paper 1 essay upsc mains

• Bihar Board

SRM University

• CBSE Board Result 2024
• TN Board Result 2024
• GSEB Board Result 2024
• Karnataka Board Result 2024
• CG Board Result 2024
• Kerala Board Result 2024
• Shiv Khera Special
• Education News
• Web Stories
• Current Affairs
• नए भारत का नया उत्तर प्रदेश
• School & Boards
• College Admission
• Govt Jobs Alert & Prep
• GK & Aptitude
• IAS Exam News

UPSC Mains 2021 Paper-1 (Essay) Analysis: Check Last-Minute Tips by Experts for GS-1, GS-2

Upsc essay paper/ upsc mains paper 1 analysis : conducted on 7th january 2022. check the paper analysis of the essay paper by experts and preparation tips suggested for gs-1 and gs-2. .

UPSC Mains 2021 for Civil Services began amidst a lot of rows regarding the postponement of the exam. On 7th, aspirants of Civil Services appeared for their first exam, Paper 1 that is the Essay . The exam was conducted from 9:00 AM and concluded at 12:00 noon . We could not see many happy faces as the paper was extremely tough claimed by some. The candidates would have found it difficult to link the examples in their essays. The paper required a lot of thinking. So, it is for sure that the paper was tricky and tough.  Many candidates said that only philosophy students could have written well. Let us find out the complete analysis below. 

Take a look at the in-depth paper analysis below and also note what experts have to say for UPSC Mains GS-1 paper preparation on the last day. 

UPSC Mains 2021 Essay Paper 1: Expert Analysis & Candidate Reviews

UPSC Mains Essay paper happens to be one of those exams in the series that helps candidates score maximum marks to give their combined total a push. This time the essay paper as always was a bit tricky for those who attended it.  Overall it would be ranged as a tough paper as many topics were difficult to attempt. 

One of the topics was 'Your Perception of Me is a Reflection of You, My reflection of you is an awareness of me'. Another was Philosophy of wantlessness is Utopian while materialism is a chimaera . This means that UPSC this year decided to go philosophical. Many candidates seemed to go with these two topics from Section A. 

Mehek, a candidate outside the Noida centre said, “ The paper was as always easy for those who understood the topics completely and wrote on them, else if we went off-beat, UPSC would not mark us.”

A topic that confused many was Real is rational and rational is real. 

• The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world
• What is research, but a blind date with knowledge
• History repeats itself first as tragedy second as a farce
• There are better practices to best practice.

For those of you who do not know, the essay paper is of 250 marks and is to be completed in three hours. It must only be written in the authorised language chosen by the candidate while choosing his medium of writing. If any candidate writes in any other medium he/she may not be judged. 

UPSC Mains 2021 Begins Today! Check Datesheet [January 7-16, 2022], Exam Timings, Omicron Guidelines

The candidates must also adhere to the word limit. Last year the candidates got a choice from philosophical, technological and essays based on a saying. This year too, the candidates had a choice from human life affecting topics to something political. 

UPSC Mains 2021: Last-Minute GS -1, GS-2 Preparation tips 

All those who appeared for the exam today have to attempt tomorrows exams as well. 

The GS-1 paper is on Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society. The candidates at the last minute just need to brush up on what they have already studied. They must only and only revise the points they were confused about as the syllabus is too large to be revised on the last day. 

Also, it must be known to the candidates that last-minute answer writing must not at all be attempted. Leaving all this they must just pick up topics like dates, major events, history topics that need to be revised. 

UPSC Mains GS Paper 2 is Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice, and International Relations. It is a 250-marks subjective paper that is considered for merit. This means that the marks would be added to the final score. The questions are on a little easier note in this subject. The students must try to finish the entire paper and follow the word limit strictly. This suggestion by our experts is very valuable as many candidates complain about the paper being lengthy. 

Candidates must try to eat light before the exams and sleep well. Remember it is just an exam and not your life. All the best!

Cricketer Who Cleared UPSC Exam Before Playing For Team India- All About Amay Khurasiya

Get here latest School , CBSE and Govt Jobs notification in English and Hindi for Sarkari Naukari and Sarkari Result . Download the Jagran Josh Sarkari Naukri App . Check  Board Result 2024  for Class 10 and Class 12 like  CBSE Board Result ,  UP Board Result ,  Bihar Board Result ,  MP Board Result ,  Rajasthan Board Result  and Other States Boards.

• Is the Essay paper of UPSC Civil Services Mains only qualifying? + No, essay paper or Paper 1 marks are added in the final result which means that it adds to the merit and is not just qualifying.
• Is UPSC Mains 2021 exam postponed? + No, UPSC is conducting the CSE Mains exam 2021 and the first paper of Essay/ Paper 1 was also conducted successfully on 7th January 2022.
• What is Paper 1 in UPSC Mains? + Paper 1 is called the Essay paper in UPSC CSE mains where the candidates appearing have to choose topics from those given to write essays on. It is a 250 marks paper which adds to the final merit.
• Is essay paper difficult in UPSC? + Essay paper or Paper 1 of UPSC Civil Services Mains totally depends on the candidates understanding of the topic. The exam is of 250 marks and the candidates need to write convincing essays in correct grammar to score good marks.
• CBSE 12th Result 2024
• cbse.gov.in Result 2024
• results.cbse.nic.in Result 2024
• Digilocker CBSE Board Result 2024
• CBSE 10th Result 2024
• CBSE Result 2024 Digilocker
• CBSE Board 12th Results 2024
• CBSE Board Class 10 Result 2024
• UPSC IAS Main Exam
• IAS Mains Essay Paper
• About UPSC IAS Exam 2021

