Previous Year UPSC Mains Questions – Topic wise
By analyzing previous years’ questions, candidates can better understand the examination’s demands and focus their preparation on key areas, ensuring a comprehensive and strategic approach to the UPSC Civil Services Examination.
Essay: Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics. They will be expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression.
Indian Heritage and Culture
Indian History
- Personalities
- Ideologies
- Social reform movements
- The Freedom Struggle — contributors/contributions from different parts of the country
- Post-independence India - Miscellaneous
- State reorganization
World History
- Industrial Revolution
- World Wars & Cold War
- Colonization & Decolonization
- Communism | Capitalism | Socialism
- Revolutions
Indian Society
- Salient Features of Indian society.
- Diversity of India
- Role of women and women’s organization
- Population and associated issues
- Poverty and developmental issues
- Urbanisation
- Effects of globalization on Indian society.
- Social empowerment
- Communalism
- Regionalism
- Secularism
Geography
Constitution | Polity
- Historical underpinnings
- Preamble
- Amendments
- Fundamental Rights
- DPSP
- Emergency Provisions
- Local Self Government
- Separation of powers between various organs
- Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries
- Parliament and State legislatures - Federalism
- Parliament
- Executive
- Judiciary
- Pressure Groups
- Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act
- Constitutional Posts | Constitutional Bodies
- Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.
Social Justice
- Development processes and the development industry —the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders.
- Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes.
- Mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
- Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
- Issues relating to poverty and hunger.
Governance
- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
- Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability
- E-Governance
- Citizens charters, institutional and other measures.
- Role of civil services in a democracy
International relations
- India and its neighborhood- relations
- Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
- Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests
- Indian Diaspora
- Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.
Economic Development
- Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
- Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country.
- Different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage.
- Transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints.
- E-technology in the aid of farmers.
- Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices.
- Public Distribution System- objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping.
- Issues of buffer stocks and food security.
- Technology missions
- Economics of animal-rearing.
- Food processing and related industries in India- scope’ and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management.
- Land reforms in India.
- Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth.
- Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
- Investment models.
Science and Technology
- Developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.
- Achievements of Indians in science & technology | Issues
- Technology – IT | Computers | robotics | nano-technology
- Biology | Biotechnology
- Space Science
- Issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Environment
Disaster Management
Security
- Linkages between development and spread of extremism.
- Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
- Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security
- Money-laundering and its prevention.
- Security challenges and their management in border areas.
- Linkages of organized crime with terrorism.
- Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.
Ethics and Human Interface:
- Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in-human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics - in private and public relationships.
- Human Values
- Lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators.
- Role of family society and educational institutions in inculcating values.
Attitude:
Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service
Emotional intelligence
Thinkers and Philosophers
Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration:
- Status and problems
- Ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions
- Laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance
- Accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance
- Ethical issues in international relations and funding
- Corporate governance.
Probity in Governance: