Consider the following statements in respect of BIMSTEC: I. It is a regional organization consisting of seven member States till January 2025. II. It came into existence with the signing of the Dhaka Declaration, 1999. III. Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Nepal are founding member States of BIMSTEC. IV. In BIMSTEC, the subsector of 'tourism' is being led by India. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Statement I is correct: As of January 2025, BIMSTEC has seven member States — Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Statement II is incorrect: BIMSTEC came into existence with the Bangkok Declaration of 1997, not the Dhaka Declaration of 1999. Statement III is incorrect: The founding members in 1997 were Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand (BIST-EC). Nepal joined in 2004, along with Bhutan; Myanmar joined in 1997 (making it BIMST-EC). Statement IV is incorrect: India leads the 'security' pillar in BIMSTEC; tourism was earlier led by India but the sub-sector structure has been reorganized — the tourism sector is led by India in the older structure, but under restructured pillars, India leads Security. The official answer for this question per UPSC key is 'I only'.