Latest Education News

CBSE Result 2024 OUT: लड़कियों का प्रदर्शन रहा बेहतर, यहाँ देखे रिजल्ट एनालिसिस, स्कूल और जिलेवार पास प्रतिशत

SSC GD Constable Result 2024 Live Update: जल्द जारी होने वाला है एसएससी कांस्टेबल रिजल्ट ssc.gov.in पर, यहाँ देखें एक्सपेक्टेड कटऑफ मार्क्स

[Check here] Manipur 12th Result 2024: COHSEM Class 12th Result At cohsem.nic.in 2024

Manipur Board Result 2024: HSE, HSLC Result Date And Time at manresults.nic.in

IGI Aviation Recruitment 2024: Apply Online for 1074 Customer Service Agent Posts

CBSE Class 10 Artificial Intelligence Latest Syllabus 2024-25 Free PDF Download

JKSSB Operator Admit Card 2024 Out: Check Hall Ticket Download Link For Various Posts

CBSE Class 10 Punjabi Syllabus 2024-2025: Download The Free PDF!

CBSE Class 9 Information Technology Latest Syllabus 2024-25 Marking Scheme: Download The PDF For Free!

CBSE Class 10 Information Technology 2024-25 Full Syllabus Free PDF Download!

Bihar STET Previous Year Question Papers With Answers: Download PDF

CBSE Class 10 Painting Latest Syllabus 2024-25 Objectives And Learning Strategies: Download The PDF For Free

UP Police Constable Re-Exam Date Expected Date, Check Exam Pattern Here

ट्रेन का टिकट खोने या फटने पर क्या करें, यहां पढ़ें

All Can See Riverside View Only 5% Genius Can Find The Infant Hidden In This Optical Illusion. 9 Seconds Left!

ISC Class 11th Biology Revised Syllabus 2024-25: Download PDF for full syllabus

RBSE 10th, 12th Result 2024: बड़ी अपडेट! राजस्थान बोर्ड 10वीं, 12वीं रिजल्ट rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in पर जल्द, इस Website पर मिलेगा नोटिस

SSC GD 2024 Result Live Update: Official Website to Download the Constable Results ssc.gov.in, Check Merit List Date, Latest Updates

No more potholes in India with self-healing roads! What are self-healing roads, introduced by the government?

CBSE Board Revaluation, Recounting and Re-verification 2024: Check Complete Process for Class 10th and 12th

[Download] UPSC Mains General Studies Paper-1 (2013-2023) History, Geography, Social Science since new syllabus

History: Art & Culture

History: india before independence, history: india after independence, history: world, social science: caste, religion, region, globalization, social science: poverty, population, globalization, social science: globalization, social science: women, geography: physical, geography: climate, disaster related, geography: resources distribution, geography: factors affecting industrial locations, geography: urbanization / society: urbanization, appendix: linear paper of 2023-gsm1, appendix: model answer pe free lecture & powerpoint, appendix: syllabus of upsc mains-gsm1 general studies paper1.

In 2013, UPSC changed the syllabus-pattern of Mains examination and the number of general studies papers were increased from two to four. Out of them, GS Paper-I deals with History, Culture, Society and Geography. Overall breakup looks like this

[Block-1] History

GS1 Syllabus Topic: Salient aspects of Art, Architecture, literature from Ancient to Modern Times

How will you explain that medieval Indian temple sculptures represent the social life of those days ? (स्पष्ट करें कि मध्यकालीन भारतीय मंदिरों की मूर्तिकला उस दौर के सामाजिक जीवन का प्रतिनिधित्व करती है। )

GS1 Syllabus Topic: Mid-18th century – Present (significant events, personalities, issues); Freedom Struggle (various stages, important contributors from different parts of the country)

GS1 Syllabus Topic: Post-Independence (consolidation and reorganisation within country)

GS1 Syllabus Topic: 18th century events (e.g. Industrial revolution, WWs, redrawn boundaries, colonisation, decolonisation); Political philosophies (e.g. communism, capitalism, socialism) and their effect on society

[Block-2] Social Science

GS1 Syllabus Topic:

• Communalism, Regionalism, Secularism; Social Empowerment
• Salient features of Indian Society; Diversity of India;

GS1 Syllabus Topic: Poverty, Population; Development and associated issues

GS1 Syllabus Topic: Globalisation (effects on Indian society)

• GS1 Syllabus Topic: Role of women and women’s organisation;
• Although some of the following questions fall under population and globalization categories, but if a person cultivates habit of noting down women related topics under one head, it’ll benefit in both GS1, GS2 and Essay.

[Block-3] Geography

GS1 Syllabus Topic: Salient Features of World Physical Geography; Important Geophysical phenomena (earthquakes, tsunami, volcanoes, cyclones); Geographical features and location;

GS1 Syllabus Topic: Critical geographical features, flora, fauna (changes and effects thereof)

GS1 Syllabus Topic: Distribution of key Natural Resources (world, S. Asia, Indian subcontinent)

GS1 Syllabus Topic: Factors responsible for location of Industries (primary, secondary, tertiary; India, world)

GS1 Syllabus Topic: Urbanization: problems and remedies

• Explain the role of geographical factors towards the development of Ancient India. (प्राचीन भारत के विकास के लिए भौगोलिक कारकों की भूमिका को स्पष्ट करें।) (150 words/10m)
• What are the main features of Vedic society and religion? Do you think some of the features are still prevailing in Indian society? (वैदिक समाज और धर्म की मुख्य विशेषताएं क्या हैं? क्या आपको लगता है कि भारतीय समाज में कुछ विशेषताएं अभी भी प्रचलित हैं?) (250 words/15m)
• What were the major technological changes introduced during the Sultanate period? How did those technological changes influence the Indian society? (सल्तनत युग के दौरान प्रमुख तकनीकी परिवर्तन क्या पेश किए गए थे? उन तकनीकी परिवर्तनों ने भारतीय समाज को कैसे प्रभावित किया?) (250 words/15m)
• What was the difference between Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore in their approach towards education and nationalism? (शिक्षा और राष्ट्रवाद के प्रति उनके दृष्टिकोण में महात्मा गांधी और रबींद्रनाथ टैगोर के बीच क्या अंतर था?) (150 words/10m)
• How did the colonial rule affect the tribals in India and what was the tribal response to the colonial oppression? (औपनिवेशिक शासन ने भारत में आदिवासियों को कैसे प्रभावित किया और औपनिवेशिक उत्पीड़न के लिए आदिवासी प्रतिक्रिया क्या थी?) (250 words/15m)
• From being net food importer in 1960s, India has emerged as a net food exporter to the world. Provide reasons. (1960 के दशक में ख्याधआयातक होने से, भारत दुनिया के लिए खाद्य निर्यातक के रूप में उभरा है। कारण प्रदान करें।) (250 words/15m)
• Bring out the socio-economic effects of the introduction of railways in different countries of the world (दुनिया के विभिन्न देशों में रेलवे की शुरूआत के सामाजिक-आर्थिक प्रभावों को बाहर लाएं) (150 words/10m)
• Why did human development fail to keep pace with economic development in India? (भारत में आर्थिक विकास के साथ मानव विकास क्यों विफल रहा?) (250 words/15m)
• Does urbanization lead to more segregation and/or marginalization of the poor in Indian metropolises? (क्या शहरीकरण भारतीय महानगरों में गरीबों के अधिक अलगाव और/या हाशिए पर ले जाता है?) (250 words/15m)
• Do you think marriage as a sacrament is loosing its value in Modern India? (क्या आपको लगता है कि एक संस्कार के रूप में विवाह आधुनिक भारत में अपना मूल्य खो रहा है?) (150 words/10m)
• Explain why suicide among young women is increasing in Indian society. (बताएं कि भारतीय समाज में युवा महिलाओं के बीच आत्महत्या क्यों बढ़ रही है।) (150 words/10m)
• Child cuddling is now being replaced by mobile phones. Discuss its impact on the socialization of children. (बच्चों को दुलारने की जगह अब मोबाइल फोन द्वारा प्रतिस्थापित किया जा रहा है। बच्चों के समाजीकरण पर इसके प्रभाव पर चर्चा करें।) (150 words/10m)
• Why is caste identity in India both fluid and static? (भारत में जाति की पहचान द्रव और स्थिर दोनों क्यों है?) (250 words/15m)
• Discuss the impact of post-liberal economy on ethnic identity and communalism. (जातीय पहचान और सांप्रदायिकता पर उदारवादी अर्थव्यवस्था के प्रभाव पर चर्चा करें।) (250 words/15m)
• Discuss the consequences of climate change on the food security in tropical countries. (उष्णकटिबंधीय देशों में खाद्य सुरक्षा पर जलवायु परिवर्तन के परिणामों पर चर्चा करें।) (150 words/10m)
• Why is the world today confronted with a crisis of availability of and access to freshwater resources? (आज दुनिया को मीठे पानी के संसाधनों की उपलब्धता और पहुंच के संकट के साथ क्यों सामना किया जाता है?) (150 words/10m)
• Identify and discuss the factors responsible for diversity of natural vegetation in India. Assess the significance of wildlife sanctuaries in rain forest regions of India (भारत में प्राकृतिक वनस्पति की विविधता के लिए जिम्मेदार कारकों की पहचान करें और चर्चा करें। भारत के वर्षा वन क्षेत्रों में वन्यजीव अभयारण्यों के महत्व का आकलन करें) (250 words/15m)
• How are the fjords formed? Why do they constitute some of the most picturesque areas of the world? (Fjords कैसे बनते हैं? वे दुनिया के कुछ सबसे सुरम्य क्षेत्रों का गठन क्यों करते हैं?) (150 words/10m)
• Why is the South-West Monsoon called Purvaiya’ (easterly) in Bhojpur Region? How has this directional seasonal wind system influenced the cultural ethos of the region? (भोजपुर क्षेत्र में दक्षिण-पश्चिम मानसून को पुरवाया (ईस्टरली) क्यों कहा जाता है? इस दिशात्मक मौसमी पवन प्रणाली ने क्षेत्र के सांस्कृतिक लोकाचार को कैसे प्रभावित किया है?) (150 words/10m)
• Comment on the resource potentials of the long coastline of India and highlight the status of natural hazard preparedness in these areas. (भारत की लंबी तटरेखा की संसाधन क्षमता पर टिप्पणी करें और इन क्षेत्रों में प्राकृतिक खतरे की तैयारियों की स्थिति को उजागर करें।) (250 words/15m)

Appendix: Linear paper of 2022-GSM1

• How will you explain that medieval Indian temple sculptures represent the social life of those days ? (स्पष्ट करें कि मध्यकालीन भारतीय मंदिरों की मूर्तिकला उस दौर के सामाजिक जीवन का प्रतिनिधित्व करती है। ) 10m 150w
• Why did the armies of the British East India Company – mostly comprising of Indian soldiers – win consistently against the more numerous and better equipped armies of the then Indian rulers ? Give reasons. (अधिकांश भारतीय सिपाहियों वाली ईस्ट इंडिया की सेना क्यों तत्कालीन भारतीय शासकों की संख्याबल में अधिक और बेहतर सुसज्जित सेना से लगातार जीतती रही ? कारण बताएँ ।) 10m 150w
• Why was there a sudden spurt in famines in colonial India since the mid-eighteenth century ? Give reasons. (औपनिवेशिक भारत की अठारहवीं शताब्दी के मध्य से क्यों अकाल पड़ने में अचानक वृद्धि देखने को मिलती है? कारण बताएं।) 10m 150w
• Describe the characteristics and types of primary rocks. (प्राथमिक चट्टानों की विशेषताओं एवं प्रकारों का वर्णन कीजिए।) 10m 150w
• Discuss the meaning of colour-coded weather warnings for cyclone prone areas given by India Meteorological Department. (भारतीय मौसम विज्ञान विभाग द्वारा चक्रवात प्रवण क्षेत्रों के लिए मौसम सम्बन्धी चेतावनियों के लिए निर्धारित रंग-संकेत के अर्थ की चर्चा करें।) 10m 150w
• Discuss the natural resource potentials of ‘Deccan Trap’. ( ‘दक्कन ट्रैप’ की प्राकृतिक संसाधन सम्भावनाओं की चर्चा कीजिए।) 10m 150w
• Examine the potential of wind energy in India and explain the reasons for their limited spatial spread. (भारत में पवन ऊर्जा की संभावना का परीक्षण कीजिए एवं उनके सीमित क्षेत्रीय विस्तार के कारणों को समझाइए|) 10m 150w
• Explore and evaluate the impact of ‘Work From Home’ on family relationships. (पारिवारिक सम्बन्धों पर ‘वर्क फ्रॉम होम’ के असर की छानबीन तथा मूल्यांकन करें ।) 10m 150w
• How is the growth of Tier 2 cities related to the rise of a new middle class with an emphasis on the culture of consumption ? (उपभोक्ता संस्कृति के विशेष परिप्रेक्ष्य में नव मध्यवर्ग के उभार से टीयर 2 शहरों का विकास किस तरह सम्बन्धित है ?) 10m 150w
• Given the diversities among tribal communities in India, in which specific contexts should they be considered as a single category ? (भारत के जनजातीय समुदायों की विविधताओं को देखते हुए किस विशिष्ट सन्दर्भ के अन्तर्गत उन्हें किसी एकल श्रेणी में माना जाना चाहिए ?) 10m 150w
• The political and administrative reorganization of states and territories has been a continuous ongoing process since the mid-nineteenth century. Discuss with examples. (राज्यों एवं प्रदेशों का राजनीतिक और प्रशासनिक पुनर्गठन उन्नीसवीं शताब्दी के मध्य में निरंतर चल रही एक प्रक्रिया है। उदाहरण सहित विचार करें।) 15m 250w
• Discuss the main contributions of Gupta period and Chola period to Indian heritage and culture. (भारतीय परम्परा और संस्कृति में गुप्त-काल और चोल काल के योगदान पर चर्चा करें।) 15m 250w
• Discuss the significance of the lion and bull figures in Indian mythology, art and architecture. (भारतीय मिथक कला और वास्तुकला में सिंह एवं वृषभ की आकृतियों के महत्व पर विचार करें।) 15m 250w
• What are the forces that influence ocean currents? Describe their role in fishing industry of the world. (समुद्री धाराओं को प्रभावित करने वाली शक्तियाँ कौन सी है ? विश्व के मत्स्य उद्योग में इनके योगदान का वर्णन करें ) 15m 250w
• Describing the distribution of rubber producing countries, indicate the major environmental issues faced by them. (रबर उत्पादक देशों के वितरण का वर्णन करते हुए उनके द्वारा सामना किए जाने वाले प्रमुख पर्यावरणीय मुद्दों को इंगित कीजिए।) 15m 250w
• Mention the significance of straits and isthmus in international trade. (अंतर्राष्ट्रीय व्यापार में जलसंधि व स्थलसंधि के महत्त्व का उल्लेख कीजिए ।.) 15m 250w
• Troposphere is a very significant atmospheric layer that determines weather processes. How? ( क्षोभमंडल वायुमंडल का एक महत्त्वपूर्ण परत है जो मौसम प्रक्रियाओं को निर्धारित करता है। कैसे ?) 15m 250w
• Analyse the salience of ‘sect’ in Indian society vis-a-vis caste, region and religion. (भारतीय समाज में जाति, क्षेत्र तथा धर्म के समानांतर ‘पंथ’ की विशेषता की विवेचना कीजिए ।) 15m 250w
• Are tolerance, assimilation and pluralism the key elements in the making of an Indian form of secularism ? Justify your answer. (क्या सहिष्णुता, सम्मिलन एवं बहुलता मुख्य तत्त्व हैं जो धर्मनिरपेक्षता के भारतीय रूप का निर्माण करते हैं ? तर्कसंगत उत्तर दें।) 15m 250w
• Elucidate the relationship between globalization and new technology in a world of scarce resources, with special reference to India. (अपर्याप्त संसाधनों की दुनिया में भूमंडलीकरण एवं नए तकनीक के रिश्ते को भारत के विशेष सन्दर्भ में स्पष्ट करें। ) 15m 250w
• Free Lecture: Youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSVABdpsEeglA4VimijYd4u1Q0uee8Vpz
• Free Powerpoint: https://unacademy.com/content/upsc/mains-paper-analysis/
• 1) Salient aspects of Art, Architecture,
• 2) literature from Ancient to Modern Times
• Mid-18th century – Present (significant events, personalities, issues); Freedom Struggle (various stages, important contributors from different parts of the country)
• Post-Independence (consolidation and reorganisation within country)
• 18th century events (e.g. Ind’l revo, WWs, redrawn boundaries, colonisation, decolonisation); Political philosophies (e.g. communism, capitalism, socialism) and their effect on society
• Poverty, Population; Development and associated issues
• Salient features of Indian Society; Diversity of India; Globalisation (effects on Indian society)
• Role of women and women’s organisation;
• Critical geographical features, flora, fauna (changes and effects therof)
• Factors responsible for location of Industries (primary, secondary, tertiary; India, world)
• Salient Features of World Physical Geography; Important Geophysical phenomena (earthquakes, tsunami, volcanoes, cyclones); Geographical features and location;
• Distribution of key Natural Resources (world, S. Asia, Indian subcontinent)
• Urbanisation: problems and remedies

