UPSC MAINS GENERAL STUDIES PAPER – III PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTION PAPER
2024 UPSC MAINS GS PAPER III PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTION PAPER
1. Examine the (pattern) and trend of public expenditure on social services in the post-reforms period in India. To what extent this has been in consonance with achieving the objective of inclusive growth? (10)
2. What are the causes of persistent high food inflation in India? Comment on the effectiveness of the monetary policy of the RBI to control this type of inflation. (10)
3. What were the factors responsible for the successful implementation of land reforms in some parts of the country? Elaborate. (10)
4. Explain the role of millets for ensuring health and nutritional security in India. (10)
5. What is the present world scenario of intellectual property rights with respect to life materials? Although, India is second in the world to file patents, still only a few have been commercialized. Explain the reasons behind this less commercialization. (10)
6. What is the technology being employed for electronic toll collection on highways? What are its advantages and limitations? What are the proposed changes that will make this process seamless? Would this transition carry any potential hazards? (10)
7. Industrial pollution of river water is a significant environmental issue in India. Discuss the various mitigation measures to deal with this problem and also the government’s initiatives in this regard. (10)
8. What role do Environmental NGOs and activists play in influencing Environmental Impact Assessment (DIA)outcomes for major projects in India? Cite Tour examples with all important details. (10)
9. Explain how narco-terrorism has emerged as a serious threat across the country. Suggest suitable measures to counter narco-terrorism. (10)
10. Describe the context and salient features of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. (10)
11. Discuss the merits and demerits of the four ‘Labour Codes’ in the context of labour market reforms in India. What has been the progress so far in this regard? (15)
12. What is the need for expanding the regional air connectivity in India? In this context, discuss the government’s UDAN Scheme and its achievements. (15)
13. What are the major challenges faced by the Indian irrigation system in recent times? State the measures taken by the government for efficient irrigation management. (15)
14. Elucidate the importance of buffer stocks for stabilizing agricultural prices in India. What are the challenges associated with the storage of buffer stock? Discuss. (15)
15. The world is facing an acute shortage of clean and safe freshwater. What are the alternative technologies which can solve this crisis? Briefly discuss any three such technologies citing their key merits and demerits. (15)
16. What are asteroids? How real is the threat of them causing extinction of life? What strategies have been developed to prevent such a catastrophe? (15)
17. What is disaster resilience? How is it determined? Describe various elements of a resilience framework. Also mention the global targets of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030). (15)
18. Flooding in urban areas is an emerging climate-induced disaster. Discuss the causes of this disaster. Mention the features of two such major floods in the last two decades in India. Describe the policies and frameworks in India that aim at tackling such floods. (15)
19. India has a long and troubled border with China and Pakistan fraught with contentious issues. Examine the conflicting issues and security challenges along the border. Also give out the development being undertaken in these areas under the Border Area Development Programme (BADP) and Border Infrastructure and Management (BIM) Scheme. (15)
20. Social media and encrypting messaging services pose a serious security challenge. What measures have been adopted at various levels to address the security implications of social media? Also suggest any other remedies to address the problem. (15)
2023 UPSC MAINS GS PAPER III PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTION PAPER
1.Faster economic growth requires increased share of the manufacturing sector in GDP, particularly of MSMEs. Comment on the present policies of the Government in this regard. (10)
2.What is the status of digitalization in the Indian economy? Examine the problems faced in this regard and suggest improvements. (10)
3.How does e-Technology help farmers in production and marketing of agricultural produce? Explain it. (10)
4.State the objectives and measures of land reforms in India. Discuss how land ceiling policy on landholding can be considered as an effective reform under economic criteria. (10)
5.Introduce the concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI). How does AI help clinical diagnosis? Do you perceive any threat to privacy of the individual in the use of AI in healthcare? (10)
6.Discuss several ways in which microorganisms can help in meeting the current fuel shortage. (10)
7.Dam failures are always catastrophic, especially on the downstream side, resulting in a colossal loss of life and property. Analyze the various causes of dam failures. Give two examples of large dam failures. (10)
