From 2014 to the 2019 Year General Studies / GS 3 Question Paper of UPSC Civil Services Examination are here for the aspirants. Have a Look into this.
GS-3 Question Paper Topics- Indian Economy (planning, resources, growth, development, employment)
2019
- 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.
- 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.
2018
- “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.
- How are the principles followed by the NITI Aayog different from those followed by the erstwhile Planning Commission in India?
- How would the recent phenomena of protectionism and currency manipulations in World Trade affect the macroeconomic stability of India?
2017
- Among several factors for India’s potential growth, the savings rate is the most effective one. Do you agree? What are the other factors available for growth potential?
- Account for the failure of the manufacturing sector in achieving the goal of labor-intensive exports. Suggest measures for more labor-intensive rather than capital-intensive exports.
- “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 in Industrial-policy are capable of increasing the industrial growth rate?
2016
- 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?
- Women empowerment in India needs gender budgeting. What are the requirements and status of gender budgeting in the Indian context?
- 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 FDI in India.
2015
- The nature of economic growth in India in recent times is often described as jobless growth. Do you agree with this view? Give arguments in favor of your answer.
- Craze for gold in Indians has led to a surge in the import of gold in recent years and put pressure on Balance of payments and the external value of Rupee. In view of this, examine the merits of the Gold Monetization Scheme.
- “Success of ‘Make in India’ program depends on the success of ‘Skill India’ program and radical labor reforms.” Discuss with logical arguments.
- To what factors can the recent dramatic fall in equipment cost and tariff of solar energy be attributed? What implications does the trend have for the thermal power producers and the related industry?
- There is a clear acknowledgment that Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are a tool of industrial development, manufacturing and exports. Recognizing this potential, the whole instrumentality of SEZs requires augmentation. Discuss the issues plaguing the success of SEZs with respect to taxation, governing laws and administration.
2014
- Normally countries shift from agriculture to industry and then later to services, but India shifted directly from agriculture to services. What are the reasons for the huge growth of services vis-a-vis industry in the country? Can India become a developed country without a strong industrial base?
- “While we flaunt India’s demographic dividend, we ignore the dropping rates of employability.” What are we missing while doing so? Where will the jobs that India desperately needs come from? Explain.
- In a globalized world, Intellectual Property Rights assume significance and are a source of litigation. Broadly distinguish between the terms- Copyrights, Patents and Trade Secrets.
GS-3 Question Paper Topic- Inclusive growth, poverty alleviation etc.
2019
- It is argued that the strategy of inclusive growth is intended to meet the objectives of inclusiveness and sustainability together. Comment on this statement.
- What are the affirmative steps taken by the Government to make food grain distribution system more effective?
2017
- Explain various types of revolution, took place in Agriculture after independence in India. How these revolutions have helped in poverty alleviation and food security in India?
- What are the salient features of ‘inclusive growth’? Has India been experiencing such a growth process? Analysis and suggest measures for inclusive growth.
2016
- Pradhan Mantri Jan-DhanYojana (PMJDY) is necessary for bringing unbanked to the institutional finance fold. Do you agree with this for the financial inclusion of the poorer section of Indian society? Give arguments to justify your opinion.
- 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.
2015
- In what way good replacement of price subsidy with Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) change the scenery of subsidies in India? Discuss.
2014
- Capitalism has guided the world economy to unprecedented prosperity. However, it often encourages shortsightedness and contributes to wide disparities between the rich and the poor. In this light, would it be correct to believe and adopt capitalism for bringing inclusive growth in India? Discuss.
GS-3 Question Paper Topic- Government Budget
2019
- The public expenditure management is a challenge to the Government of India in the context of budget making during the post-liberalization period. Clarify it.
2018
- 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 2018-19.
2017
- One of the intended objectives of the Union Budget 2017-18 is to ‘transform, energize and clean India’. Analyse the measures proposed in the Budget 2017-18 to achieve the objective.
GS-3 Question Paper Topic- Agriculture- crops
2018
- What do you mean by the Minimum Support Price (MSP)? How will MSP rescue the farmers from the low income trap?
- Assess the role of the 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?
- How has the emphasis on certain crops brought about changes in cropping patterns in the recent past? Elaborate the emphasis on millets production and consumption.
2017
- 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 crops in the system?
- 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?
2016
- What is allelopathy? Discuss its role in major cropping systems of irrigated agriculture.
2015
- 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.
GS-3 Question Paper Topic- Agriculture- technology, schemes etc.
2019
- How far is an integrated farming system (IFS) helpful in sustaining agricultural production?
- Elaborate the impact of the National Watershed Project in increasing agricultural production from water-stressed areas.
- How was India benefited from the contributions of Sir M Visvesvaraya and Dr. M S Swaminathan in the fields of water engineering and agricultural science respectively?
2016
- What is water-use efficiency? Describe the role of micro-irrigation in increasing water-use efficiency.
- 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).
2015
- How can the ‘Digital India’ program help farmers to improve farm productivity and income? What steps has the government taken in this regard?
2014
- There is also a point of view that Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) set up under the State Acts have not only impeded the development of agriculture but also have been the cause of food inflation in India. Critically examine.
- “In the villages itself no form of credit organization will be suitable except the cooperative society.”- All India Rural Credit Survey. Discuss this statement in the background of agricultural finance in India. What constraints and challenges do financial institutions supplying agricultural finance face? How can technology be used to better reach and serve rural clients?
GS-3 Question Paper Topic- Food Processing
2019
- Elaborate the policy taken by the Government of India to meet the challenges of the food processing sector.
2018
- Examine the role of supermarkets in supply chain management of fruits, vegetables and food items. How do they eliminate the number of intermediaries?
2017
- What are the reasons for poor acceptance of a cost-effective small processing unit? How the food processing unit will be helpful to uplift the socio-economic status of poor farmers?
2015
- What are the impediments in marketing and supply chain management in developing the food processing industry in India? Can e-commerce help in overcoming these bottlenecks?
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GS-3 Question Paper Topic- land reforms
2016
- Discuss the role of land reforms in agricultural development. Identify the factors that were responsible for the success of land reforms in India.
2015
- In 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.
2014
- The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 has come into effect from 1st January, 2014. What are the key issues which would get an address with the Act in place? What implications would it have on industrialization and agriculture in India?
GS-3 Question Paper Topic- Liberalisation, investment, Infrastructure
2017
- Examine the development of Airports in India through joint ventures under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. What are the challenges faced by the authorities in this regard?
2016
- 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.
2014
- Explain how Private Public Partnership arrangements, in long gestation infrastructure projects, can transfer unsustainable liabilities to the future. What arrangements need to be put in place to ensure that successive generations’ capacities are not compromised?
- National Urban Transport Policy emphasizes on ‘moving people’ instead of ‘moving vehicles’. Discuss critically the success of the various strategies of the Government in this regard.
- Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the defense sector is now set to be liberalized. What influence is expected to have on Indian defense and economy in the short and long-run?
GS-3 Question Paper Topic- Science and Technology
2018
- Discuss the work of ‘Bose-Einstein Statistics’ done by Professor Satyendra Nath Bose and show how it revolutionized the field of Physics.
2016
- 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?
2014
- Scientific research in Indian universities is declining, because a career in science is not as attractive is our business professions, engineering or administration, and the universities are becoming consumer-oriented. Critically comment.
- Can overuse and free availability of antibiotics without a Doctor’s prescription, be contributors to the emergence of drug-resistant diseases in India? What are the available mechanisms for monitoring and control? Critically discuss the various issues involved.
GS-3 Question Paper Topic- General awareness (Space, computers, nanotechnology, biotechnology, etc.)
2019
- What is India’s plan to have its own Space Station and how will it benefit our space program?
- What is CyberDome Project? Explain how it can be useful in controlling internet crimes in India.
- How is the Government of India protecting traditional knowledge of medicine from patenting by pharmaceutical companies?
- How can biotechnology help to improve the living standards of farmers?
2018
- Why is there so much activity in the field of biotechnology in our country? how has this activity benefited the field of biopharma?
- Data security has assumed significant importance in the digitized world due to rising Cybercrimes. 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 the protection of personal data in cyberspace?
2017
- Stem cell therapy is gaining popularity in India to treat a wide variety of medical conditions including Leukaemia, Thalassemia, damaged cornea and severe burns. Describe briefly what stem cell therapy is and what advantages it his over other treatments?
- India has achieved remarkable success in unmanned space missions including the Chandrayaan and Mars Orbitter Mission, but has not ventured into manned space missions. What are the main obstacles to launching a manned space mission, both in terms of technology and logistics? Examine critically.
- Discuss the potential threats of Cyberattack and the security framework to prevent it.
- Give an account of the growth and development of nuclear science and technology in India. What is the advantage of the fast breeder reactor program in India?
2016
- 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).
- Why is nanotechnology one of the key technologies of the 21st century? Describe the salient features of the Indian government’s Mission on Nanoscience and Technology and the scope of its application in the development process of the country.
2015
- What do you understand by ‘Standard Positioning Systems’ and ‘Precision Positioning Systems’ in the GPS era? Discuss the advantages India perceives from its ambitious IRNSS program employing just seven satellites.
- What are the areas of prohibitive labor that can be sustainably managed by robots? Discuss the initiatives that can propel research in premier research institutes for substantive and gainful innovation.
- Discuss the advantages and security implications of cloud hosting of servers vis-a-vis in-house machine-based hosting for government businesses.
- 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 the country’s fight against erroneous patents. Discuss the pros and cons of making this database publicly available under open-source licensing.
GS-3 Topic- Environment basics
2019
- Coastal sand mining, whether legal or illegal, poses one of the biggest threats to the environment. Analyse the impact of sand mining along the Indian coast, citing specific examples.
- Define the concept of carrying capacity of an ecosystem as relevant to an environment. Explain how understanding this concept is vital while planning for the sustainable development of a region.
2018
- What are the impediments in disposing of the huge quantities of discarded solid waste which are continuously been generated? How to remove safely the toxic wastes that have been accumulating in our habitable environment?
- What is a wetland? Explain the Ramsar concept of ‘wise use’ in the context of wetland conservation. Cite two examples of Ramsar sites from India.
- Sikkim is the first ‘Organic State’ in India. What are the ecological and economic benefits of an Organic State?
- With growing energy needs should India keep on expanding its nuclear energy program? Discuss the facts and fears associated with nuclear energy.
- How does biodiversity vary in India? How is the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 helpful in the conservation of flora and fauna?
2017
- Not many years ago, river linking was a concept but it is becoming a reality in the country. Discuss the advantages of river linking and its possible impact on the environment.
- ‘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?
2015
- Discuss the Namami Gange and the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) programs and causes of mixed results from the previous schemes. What quantum leaps can help preserve the river Ganga better than incremental inputs?
2014
- Should the pursuit of carbon credits and clean development mechanisms set up under UNFCCC be maintained even though there has been a massive slide in the value of a carbon credit? Discuss with respect to India’s energy needs for economic growth.
GS-3 Topic- Disaster Management
2019
- Vulnerability is an essential element for defining disaster impacts and its threat to people. How and in what ways can the vulnerability of disasters be characterized? Discuss different types of vulnerability with reference to disasters.
- 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.
2018
- Describe various measures taken in India for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) before and after signing the ‘Sendai Framework for DRR (2015-2030)’. How is this framework different from the ‘Hyogo Framework for Action, 2005’?
2017
- On December 2004, Tsunami brought havoc on 14 countries including India. Discuss the factors responsible for the occurrence of the tsunami and its effects on life and economy. In the light of guidelines of NDMA (2010) describe the mechanism for preparedness to reduce the risk during such events.
2016
- Rehabilitation of human settlements is one of the important environmental impacts which always attract controversy while planning major projects. Discuss the measures suggested for mitigation of this impact while proposing major developmental projects.
- 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.
- With reference to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) guidelines, discuss the measures to be adopted to mitigate the impact of the recent incidents of cloudburst in many places of Uttarakhand.
2015
- 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.
2014
- Drought has been recognized as a disaster in view of its spatial expanse, temporal duration, slow onset and lasting effects on vulnerable sections. With a focus on the September 2010 guidelines from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), discuss the mechanism for preparedness to deal with likely El Nino and LA Nina fallouts in India.
- Environmental Impact Assessment studies are increasingly undertaken before a project is cleared by the Government. Discuss the environmental impacts of coal-fired thermal plants located at coal pitheads.
GS-3 Topic- Security
2019
- The banning of ‘Jamaat-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 the influence of OGWs.
- The 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 the prevailing security environment while discussing the scope and reasons for opposing the UAPA by human rights organizations.
- The cross-border movement of insurgents is only one of the several security challenges facing the policing of the border in northeast India. Examine the various challenges currently emanating across the India-Myanmar border. Also, discuss the steps to counter the challenges.
2018
- 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.
- 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.
- India’s proximity to two of the world’s biggest illicit opium-growing States has enhanced 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?
2017
- The Northeast 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.
- Mob violence is emerging as a serious law and order problem in India. By giving suitable examples, analyse the causes and consequences of such violence.
- 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
- 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.
- “Terrorism is emerging as a competitive industry over the last few decades.” Analyze the above statement.
- 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.
- Use of the 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.
2015
- Human Rights activists constantly highlight the view that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) is a draconian act leading to cases of Human Rights abuses by the security forces. What sections of AFSPA are opposed by the activist? Critically evaluate the requirement with reference to the view held by the apex court.
- Religious indoctrination via digital media has resulted in Indian youth joining ISIS. What is ISIS and its mission? How can ISIS be dangerous for the internal security of our country?
- The persistent drives of the Government for the 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 the mainstream of social and economic growth.
- Considering the threats cyberspace poses for the country, Indian needs a “Digital Armed Force” to prevent crimes. Critically evaluate the National Cyber Security Policy, 2013 outlining the challenges perceived in its effective implementation.
2014
- “The diverse nature of India is a multi-religious and multi-ethnic society is not immune to the impact of radicalism which is seen in her neighborhood.” Discuss along with strategies to be adopted to counter this environment.
- International Civil Aviation laws provide all countries complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above their territory. What do you understand by ‘airspace’? What are the implications of these laws on the space above this airspace? Discuss the challenges which this poses and suggest ways to contain the threat.
- How does illegal trans-border migration pose a threat to India’s security? Discuss the strategies to curb this, bringing out the factors which give impetus to such migration.
- In 2012, the longitudinal marking for high-risk areas for piracy was moved from 65 degrees east to 78 degrees east in the Arabian Sea by International Maritime Organisation. What impact does this have on India’s Maritime security concerns?
- China and Pakistan have entered into an agreement for the development of an economic corridor. What threat does this pose for India’s security? Critically examine.