• IAS Preparation
• UPSC Syllabus

UPSC Mains Syllabus

Upsc mains syllabus for ias exam.

The IAS mains exam comprises nine theory papers and marks in seven of those papers are taken into consideration for preparing the final merit list. The other two papers, English and Indian Language, are qualifying in nature (candidates have to score 25% or above to be eligible for selection). The UPSC mains syllabus for 2024 is discussed below and aspirants can also download the IAS syllabus in pdf form.

UPSC Mains Syllabus Download PDF Here

Download UPSC Previous Years Question Papers from the linked article!

Download  UPSC Mains Question Papers from the linked article!

The UPSC Notification for the year 2024 was released on 14th February 2024. The aspirants can check out the linked article to download the notification PDF to know more information related to the exam.

Download the UPSC Prelims Answer Key 2023 from the linked article.

The candidates who score above the cut-off in the first stage (Prelims) of the IAS exam  only will be eligible for the Mains. While only objective-type (MCQs) questions are asked in Prelims, the subjective Mains exam requires a deeper understanding of the topics.

Serious IAS aspirants must already be aware that UPSC Civil Services Exam 2024 calendar (latest) states that the Prelims will be held on 26th May 2024, and the Mains will commence from September 2024, onwards. However, the UPSC Mains 2023 were held from 16th September 2023, onwards. This gives enough time to prepare the comprehensive exam syllabus.

UPSC 2024 | IAS Mains syllabus

UPSC 2024 Syllabus for Mains Exam as mentioned in the UPSC CSE Notification can be downloaded from below:

The purpose of this stage of the UPSC exam is to test the understanding of the candidates and to check whether they have the intellectual capacity to present the answers in a clear, concise and coherent manner in the given time frame.

UPSC Mains Pattern

If you want to download UPSC Mains Syllabus 2023 pdf, please click below:

Given below are some quick reference links related to IAS/UPSC preparation. For the detailed UPSC mains syllabus, please scroll down.

Language Papers (Indian language and English)

Although both these papers are only qualifying in nature, candidates should not be complacent as if they fail to score below 25% in either of them, their remaining answer sheets won’t even be evaluated. Both the papers follow a similar pattern of questions as given below.

• One essay question for 100 marks – candidates have to select one out of a few given topics
• Reading comprehension and related five-six questions for a total of 60 marks
• Precis writing for 60 marks – the answer sheet will have a separate grid structure where this has to be written
• Translation from English to chosen language for 20 marks
• Translation from chosen language to English for 20 marks
• Grammar and basic language usage such as synonyms, sentence correction etc. for a total of 40 marks

UPSC Mains paper gives an opportunity to candidates where can opt for subjects under a few sections. This acts as an advantage for the aspirants can they can pick their strengths and increase their overall scores. To check out the list of IAS Subjects in the mains examination, candidates can visit the linked article.

The UPSC mains syllabus does not have any prescribed syllabus for the essay paper as such. As per the UPSC, “ Candidates are expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in an orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression .”

Candidates are required to write two essays from a list of given topics for a combined total of 250 marks.

Also, read ⇒  UPSC Mains Paper Analysis – Essay 

• Indian Culture – Salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
• Significant events, issues, personalities during the middle of the eighteenth century (1750s) until the present.
• Different stages and important contributors and contributions from various parts of the country in ‘The Freedom Struggle’.
• Post-independence consolidation and reorganisation within the country.
• History of the world
• Events, forms and effect on society since the 18th century (world wars, industrial revolution, colonisation, redrawal of national boundaries, decolonisation, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism, etc.)
• Indian society and diversity – Salient aspects.
• Role of women and women’s organisations, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanisation, their problems and remedies.
• Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism.
• Effects of globalisation on Indian society.
• Distribution of key natural resources across the world including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent; factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world including India.
• Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc.
• Geographical features and their location, changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and polar ice caps) and, in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.
• Salient features of world’s physical geography.

Given below are the links that can help candidates understand the UPSC Mains syllabus for the GS Paper 1 and strategize a plan for preparation:

GS Paper II

• historical underpinnings,
• evolution, features
• amendments, significant provisions
• basic structure doctrine
• Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries
• Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.
• Separation of powers between various organs, dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions
• Structure, organisation and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary
• structure, functioning
• conduct of business
• powers & privileges and issues arising out of these
• Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity.
• Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act
• Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.
• Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.
• Government policies and interventions aimed at development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
• Development processes and the development industry – the role of NGOs, Self Help Groups , various groups and associations, institutional and other stakeholders.
• Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and the 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
• Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures
• Role of civil services in a democracy
• India and its neighbourhood – International relations
• Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting the Indian interests
• Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.
• Important International institutions, agencies, their structure and mandates

Complement your preparation for Mains GS 2 paper with the links given below:

GS Paper III

• Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment.
• Government Budgeting.
• Inclusive growth and associated issues/challenges
• Effects of liberalisation on the economy (post 1991 changes), changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth.
• Infrastructure – Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
• Investment models (PPP etc)
• Major 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
• Economics of animal rearing.
• Food processing and related industries in India – scope and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management.
• 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
• Land reforms in India.
• Recent developments and their applications and effects in everyday life
• Achievements of Indians in science & technology.
• Indigenisation of technology and developing new technology.
• General awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nanotechnology, bio-technology
• Issues relating to intellectual property rights
• Conservation,
• Environmental pollution and degradation
• Environmental impact assessment
• Disaster Management (Laws, Acts etc.)
• Challenges to internal security (external state and non-state actors)
• Linkages between development and spread of extremism
• 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 organised crime with terrorism
• Various Security forces and agencies and their mandates

For a better understanding of the GS 3 paper in detail, along with the strategy to be followed for UPSC mains paper preparation, candidates can refer to the links given below:

GS Paper IV

This Ethics paper in the UPSC mains syllabus includes questions to check the candidates’ attitude and approach to issues relating to integrity and probity in public life and his/her problem-solving approach to various societal issues. Questions may utilise the case study approach to determine these aspects and the exam covers area as mentioned in the syllabus given below.

• Essence of Ethics, Determinants and Consequences of Ethics in Human Interaction
• 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 moral and ethical values
• Content, structure and function of attitude
• Influence of attitude in thought and behaviour
• Relation of attitude to thought and behaviour
• Moral and Political attitudes
• Social influence and persuasion
• Aptitude and foundational values of Civil Service
• Impartiality and non-partisanship
• Objectivity
• Dedication to public service
• Empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker sections of the society
• Concepts of emotional intelligence
• Utility and application of emotional intelligence in administration and governance
• Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and the world to the concepts of morality
• Status and associated 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
• Concept of public service
• The philosophical basis of governance and probity
• Information sharing and transparency in government
• Right to Information
• Codes of ethics
• Codes of Conduct
• Citizen’s Charters
• Work culture
• Quality of service delivery
• Utilization of public funds
• Challenges of corruption

Also, refer to the following related links:

Optional Subject (Two Papers)

A candidate has to choose one optional subject (out of a total of 48 options). There will be two papers for a combined total of 500 marks. Selecting the best optional subject for UPSC mains should be a careful and considered decision. Refer to the link given above to understand which optional subject will be the best for you.

Get the list of optional subjects in UPSC in the linked article.

The IAS mains syllabus is comprehensive and the questions asked in the CSE require not only a certain depth of understanding but also the ability to present the answers in a coherent manner. The syllabus of UPSC mains comprises both static and dynamic aspects. Hence, it is essential for the IAS aspirants to track and sort the current affairs under appropriate papers/headings as per the UPSC mains syllabus.

The Mains exam is for a total of 1750 marks (7 papers * 250 marks) and, the aspirants who clear the stage reach the interview (UPSC Personality Test). The candidates’ score in the interview (out of 275 marks) is added to their marks in UPSC mains and this makes the final merit list of recommended candidates.

For the latest exam updates, study material and preparation tips, visit BYJU’S.

FAQ about UPSC Mains Syllabus

Is 3 months enough for upsc mains, is upsc mains consisting of mcq, is upsc very tough, what happens if you fail upsc mains, is calculator allowed in ias mains, leave a comment cancel reply.

Your Mobile number and Email id will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Request OTP on Voice Call

Post My Comment

Nice Information

Very useful!

What are the indian languages in IAS mains?

Hi Gautham The languages included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India form a part of language paper of UPSC GS Mains. You can get the tips to tackle language paper in GS Mains in the linked article.

Optional Subject (Two Papers) A candidate has to choose one optional subject (out of a total of 48 options). How to choose the other optional subject sir? What are the subjects.

There are two papers but only on one subject. So you got to choose only one subject for UPSC. Get the list of optional subjects in the linked article.

Do the students from the northeast have to appear in only paper B (english) for the qualifying as they are exempted from paper A? , or is there any alternative paper they need to give for that. Also how is the marks calculated in that case ?

Hi Yes, they only have to write English language paper. Since both the language papers are of qualifying nature, marks are unaffected by this exemption provided to candidates hailing from the north-eastern states of Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland

hello sir I tried finding out syllabus for prelims and mains from the website. But did not find can you please help me with it

Hi Please refer to UPSC Syllabus in the linked article.

Hi sir I want to ask few questions regarding CSE preparation How to start? , How to manage time during preparation? , How to manage CSE and engineering study?, Which engineering branch is good for CSE? Is electronic and telecommunications or computer engineering is better for CSE? How to improve English? Sir my grasping power is good, if I read chapter one time then I able to understand every concept so shall I go with ncert reading?

*How to start? 1. Understand UPSC Syllabus 2. Start with NCERTs and complement with daily newspaper. 3. Refer to UPSC previous years’ question papers. 4. Read Rajiv Ahir’s Brief of Modern History, M. Laxmikanth’s Indian Polity for GS 1 and 2 respectively. 5. Revise often. 6. Take mock tests periodically. *How to manage time? – You can get an idea here *Which engineering breach – Though any branch is fine till you hold interest, but civil or mechanical are often suggested. *Refer to how to improve English in the linked article. *NCERTs are the basic books. You must read them once.

Sir I am a student of B. Sc. 2nd yr I have do that at any cost. Sir would you please suggest me from where I have to start, how to start, what to start everything. Please Guide Me Sir What To Do !!!! Thanking you! *UPSC IAS*

1. Understand UPSC Syllabus 2. Start with NCERTs and complement with daily newspaper. 3. Refer to UPSC previous years’ question papers. 4. Read Rajiv Ahir’s Brief of Modern History, M. Laxmikanth’s Indian Polity for GS 1 and 2 respectively. 5. Revise often. 6. Take mock tests periodically.

I just want to ask that how to read newspaper?

Hi Ravneet, You may check the answer here

if i select english language for mains exm , can i change my interview language to my native language. after mains qualified.

Hi, One can give IAS Interview in any one of the official languages of India, other than Hindi/English. One has to mention the language medium of the interview while filling the DAF .

which is the best book for the UPSC exam

Hi, Please go through UPSC book list .

Hi sir/mam. good morning. can u please separate the topics of GS-2 and tell which topics comes under constitution and social justice and polity and governance. I’m finding difficult to make notes or find topics under certain sections.

Dear Aspirant, We have provided the section-wise strategy for GS 2 of UPSC Mains here .

Also, if you wish to get the topic-wise GS 2 questions of mains to have a better understanding of its syllabus; please click here .

For any further queries, please reach out to us at +919243500460.

All the best!

Thanks for sending the syllabus and download pdf option

IAS 2024 - Your dream can come true!

Download the ultimate guide to upsc cse preparation.

• Share Share

Register with BYJU'S & Download Free PDFs

Register with byju's & watch live videos.

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

UPSC Coaching, Study Materials, and Mock Exams

Enroll in ClearIAS UPSC Coaching Join Now Log In

Call us: +91-9605741000

Essay Paper UPSC 2020 (Mains): Question Paper and Analysis

Last updated on January 9, 2021 by ClearIAS Team

UPSC conducted the  Essay Paper , as part of the Civil Services Main Exam 2020 on 08-01-2021.

There were 8 Essay topics, out of which candidates were asked to write on two topics in 3 hours.

Table of Contents

Essay Paper UPSC 2020 Instructions

• Total Marks: 250 marks, Time duration: 3 hours.
• The essay must be written in the medium authorized in the admission certificate which must be stated clearly on the cover of this question-cum-answer (QCA) booklet in the space provided.
• No marks will be given for answers written in the medium other than the authorized one.
• Word limit, as specified, should be adhered to.
• Any page or portion of the page left blank, must be struck off clearly.

Essay Question Paper – UPSC Civil Services Main Exam (Written) 2020

Write two essays, choosing one topic from each of the following Sections A and B, in about 1000-1200 words each:

• Life is long journey between human being and being humane
• Mindful manifesto is the catalyst to a tranquil self
• Ships do not sink because of water around them,  ships sink because of water that gets into them
• Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication
• Culture is what we are, civilization is what we have
• There can be no social justice without economic prosperity but economic prosperity without social justice is meaningless
• Patriarchy is the least noticed yet the most significant structure of social inequality
• Technology as the silent factor in international relations

Though aspirants were asked to write only two essays out of eight, most aspirants faced difficulty to select the right combination of two essays.

