Shree Anna. Option A is wrong because pulses had their own year in 2016, which is the pairing most often swapped with this one. Option C is wrong because camelids, the family that includes camels, llamas and alpacas, were the subject of the year 2024. Option D is wrong because plant health was the theme of 2020. Notice that every option is a real international year placed against the wrong number, which is how these questions are always built, so learn the year together with the name.

The correct answer is B, India. India moved the proposal, it was supported by more than seventy member states, the General Assembly adopted it in 2021 and the year was observed in 2023 with the Food and Agriculture Organization as the lead agency. India's interest is easy to explain in an examination: it is among the largest growers of millets such as jowar, bajra and ragi, which need little water and grow on poor soil. Option A is wrong because Brazil, though a large agricultural producer, did not move this proposal. Option C is wrong because Nigeria grows millets in quantity but was a supporter, not the proposer. Option D is wrong because China did not propose the year. India's other well known success of this kind is the International Day of Yoga on 21 June.

The correct answer is C, the United Nations General Assembly. An international year exists because the Assembly, in which every member state has one vote, adopts a resolution declaring it, usually on a proposal from one or more states. Option A is wrong because UNESCO may be named the lead agency for a year about science, culture or languages, and may recommend one, but it does not declare the year. Option D is wrong for the same reason: the Food and Agriculture Organization led the International Year of Millets and the International Year of Pulses without declaring either. Option B is wrong because the Security Council deals with international peace and security, and its work is resolutions on conflicts, sanctions and peacekeeping, not observances. The same rule holds for international days and decades.

The correct answer is A, camelids. The year 2024 was the International Year of Camelids, the family of animals that includes camels, llamas, alpacas, vicunas and guanacos, which carry loads, give milk, meat and wool, and support families in deserts and high mountains where little else can live. Option B is wrong because glass had its international year in 2022, marked for its role in optics, medicine and communication. Option C is wrong because quinoa, the grain of the Andes, had its year in 2013, the same year as water cooperation. Option D is wrong because natural fibres such as jute, cotton and wool had their year in 2009, along with astronomy. Since all four are genuine designations, the mark depends entirely on holding the number and the name together.

The correct answer is B, plant health. The General Assembly declared 2020 the International Year of Plant Health to show how protecting plants from pests and diseases protects food supply, trade and the environment, and the Food and Agriculture Organization led the year. Option A is wrong because soils had their year in 2015, when 5 December was also observed as World Soil Day. Option C is wrong because family farming was the theme of 2014, and a full decade of family farming was later declared for the years 2019 to 2028. Option D is wrong because fruits and vegetables were the subject of the very next year, 2021, which is the commonest confusion in this question. Learning the two farm years in order, plant health then fruits and vegetables, removes the trap.