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UPSC Mains PYQs

1053 questions

Every General Studies question since 2013, ready to attempt. Model answers arrive week by week.

2018

  1. 2018 · GS1 · 15 marksCommunalism arises either due to power struggle or relative deprivation.’ Argue by giving suitable illustrations.
  2. 2018 · GS1 · 10 marksDespite the implementation of various programmes for the eradication of poverty by the government in India, poverty still exists. Explain by giving reasons.
  3. 2018 · GS1 · 15 marks‘Globalisation is generally said to promote cultural homogenisation but due to this cultural specificities appear to be strengthened in the Indian society.’ Elucidate.
  4. 2018 · GS1 · 10 marksHow is the Indian concept of secularism different from the Western model of secularism? Discuss.
  5. 2018 · GS1 · 15 marksMention core strategies for the transformation of aspirational districts in India and explain the nature of convergence, collaboration and competition for its success.
  6. 2018 · GS1 · 15 marks‘Women’s movement in India has not addressed the issues of women of lower social strata.’ Substantiate your view.

2017

  1. 2017 · GS1 · 10 marksIn the context of the diversity of India, can it be said that the regions form cultural units rather than the States? Give reasons with examples for your viewpoint.
  2. 2017 · GS1 · 15 marksDistinguish between religiousness/religiosity and communalism giving one example of how the former has transformed into the latter in independent India.
  3. 2017 · GS1 · 15 marks“The growth of cities as I.T. hubs has opened up new avenues of employment, but has also created new problems”. Substantiate this statement with examples.
  4. 2017 · GS1 · 15 marksThe spirit of tolerance and love is not only an interesting feature of Indian society from very early times, but it is also playing an important part at the present. Elaborate.
  5. 2017 · GS1 · 10 marksWhat are the two major legal initiatives by the State since Independence addressing discrimination against Scheduled Tribes (STs)?
  6. 2017 · GS1 · 15 marksThe women’s questions arose in modern India as a part of the 19th-century social reform movement. What are the major issues and debates concerning women in that period?

2016

  1. 2016 · GS1 · 12.5 marksWhat is the basis of regionalism? Is it that unequal distribution of benefits of development on a regional basis eventually promotes regionalism? Substantiate your answer.
  2. 2016 · GS1 · 12.5 marksWith a brief background of the quality of urban life in India, introduce the objectives and strategy of the ‘Smart City Programme.’
  3. 2016 · GS1 · 12.5 marks“An essential condition to eradicate poverty is to liberate the poor from the process of deprivation.” Substantiate this statement with suitable examples.
  4. 2016 · GS1 · 12.5 marksTo what extent globalisation has influenced the core of cultural diversity in India? Explain.
  5. 2016 · GS1 · 12.5 marksWhy are the tribals in India referred to as ‘the Scheduled Tribes’? Indicate the major provisions enshrined in the Constitution of India for their upliftment.

2015

  1. 2015 · GS1 · 12.5 marksDiscuss the changes in the trends of labour migration within and outside India in the last four decades.
  2. 2015 · GS1 · 12.5 marksDebate the issue whether and how contemporary movements for assertion of Dalit identity work towards annihilation of caste.
  3. 2015 · GS1 · 12.5 marksDescribe any four cultural elements of diversity in India and rate their relative significance in building a national identity.
  4. 2015 · GS1 · 12.5 marksDiscuss the positive and negative effects of globalisation on women in India?
  5. 2015 · GS1 · 12.5 marksSmart cities in India cannot sustain without smart villages. Discuss this statement in the backdrop of rural urban integration.
  6. 2015 · GS1 · 12.5 marksHow do you explain the statistics that show that the sex ratio in Tribes in India is more favourable to women than the sex ratio among Scheduled Castes?
  7. 2015 · GS1 · 12.5 marksCritically examine whether growing population is the cause of poverty OR poverty is the main cause of population increase in India.

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