8.What is oil pollution? What are its impacts on the marine ecosystem? In what way is oil pollution particularly harmful for a country like India? (10)
9.Winning of 'Hearts and Minds' in terrorism-affected areas is an essential step in restoring the trust of the population. Discuss the measures adopted by the Government in this respect as part of the conflict resolution in Jammu and Kashmir. (10)
10.The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by our adversaries across the borders to ferry arms/ammunitions, drugs, etc., is a serious threat to the internal security. Comment on the measures being taken to tackle this threat. (10)
11.Most of the unemployment in India is structural in nature. Examine the methodology adopted to compute unemployment in the country and suggest improvements. (15)
12.Distinguish between 'care economy' and 'monetized economy'. How can care economy be brought into monetized economy through women empowerment? (15)
13.Explain the changes in cropping pattern in India in the context of changes in consumption pattern and marketing conditions. (15)
14.What are the direct and indirect subsidies provided to farm sector in India? Discuss the issues raised by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in relation to agricultural subsidies. (15)
15.The adoption of electric vehicles is rapidly growing worldwide. How do electric vehicles contribute to reducing carbon emissions and what are the key benefits they offer compared to traditional combustion engine vehicles? (15)
16.What is the main task of India's third moon mission which could not be achieved in its earlier mission? List the countries that have achieved this task. Introduce the subsystems in the spacecraft launched and explain the role of the Virtual Launch Control Centre' at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre which contributed to the successful launch from Sriharikota. (15)
17.Comment on the National Wetland Conservation Programme initiated by the Government of India and name a few India's wetlands of international importance included in the Ramsar Sites. (15)
18.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has predicted a global sea level rise of about one metre by AD 2100. What would be its impact in India and the other countries in the Indian Ocean region? (15)
19.What are the internal security challenges being faced by India? Give out the role of Central Intelligence and Investigative Agencies tasked to counter such threats.(15)
20.Give out the major sources of terror funding in India and the efforts being made to curtail these sources. In the light of this, also discuss the aim and objective of the `No Money for Terror (NMFT)' Conference recently held at New Delhi in November 2022. (15)
2022 UPSC MAINS GS PAPER III PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTION PAPER
1. Why is Public Private Partnership (PPP) required in infrastructural projects ? Examine the role of PPP model in the redevelopment of Railway Stations in India. (10)
2. Is inclusive growth possible under market economy ? State the significance of financial inclusion in achieving economic growth in India. (10)
3. What are the major challenges of Public Distribution System (PDS) in India ? How can it be made effective and transparent ? (10)
4. Elaborate the scope and significance of the food processing industry in India. (10)
5. The increase in life expectancy in the country has led to newer health challenges in the community. What are those challenges and what steps need to be taken to meet them? (10)
6. Each year a large amount of plant material, cellulose, is deposited on the surface of Planet Earth. What are the natural processes this cellulose undergoes before yielding carbon dioxide, water and other end products ? (10)
7. Discuss in detail the photochemical smog emphasizing its formation, effects and mitigation. Explain the 1999 Gothenburg Protocol. (10)
8. Explain the mechanism and occurrence of cloudburst in the context of the Indian subcontinent. Discuss two recent examples. (10)
9. Discuss the types of organised crimes. Describe the linkages between terrorists and organised crime that exist at the national and transnational levels. (10)
10. What are the maritime security challenges in India ? Discuss the organisational, technical and procedural initiatives taken to improve the maritime security. (10)
11. Economic growth in the recent past has been led by increase in labour activity.” Explain this statement. Suggest the growth pattern that will lead to creation of more jobs without compromising labour productivity. (15)
12. Do you think India will meet 50 percent of its energy needs from renewable energy by 2030 ? Justify your answer. How will the shift of subsidies from fossil fuels to renewables help achieve the above objective ? Explain. (15)
13. What are the main bottlenecks in upstream and downstream process of marketing of agricultural products in India ? (15)
14. What is Integrated Farming System ? How is it helpful to small and marginal farmers in India ? (15)
15. Launched on 25th December, 2021, James Webb Space Telescope has been much in the news since then. What are its unique features which make it superior to its predecessor Space Telescopes ? What are the key goals of this mission ? What potential benefits does it hold for the human race? (15)
16. What is the basic principle behind vaccine development? How do vaccines work? What approaches were adopted by the Indian vaccine manufacturers to produce COVID-19 vaccines ? (15)
17. Discuss global warming and mention its effects on the global climate. Explain the control measures to bring down the level of greenhouse gases which cause global warming, in the light of the Kyoto Protocol, 1997. (15)
18. Explain the causes and effects of coastal erosion in India. What are the available coastal management techniques for combating the hazard ? (15)
19. What are the different elements of cyber security? Keeping in view the challenges in cyber security, examine the extent to which India has successfully developed a comprehensive National Cyber Security Strategy. (15)
20. Naxalism is a social, economic and developmental issue manifesting as a violent internal security threat. In this context, discuss the emerging issues gest a multilayered strategy to tackle the menace of Naxalism. (15)
2021 UPSC MAINS GS PAPER III PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTION PAPER
1. Explain the difference between computing methodology of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) before the year 2015 and after the year 2015. (10)
2. Distinguish between Capital Budget and Revenue Budget. Explain the components of both these Budgets. (10)
3. How did land reforms in some parts of the country help to improve the socio-economic conditions of marginal and small farmers? (10)
4. How and to what extent would micro-irrigation help in solving India’s water crisis? (10)
5. How is S-400 air defence system technically superior to any other system presently available in the world? (10)
6. Explain the purpose of the Green Grid Initiative launched at World Leaders Summit of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November, 2021. When was this idea first floated in the International Solar Alliance (ISA)? (10)
7. Describe the key points of the revised Global Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs) recently released by the World Health Organisation (WHO). How are these different from its last update in 2005? What changes in India’s National Clean Air Programme are required to achieve these revised standards? (10)
8. Discuss about the vulnerability of India to earthquake related hazards. Give examples including the salient features of major disasters caused by earthquakes in different parts of India during the last three decades. (10)
9. Discuss how emerging technologies and globalisation contribute to money laundering. Elaborate measures to tackle the problem of money laundering both at national and international levels. (10)
10 . Keeping in view India’s internal security, analyse the impact of cross-border cyber attacks. Also discuss defensive measures against these sophisticated attacks. (10)
11. Do you agree that the Indian economy has recently experienced V- shapes recovery? Give reasons in support of your answer. (15)
12. “Investment in infrastructure is essential for more rapid and inclusive economic growth. ”Discuss in the light of India’s experience. (15)
13. What are the salient features of the National Food Security Act, 2013 ? How has the Food Security Bill helped in eliminating hunger and malnutrition in India?(15)
14. What are the present challenges before crop diversification? How do emerging technologies provide an opportunity for crop diversification? (15)
15. What are the research and developmental achievements in applied biotechnology/? How will these achievements help to uplift the poorer sections of the society? (15)
16. The Nobel Prize in Physics of 2014 was jointly awarded to Akasaki, Amano and Nakamura for the invention of Blue LEDs in 1990s. How has this invention impacted the everyday life of human beings ? (15)
17. Describe the major outcomes of the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). What are the commitments made by India in this conference? (15)
18. Describe the various causes and the effects of landslides. Mention the important components of the National Landslide Risk Management Strategy. (15)
19. Analyse the multidimensıonal challenges posed by external state and non-state actors, to the internal security of India. Also discuss measures required to be taken to combat these threats. (15)
20. Analyse the complexity and intensity of terrorism, its causes, linkages and obnoxious nexus. Also suggest measures required to be taken to eradicate the menace of terrorism. (15)
2020 UPSC MAINS GS PAPER III PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTION PAPER
1. Explain intra-generational and inter-generational issues of equity from the perspective of inclusive growth and sustainable development. (10)
2. Define potential GDP and explain its determinants. What are the factors that have been inhibiting India from realizing its potential GDP? (10)
3. What are the main constraints in transport and marketing of agricultural produce in India? (10)
4. What are the challenges and opportunities of food processing sector in the country? How can income of the farmers be substantially increased by encouraging food processing? (10)
5. What do you understand by nanotechnology and how is it helping in health sector? (10)
6. How is science interwoven deeply with our lives? What are the striking changes in agriculture triggered off by the science-based technologies? (10)
7. How does the draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2020 differ from the existing EIA Notification, 2006? (10)
8. What are the salient features of the Jal Shakti Abhiyan launched by the Government of India for water conservation and water security? (10)
9. Discuss different types of cybercrimes and measures required to be taken to fight the menace. (10)
10. For effective border area management, discuss the steps required to be taken to deny local support to militants and also suggest ways to manage favourable perception among locals. (10)
11.Explain the meaning of investment in an economy in terms of capital formation. Discuss the factors to be considered while designing a concession agreement between a public entity and a private entity. (15)
12.Explain the rationale behind the Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Act of 2017. How has COVID-19 impacted the GST compensation fund and created new federal tensions? (15)
13. What are the major factors responsible for making rice-wheat system a success? In spite of this success how has this system become bane in India? (15)
14. Suggest measures to improve water storage and irrigation system to make its judicious use under depleting scenario. (15)
15. COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented devastation worldwide. However, technological advancements are being availed readily to win over the crisis. Give an account of how technology was sought to aid management of the pandemic. (15)
16. Describe the benefits of deriving electric energy from sunlight in contrast to the conventional energy generation. What are the initiatives offered by our Government for this purpose? (15)
17. What are the key features of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) initiated by the Government of India? (15)
18. Discuss the recent measures initiated in disaster management by the Government of India departing from the earlier reactive approach. (15)
19. What are the determinants of left-wing extremism in Eastern part of India? What strategy should Government of India, civil administration and security forces adopt to counter the threat in the affected areas? (15)
20. Analyse internal security threats and transborder crimes along Myanmar, Bangladesh and Pakistan borders including Line of Control (LoC). Also discuss the role played by various security forces in this regard. (15)
2019 UPSC MAINS GS PAPER III PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTION PAPER
1. Enumerate the indirect taxes which have been subsumed in the goods and services tax (GST) in India. Also, comment on the revenue implications of the GST introduced in India since July 2017. (10)
2. Do you agree with the view that steady GDP growth and low inflation have left the Indian economy in good shape? Give reasons in support of your arguments.(10)
3. How far is Integrated Farming System (IFS) helpful in sustaining agricultural production (10)
4. Elaborate the impact of National Watershed Project in increasing agricultural production from water-stressed areas. (10)
5. How was India benefitted from the contributions of Sir M. Visvesvaraya and Dr. M. S. Swaminathan in the fields of water engineering and agricultural science respectively? (10)
6. What is India’s plan to have its own space station and how will it benefit our space programme? (10)
7. Coastal sand mining, whether legal or illegal, poses one of the biggest threats to our environment. Analyze the impact of sand mining along the Indians coasts, citing specific examples. (10)
8. Vulnerability is an essential element for defining disaster impacts and its threat to people. How and in what ways can vulnerability to disasters be characterized? Discuss different types of vulnerability with reference to disasters. (10)
9. The banning of ‘Jammat-e-Islami’ in Jammu and Kashmir brought into focus the role of over-ground workers (OGWs) in assisting terrorist organizations. Examine the role played by OGWs in assisting terrorist organizations in insurgency affected areas. Discuss measures to neutralize influence of OGWs. (10)
10. What is CyberDome Project? Explain how it can be useful in controlling internet crimes in India. (10)
11. It is argued that the strategy of inclusive growth is intended to meet the objectives of inclusiveness and sustainability together. Comment on this statement. (15)
12. The public expenditure management is a challenge to the Government of India in context of budget making during the post liberalization period. Clarify it. (15)
13. What are the reformative steps taken by the Government to make food grain distribution system more effective? (15)
14. Elaborate the policy taken by the Government of India to meet the challenges of the food processing sector.(15)
15. How is the Government of India protecting traditional knowledge of medicine from patenting by pharmaceutical companies? (15)
16. How can biotechnology help to improve the living standards of farmers? (15)
17. Define the concept of carrying capacity of an ecosystem as relevant to an environment. Explain how understanding this concept is vital while planning for sustainable development of a region. (15)
18. Disaster preparedness is the first step in any disaster management process. Explain how hazard zonation mapping will help disaster mitigation in the case of landslides. (15)
19. Indian Government has recently strengthened the anti-terrorism laws by amending the unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967 and the NIA act. Analyze the changes in the context of prevailing security environment while discussing the scope and reasons for opposing the UAPA by human rights organizations. (15)
20. Cross-Border movement of insurgents is only one of the several security challenges facing the policing of the border in North-East India. Examine the various challenges currently emanating across the India-Myanmar border. Also, discuss the steps to counter the challenges. (15)
2018 UPSC MAINS GS PAPER III PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTION PAPER
1.“Access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy is the sine qua non to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.Comment on the progress made in India in this regard. (10)
2.Comment on the important changes introduced in respect of the Long term Capital Gains Tax (LCGT) and Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) in the Union Budget for 2018-2019. (10)
3. What do you mean by Minimum Support Price (MSP)? How will MSP rescue the farmers from the low income trap? (10)
4. Examine the role of supermarkets in supply chain management of fruits, vegetables and food items. How do they eliminate number of intermediaries? (10)
5. Discuss the work of ‘Bose-Einstein Statistics’ done by Prof. Satyendra Nath Bose and show how it revolutionized the field of Physics. (10)
6. What are the impediments in disposing the huge quantities of discarded solid wastes which are continuously being generated? How do we remove safely the toxic wastes that have been accumulating in our habitable environment? (10 )
7. What is wetland? Explain the Ramsar concept of ‘wise use’ in the context of wetland conservation. Cite two examples of Ramsar sites from India. (10)
8. Sikkim is the first ‘Organic State’ in India. What are the ecological and economical benefits of Organic State? (10)
9. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is viewed as a cardinal subset of China’s larger ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative. Give a brief description of CPEC and enumerate the reasons why India has distanced itself from the same. (10)
10. Left Wing Extremism (LWE) is showing a downward trend, but still affects many parts of the country. Briefly explain the Government of India’s approach to counter the challenges posed by LWE. (10 Marks)
11. How are the principles followed by NITI Aayog different from those followed by the erstwhile planning commission in India? (15)
12. How would the recent phenomena of protectionism and currency manipulations in world trade affect macroeconomic stability of India? (15)
13. Assess the role of National Horticulture Mission (NHM) in boosting the production, productivity and income of horticulture farms. How far has it succeeded in increasing the income of farmers? (15)
14. How has the emphasis on certain crops brought about changes in cropping patterns in recent past? Elaborate the emphasis on millets production and consumption. (15)
15. Why is there so much activity in the field of biotechnology in our country? How has this activity benefitted the field of biopharma? (15)
16. With growing energy needs should India keep on expanding its nuclear energy programme? Discuss the facts and fears associated with nuclear energy. (15)
17. How does biodiversity vary in India? How is the Biological Diversity Act,2002 helpful in conservation of flora and fauna? (15)
18. Describe various measures taken in India for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) before and after signing ‘Sendai Framework for DRR (2015-2030)’. How is this framework different from ‘Hyogo Framework for Action, 2005’? (15)
19. Data security has assumed significant importance in the digitized world due to rising cyber-crimes. The Justice B. N. Srikrishna Committee Report addresses issues related to data security. What, in your view, are the strengths and weaknesses of the Report relating to protection of personal data in cyber space? (15)
20. India’s proximity to two of the world’s biggest illicit opium-growing states has enhanced her internal security concerns. Explain the linkages between drug trafficking and other illicit activities such as gunrunning, money laundering and human trafficking. What countermeasures should be taken to prevent the same? (15)
2017 UPSC MAINS GS PAPER III PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTION PAPER
1. Among several factors for India’s potential growth, savings rate is the most effective one. Do you agree? What are the other factors available for growth potential? (Answer in 150 words)
2. Account for the failure of manufacturing sector in achieving the goal of labour-intensive exports rather than capital-intensive exports. Suggest measures for more labour-intensive rather than capital-intensive exports.
3. Examine the developments of Airports in India through Joint Ventures under Public-Private Partnership(PPP) model. What are the challenges faced by the authorities in this regard.
4. Explain various types of revolutions, took place in Agriculture after Independence in India. How these revolutions have helped in poverty alleviation and food security in India?
5. What are the reasons for poor acceptance of cost effective small processing unit? How the food processing unit will be helpful to uplift the socio-economic status of poor farmers?
6. Stem cell therapy is gaining popularity in India to treat a wide variety of medical conditions including leukaemia, Thallessemia, damaged sornea and several burns. Describe briefly what stem cell therapy is and what advantages it has over other treatments?
7. India has achieved remarkable successes in unmanned space missions including the Chandrayaan and Mars Orbitter Mission, but has not ventured into manned space mission, both in terms of technology and logistics? Explain critically
8. Not many years ago, river linking was a concept but it is becoming reality in the country. Discuss the advantages of river linking and its possible impact on the environment.
9. Discuss the potential threats of Cyber attack and the security framework to prevent it.
10. The north-eastern region of India has been infested with insurgency for a very long time. Analyze the major reasons for the survival of armed insurgency in this region.
11. One of the intended objectives of Union Budget 2017-18 is to ‘transform, energize and clean India’. Analyse the measures proposed in the Budget 2017-18 to achieve the objective.
12. “Industrial growth rate has lagged behind in the overall growth of Gross-Domestic-Product(GDP) in the post-reform period” Give reasons. How far the recent changes is Industrial Policy are capable of increasing the industrial growth rate?
13. What are the salient features of ‘inclusive growth’? Has India been experiencing such a growth process? Analyze and suggest measures for inclusive growth.
14. What are the major reasons for declining rice and wheat yield in the cropping system? How crop diversification is helpful to stabilize the yield of the crop in the system?
15. How do subsidies affect the cropping pattern, crop diversity and economy of farmers? What is the significance of crop insurance, minimum support price and food processing for small and marginal farmers?
16. Give an account of the growth and development of nuclear science and technology in India. What is the advantage of fast breeder reactor programme in India?
17. ‘Climate Change’ is a global problem. How India will be affected by climate change? How Himalayan and coastal states of India will be affected by climate change?
18. On December 2004, tsumani brought havoc on 14 countries including India. Discuss the factors responsible for occurrence of Tsunami and its effects on life and economy. In the light of guidelines of NDMA (2010) describe the mechanisms for preparedness to reduce the risk during such events.
19. Mob violence is emerging as a serious law and order problem in India. By giving suitable examples, analyze the causes and consequences of such violence.
20. The scourge of terrorism is a grave challenge to national security. What solutions do you suggest to curb this growing menace? What are the major sources of terrorist funding?
2016 UPSC MAINS GS PAPER III PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTION PAPER
Answer all the following questions. Each question is to be answered in not more than 200 words. Each question carries equal marks.
1. How globalization has led to the reduction of employment in the formal sector of the Indian economy? Is increased informalization detrimental to the development of the country? (12.5)
2. Women empowerment in India needs gender budgeting. What are the requirements and status of gender budgeting in the Indian context? (12.5)
3. Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is necessary for bringing unbanked to the institutional finance fold. Do you agree with this for financial inclusion of the poorer section of the Indian society? Give arguments to justify your opinion. (12.5)
4. What are 'Smart Cities'? Examine their relevance for urban development in India. Will it increase rural-urban differences? Give arguments for 'Smart Villages' in the light of PURA and RURBAN Mission. (12.5)
5. Justify the need for FDI for the development of the Indian economy. Why there is gap between MOUs signed and actual FDIS? Suggest remedial steps to be taken for increasing actual FDIs in India. (12.5)
6. Comment on the challenges for inclusive growth which include careless and useless manpower in the Indian context. Suggest measures to be taken for facing these challenges. (12.5)
7. What is water-use efficiency? Describe the role of micro-irrigation in increasing the water-use efficiency. (12.5)
8. What is allclopatlıy? Discuss its role in major cropping systems of irrigated agriculture. (12.5)
9. Discuss the role of land reforms in agricultural development. Identify the factors that were responsible for the success of land reforms in India. (12.5)
10. Given the vulnerability of Indian agriculture to vagaries of nature, discuss the need for crop insurance and bring out the salient features of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). (12.5)
11. Give an account of the current status and the targets to be achieved pertaining to renewable energy sources in the country. Discuss in brief the importance of National Programme on Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). (12.5)
12. Discuss India's achievements in the field of Space Science and Technology. How the application of this technology has helped India in its socio-economic development? (12.5)
13. Why is nanotechnology one of the key technologies of the 21st century? Describe the salient features of Indian Government's Mission on Nanoscience and Technology and the scope of its application in the development process of the country. (12.5)
14. Rehabilitation of human settlements is one of the important environmental impacts which always attracts controversy while planning major projects. Discuss the measures suggested for mitigation of this impact while proposing major developmental projects. (12.5)
15. The frequency of urban floods due to high intensity rainfall is increasing over the years. Discussing the reasons for urban floods, highlight the mechanisms for preparedness to reduce the risk during such events. (12.5)
16. With reference to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) guidelines, discuss the measures to be adopted to mitigate the impact of the recent incidents of cloudbursts in many places of Uttarakhand. (12.5)
17. The terms 'Hot Pursuit' and 'Surgical Strikes' are often used in connection with armed action against terrorist attacks. Discuss the strategic impact of such actions. (12.5)
18. "Terrorism is emerging as a competitive industry over the last few decades." Analyze the above statement. (12.5)
19. Border management is a complex task due to difficult terrain and hostile relations with some countries. Elucidate the challenges and strategies for effective border management. (12.5)
20. Use of Internet and social media by non-state actors for subversive activities is a major security concern. How have these been misused in the recent past? Suggest effective guidelines to curb the above threat. (12.5)
2015 UPSC MAINS GS PAPER III PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTION PAPER
Instructions: Answer the following questions in not more than 200 words each. Contents of the answers are more important than their length. All questions carry equal marks.
Note: Each question carries 12.5 Marks (12.5×20 = 200 Marks )
1. The nature of economic growth in India in recent times is often described as a jobless growth. Do you agree with this view? Give arguments in favour of your answer.
2. Livestock 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.
3. In the 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.
4. How can the Digital India program help farmers to improve farm productivity and income? What step has the government taken in this regard?
5. In what way could replacement of price subsidy with direct benefit Transfer (DBT) change the scenario of subsidies in India? Discuss.
6. What 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?
7. Craze for gold in Indian has led to surge in import of gold in recent years and put pressure on balance of payments and external value of rupee. In view of this, examine the merits of Gold Monetization scheme.
8. “Success of make in India program depends on the success of Skill India programme and radical labour reforms.” Discuss with logical arguments.
9. To what factors can be the recent dramatic fall in equipment cost and tariff of solar energy be attributed? What implications does the trend have for thermal power producers and related industry?
10. There is a clear acknowledgement that Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are a tool of industrial development, manufacturing and exports. Recognising this potential, the whole instrumentality of SEZs require augmentation. Discuss the issue plaguing the success of SEZs with respect to taxation, governing laws and administration.
11. What do you understand by “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.
12. What are the areas of prohibitive labour that can be sustainably managed by robots? Discuss the initiatives that can propel the research in premier research institutes for substantive and gainful innovation.
13. Discuss the advantage and security implication of cloud hosting of servers vis-a-vis in house machine based hosting for government business.
14. India’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 country’s fight against erroneous patents. Discuss the pro and cons of making the database available publicly available under open source licensing.
15. Discuss 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?
16. The frequency of earthquakes appears to have increased in the Indian subcontinent. However, India’s preparedness for mitigating their impact has significant gaps. Discuss various aspects.
17. Human 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.
18. Religious indoctrination via social media has resulted in Indian youth joining the ISIS. What is ISIS and its mission? How can ISIS be dangerous to the internal security of our country.
19. The 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 affected citizens back into mainstream of social and economic growth.
20. Considering the threats cyberspace poses for the country, India needs a “Digital Armed Forces” to prevent crimes. Critically evaluate the National Cyber Security Policy, 2013 outlining the challenges perceived in its effective implementation.