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UPSC Mains PYQs

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

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2015

  1. 2015 · GS3 · 12.5 marksHuman right activists constantly highlight the fact that the Armed forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) is a draconian act leading to cases of human right abuses by security forces. What sections of AFSPA are opposed by the activists. Critically evaluate the requirement with reference to the view held by Apex Court.
  2. 2015 · GS3 · 12.5 marksWhat are the impediments in marketing and supply chain management in developing the food processing industry in India? Can e-commerce help in overcoming this bottleneck?
  3. 2015 · GS3 · 12.5 marksIndia’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) which has a database containing formatted information on more than 2 million medicinal formulations is proving a powerful weapon in the country's fight against erroneous patents. Discuss the pros and cons of making the database publicly available under open source licensing.
  4. 2015 · GS3 · 12.5 marksLivestock rearing has a big potential for providing non-farm employment and income in rural areas. Discuss suggesting suitable measures to promote this sector in India.
  5. 2015 · GS3 · 12.5 marksDiscuss the Namami Gange and National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) programmes and causes of mixed results from the previous schemes. What quantum leaps can help preserve the river Ganga better than incremental inputs?
  6. 2015 · GS3 · 12.5 marksThe nature of economic growth in India in recent times is often described as jobless growth. Do you agree with this view? Give arguments in favour of your answer.
  7. 2015 · GS3 · 12.5 marksThe persisting drives of the government for development of large industries in backward areas have resulted in isolating the tribal population and the farmers who face multiple displacements. With Malkangiri and Naxalbari foci, discuss the corrective strategies needed to win the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) doctrine that affected citizens back into the mainstream of social and economic growth.
  8. 2015 · GS3 · 12.5 marksReligious indoctrination via social media has resulted in Indian youth joining ISIS. What is ISIS and its mission? How can ISIS be dangerous to the internal security of our country?
  9. 2015 · GS3 · 12.5 marks“Success of Make in India program depends on the success of Skill India programme and radical labour reforms.” Discuss with logical arguments.
  10. 2015 · GS3 · 12.5 marksWhat do you understand about “Standard Positioning System” and “Precision positioning system” in the GPS era? Discuss the advantage India perceives from its ambitious IRNSS programme employing just seven satellites.
  11. 2015 · GS3 · 12.5 marksIn view of the declining average size of land holdings in India which has made agriculture non–viable for a majority of farmers should contract farming and land leasing be promoted in agriculture? Critically evaluate the pros and cons.
  12. 2015 · GS3 · 12.5 marksIn what way could the replacement of price subsidy with direct benefit Transfer (DBT) change the scenario of subsidies in India? Discuss.
  13. 2015 · GS4 · 20 marksThere is a disaster-prone state having frequent landslides, forest fires, cloudbursts, flash floods and earthquakes, etc. Some of these are seasonal and often unpredictable. The magnitude of the disaster is always unanticipated. During one of the seasons a cloudburst caused devastating floods and landslides leading to high casualties. There was major damage to infrastructure like roads, bridges and power generating units. This led to more than 100000 pilgrims, tourist and other locals trapped across different routes and locations. The people trapped in your area of responsibility includes senior citizens, patients in hospitals, women and children, hiker, tourist, ruling parties, regional presidents along with his family, additional chief secretary of the neighboring state, and prisoners in jail. As a civil services officer of the state, what would be the order in which you would rescue these people and why? Give Justifications
  14. 2015 · GS4 · 20 marksA private company is known for its efficiency, transparency, and employee welfare. The company though owned by a private individual has a cooperative character where employees feel a sense of ownership. The company employs nearly 700 personnel and they have voluntarily decided not to form a union. One day suddenly in the morning, about 40 men belonging to the political party gate crashed into the factory demanding jobs in the factory. They threatened the management and employees and also used foul language. The employees feel demoralized. It was clear that those people who gate-crashed wanted to be on the payroll of the company as well as continue as volunteers/members of the party. The company maintains high standards of integrity and does not extend favors to civil administration which also includes law enforcement agencies. Such incidents occur in the public sector also. (a) Assume you are the CEO of the company. What would you do to diffuse the volatile situation on the date of gate-crashing with the violent mob sitting inside the company premises? (b) What can be the long-term solution to the issue discussed in the case? (c) Every solution/action that you suggest will have a negative and a positive impact on you as (CEO), the employees, and the performance of the employees. Analyze the consequences of each of your suggested actions.
  15. 2015 · GS4 · 20 marksYou are the Sarpanch of a Panchayat. There is a primary school run by the government in your area. Midday meals are provided to children attending the school. The headmaster has now appointed a new cook in the school to prepare the meals. However, when it is found that cook is from Dalit community, almost half of the children belonging to higher castes are not allowed to take meals by their parents. Consequently, the attendance in the schools falls sharply. This could result in the possibility of discontinuation of midday meal scheme, thereafter of teaching staff and subsequent closing down the school. (20 Marks) (250 Words) (a) Discuss some feasible strategies to overcome the conflict and to create the right ambiance. (b) What should be the responsibilities of different social segments and agencies to create positive social ambiance for accepting such changes?
  16. 2015 · GS4 · 10 marksDifferentiate between the following (i) Law and ethics (ii) Ethical management and management of ethics (iii) Discrimination and preferential treatment (iv) Personal Ethics and Professional Ethics
  17. 2015 · GS4 · 25 marksYou are recently posted as district development officer of a district. Shortly thereafter you found that there is considerable tension in the rural areas of your district on the issue of sending girls to schools. The elders of the village feel that many problems have come up because girls are being educated and they are stepping out of the safe environment of the household. They are the view that girls should be quickly married off with minimum education. The girls are also competing for jobs after education, which have traditionally remained in boys’ exclusive domain, adding to unemployment amongst the male population. The younger generation feels that in the present era, girls should have equal opportunities for education employment, and other means of livelihood. The entire locality is divided between sexes in both generations. You come to know that in Panchayat or in other local bodies or even in busy crosswords, the issue is being acrimoniously debated. One day you are informed that an unpleasant incident has taken place. Some girls were molested when they were en route to school. The incident led to clashes between several groups and a law and order problem has arisen. The elder after heated discussion has taken a joint decision not to allow girls to go to school and to socially boycott all such families, which do not follow their dictate. (a) What steps would you take to ensure girls’ safety without disrupting their education? (b) How would you manage and mold the patriarchic attitude of the village elders to ensure harmony in inter-generational relations?
  18. 2015 · GS4 · 10 marksAt the international level, bilateral relations between most nations are governed by the policy of promoting one’s own national interest without any regard for the interest of other nations. This lead to conflicts and tension between the nations. How can ethical consideration help resolve such tensions? Discuss with specific examples.
  19. 2015 · GS4 · 10 marksWhat is meant by ‘environmental ethics’? Why is it important to study? Discuss any one environmental issue from the viewpoint of environmental ethics.
  20. 2015 · GS4 · 10 marks“A mere compliance with law is not enough, the public servant also has to have a well-developed sensibility to ethical issues for effective discharge of duties” Do you agree? Explain with the help of two examples where (i) an act is ethically right, but not legally and (ii) an act is legally right, but not ethically.
  21. 2015 · GS4 · 10 marksPublic servants are likely to confront with the issues of “Conflict of Interest”. What do you understand by the term “Conflict of Interest” and how does it manifest in the decision making by public servants? If faced with the conflict of interest situation how would you resolve it? Explain with the help of examples
  22. 2015 · GS4 · 10 marksWhat does this quotation mean to you in the present context. “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light”
  23. 2015 · GS4 · 10 marksWhat does this quotation mean to you in the present context. “The weak can never forgive; forgiveness is the attribute of strong.”
  24. 2015 · GS4 · 25 marksYou are heading a district administration in a particular department. Your senior officer calls you from the State Headquarters and tells you that a plot in Rampur village is to have a building constructed on it for a school. A visit is scheduled during which he will visit the site along with the chief engineer and the senior architect. He wants you to check out all the papers relating to it and ensure that the visit is properly arranged. You examine the file which relates to the period before you joined the department. The land was acquired for the local panchayat at a nominal cost and the papers showed that clearance certificates are available for the two of the three authorities who have to certify the site’s suitability. There is no certification by the architect available on file. You decide to visit Rampur to ensure that all is in the order as stated on file. When you visit Rampur, you find that the plot under reference is a part of Thakurgarh fort and that the walls, ramparts, etc., are running across it. The fort is well away from the main village, therefore a school here will be a serious inconvenience for the children. However, the area near the village has potential to expand into a larger residential area. The development charges on the existing plot, at the fort, will be very high and question of heritage site has not been addressed. Moreover, the Sarpanch, at the time of acquisition of the land, was a relative of your predecessor. The whole transaction appears to have been done with some vested interest. (a) List the likely vested interests of the concerned parties. (b) Some of the options for action available to you are listed below. Discuss the merits and demerits of each of the options: (i) You can await the visit of the superior officer and let him make a decision. (ii) You can seek his advice in writing or on the phone. (iii) You can consult your predecessor/ colleagues, etc, and then decide what to do. (iv) You can find out if any alternate plot can be got in exchange and then send a comprehensive written report. Can you suggest any other option with proper justifications?
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