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2024(GS Paper III)

Q1. 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?(Answer in 150 words)

Q2. 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.(Answer in 150 words)

Q3. What were the factors responsible for the successful implementation of land reforms in some parts of the country? Elaborate.(Answer in 150 words)

Q4. Explain the role of millets for ensuring health and nutritional security in India.(Answer in 150 words)

Q5. 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.(Answer in 150 words)

Q6. 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?(Answer in 150 words)

Q7. 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.(Answer in 150 words)

Q8. What role do environmental NGOs and activists play in influencing Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) outcomes for major projects in India? Cite four examples with all important details.(Answer in 150 words)

Q9. Explain how narco-terrorism has emerged as a serious threat across the country. Suggest suitable measures to counter narco-terrorism.(Answer in 150 words)

Q10. Describe the context and salient features of the Digital Personal Data Protection act, 2023.(Answer in 150 words)

Q11. 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? (Answer in 250 Words)

Q12. What is the need for expanding the regional air connectivity in India? In this context, discuss the government’s UDAN Scheme and its achievements. (Answer in 250 Words)

Q13. What are the major challenges faced by Indian irrigation system in recent times? State the measures taken by the government for efficient irrigation management. (Answer in 250 Words)

Q14. Elucidate’ the importance of buffer stocks for stabilizing agricultural prices in India. won What are the challenges associated with the storage of buffer stock? Discuss. (Answer in 250 Words)

Q15. 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. (Answer in 250 Words)

Q16. What are asteroids? How real is the threat of them causing extinction of life? What Strategies have been developed to prevent such a catastrophe? (Answer in 250 Words)

Q17. 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). (Answer in 250 Words)

Q18. 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. (Answer in 250 Words)

Q19. India has a long and troubled border with China and Pakistan fraught with contentious issues. Examiné 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. (Answer in 250 Words)

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. (Answer in 250 Words)

2023(GS Paper III)

Q1. Faster economic growth requires increased share of the manufacturing sector in GDP, particularly MSMEs. Comment on the present policies of the government in this regard. (Answer in 150 words) 10

Q2. What is the status of digitalization in the Indian economy? Examine the problems faced in this regard and suggest improvements. (Answer in 150 words) 10

Q3. How does e-Technology help farmers in production and marketing of agricultural produce? Explain it. (Answer in 150 words) 10

Q4. 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. (Answer in 150 words) 10

Q5. 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? (Answer in 150 words) 10

Q6. Discuss several ways in which microorganisms can help in meeting the current fuel shortage. (10 marks)

Q7. Dam failures are always catastrophic, especially on the downstream side, resulting in a colossal loss of life and property. Analyse the various causes of dam failures. Give two examples of large dam failures. (Answer in 150 words) 10

Q8. 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? (Answer in 150 words) 10

Q9. 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. (Answer in 150 words) 10

Q10. 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. (Answer in 150 words) 10

Q11.Most of the unemployment in India is structural in nature. Examine the methodology adopted to compute unemployment in the country and suggest improvements. (Answer in 250 words) 15

Q12.Distinguish between ‘care economy’ and ‘monetized economy’. How can care economy be brought into monetized economy through women empowerment? (Answer in 250 words) 15

Q13. Explain the changes in cropping pattern in India in the context of changes in consumption pattern and marketing conditions. (Answer in 250 words) 15

Q14. 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. (Answer in 250 words) 15

Q15. 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? (Answer in 250 words) 15

Q16. 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. (Answer in 250 words) 15

Q17. 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. (Answer in 250 words) 15

Q18. 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? (Answer in 250 words) 15

Q19. 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. (Answer in 250 words) 15

Q20. 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 (NMPT Conference recently held at New Delhi in November 2022. (Answer in 250 words) 15

2022(GS Paper III)

Q1. Why is Public Private Partnership (PPP) required in infrastructural projects? Examine the role of PPP model in the redevelopment of Railway Stations in India. (Answer in 150 words) 10

Q2. Is inclusive growth possible under market economy? State the significance of financial inclusion in achieving economic growth in India. (Answer in 150 words) 10

Q3. What are the major challenges of Public Distribution System (PDS) in India? How can it be made effective and transparent? (Answer in 150 words) 10

Q4. Elaborate the scope and significance of the food processing industry in India. (Answer in 150 words) 10

Q5. 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? (Answer in 150 words) 10

Q6. 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? (Answer in 150 words) 10

Q7. Discuss in detail the photochemical smog emphasizing its formation, effects and mitigation. Explain the 1999 Gothenburg Protocol. (Answer in 150 words) 10

Q8. Explain the mechanism and occurrence of cloudburst in the context of the Indian subcontinent. Discuss two recent examples. (Answer in 150 words) 10

Q9. Discuss the types of organised crimes. Describe the linkages between terrorists and organised crime that exist at the national and transnational levels. (Answer in 150 words) 10

Q10. What are the maritime security challenges in India? Discuss the organisational, technical and procedural initiatives taken to improve the maritime security. (Answer in 150 words) 10

Q11. “Economic growth in the recent past has been led by increase in labour productivity.” Explain this statement. Suggest the growth pattern that will lead to creation of more jobs without compromising labour productivity. (Answer in 250 words) 15

Q12. 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. (Answer in 250 words) 15

Q13. What are the main bottlenecks in upstream and downstream process of marketing of agricultural products in India? (Answer in 250 words) 15

Q14. What is Integrated Farming System? How is it helpful to small and marginal farmers in India? (Answer in 250 words) 15

Q15. 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? (Answer in 250 words) 15

Q16. 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? (Answer in 250 words) 15

Q17. 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. (Answer in 250 words) 15

Q18. Explain the causes and effects of coastal erosion in India. What are the available coastal management techniques for combating the hazard? (Answer in 250 words) 15

Q19. 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. (Answer in 250 words) 15

Q20. Naxalism is a social, economic and developmental issue manifesting as a violent internal security threat. In this context, discuss the emerging issues and suggest a multilayered strategy to tackle the menace of Naxalism. (Answer in 250 words) 15

2021(GS Paper III)

Q1. Explain the difference between computing methodology of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) before the year 2015 and after the year 2015. (Answer in 150 words)

Q3. How did land reforms in some parts of the country help to improve the socio-economic conditions of marginal and small farmers ? (Answer in 150 words)

Q4. How and to what extent would micro-irrigation help in solving India’s water crisis ? (Answer in 150 words)

Q5. How is S-400 air defence system technically superior to any other system presently available in the world? (Answer in 150 words)

Q6. 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) ? (Answer in 150 words)

Q7. 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 ? (Answer in 150 words)

Q8. 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. (Answer in 150 words)

Q9. 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. (Answer in 150 words)

Q10 . Keeping in view India’s internal security, analyse the impact of cross-border cyber attacks. Also discuss defensive measures against these sophisticated attacks. (Answer in 150 words)

Q11. Do you agree that the Indian economy has recently experienced V- shapes recovery? Give reasons in support of your answer. (Answer in 250 words)

Q15. What are the research and developmental achievements in applied biotechnology/? How will these achievements help to uplift the poorer sections of the society? (Answer in 250 words)

Q17. 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? (Answer in 250 words)

Q18. Describe the various causes and the effects of landslides. Mention the important components of the National Landslide Risk Management Strategy. (Answer in 250 words)

Q19. 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. (Answer in 250 words)

Q20. 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. (Answer in 250 words)

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