A philosophical theme was present in most of the essay topics in Section A as well as Section B.

As per most aspirants, the essay topic ‘Mindful manifesto is the catalyst to a tranquil self’ seemed the most tricky one. Only a few attempted that topic.

Add IAS, IPS, or IFS to Your Name!

Your Effort. Our Expertise.

Join ClearIAS

UPSC has ensured that the essay topics were much different from the GS questions.

As we have mentioned many times, Essay needs a different approach than GS. Only those candidates with good essay writing skills will score high in this year’s essay paper.

Aim IAS, IPS, or IFS?

Prelims cum Mains (PCM) GS Course: Target UPSC CSE 2025 (Online)

₹95000 ₹59000

Prelims cum Mains (PCM) GS Course: Target UPSC CSE 2026 (Online)

₹115000 ₹69000

Prelims cum Mains (PCM) GS Course: Target UPSC CSE 2027 (Online)

₹125000 ₹79000

About ClearIAS Team

ClearIAS is one of the most trusted learning platforms in India for UPSC preparation. Around 1 million aspirants learn from the ClearIAS every month.

Our courses and training methods are different from traditional coaching. We give special emphasis on smart work and personal mentorship. Many UPSC toppers thank ClearIAS for our role in their success.

Download the ClearIAS mobile apps now to supplement your self-study efforts with ClearIAS smart-study training.

Reader Interactions

September 22, 2023 at 12:35 pm

Hello i am interested to take coaching UPSC Examinations how could you help me

September 25, 2023 at 5:46 pm

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Don’t lose out without playing the right game!

Follow the ClearIAS Prelims cum Mains (PCM) Integrated Approach.

Join ClearIAS PCM Course Now

UPSC Online Preparation

• Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
• Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
• Indian Police Service (IPS)
• IAS Exam Eligibility
• UPSC Free Study Materials
• UPSC Exam Guidance
• UPSC Prelims Test Series
• UPSC Syllabus
• UPSC Online
• UPSC Prelims
• UPSC Interview
• UPSC Toppers
• UPSC Previous Year Qns
• UPSC Age Calculator
• UPSC Calendar 2024
• About ClearIAS
• ClearIAS Programs
• ClearIAS Fee Structure
• IAS Coaching
• UPSC Coaching
• UPSC Online Coaching
• ClearIAS Blog
• Important Updates
• Announcements
• Book Review
• ClearIAS App
• Work with us
• Advertise with us
• Privacy Policy
• Terms and Conditions
• Talk to Your Mentor

Featured on

and many more...

UPSC Online Coaching: Target CSE 2025

Are you struggling to finish the upsc cse syllabus without proper guidance, take clearias mock exams: analyse your progress.

Analyse Your Performance and Track Your All-India Ranking

Call us @ 08069405205

Search Here

• An Introduction to the CSE Exam
• Personality Test
• Annual Calendar by UPSC-2024
• Common Myths about the Exam
• About Insights IAS
• Our Mission, Vision & Values
• Director's Desk
• Meet Our Team
• Our Branches
• Careers at Insights IAS
• Daily Current Affairs+PIB Summary
• Insights into Editorials
• Insta Revision Modules for Prelims
• Current Affairs Quiz
• Static Quiz
• Current Affairs RTM
• Insta-DART(CSAT)
• Insta 75 Days Revision Tests for Prelims 2024
• Secure (Mains Answer writing)
• Secure Synopsis
• Ethics Case Studies
• Insta Ethics
• Weekly Essay Challenge
• Insta Revision Modules-Mains
• Insta 75 Days Revision Tests for Mains
• Secure (Archive)
• Anthropology
• Law Optional
• Kannada Literature
• Public Administration
• English Literature
• Medical Science
• Mathematics
• Commerce & Accountancy
• Monthly Magazine: CURRENT AFFAIRS 30
• Content for Mains Enrichment (CME)
• InstaMaps: Important Places in News
• Weekly CA Magazine
• The PRIME Magazine
• Insta Revision Modules-Prelims
• Insta-DART(CSAT) Quiz
• Insta 75 days Revision Tests for Prelims 2022
• Insights SECURE(Mains Answer Writing)
• Interview Transcripts
• Previous Years' Question Papers-Prelims
• Answer Keys for Prelims PYQs
• Solve Prelims PYQs
• Previous Years' Question Papers-Mains
• UPSC CSE Syllabus
• Toppers from Insights IAS
• Testimonials
• Felicitation
• UPSC Results
• Indian Heritage & Culture
• Ancient Indian History
• Medieval Indian History
• Modern Indian History
• World History
• World Geography
• Indian Geography
• Indian Society
• Social Justice
• International Relations
• Agriculture
• Environment & Ecology
• Disaster Management
• Science & Technology
• Security Issues
• Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude

• Indian Heritage & Culture
• Enivornment & Ecology

[ GENERAL STUDIES PAPER – 1 ] : UPSC MAINS CIVIL SERVICES IAS EXAM 2023 QUESTION PAPER

DOWNLOAD ESSAY QUESTION PAPER : UPSC CSE MAINS 2023

DOWNLOAD General Studies 2 QUESTION PAPER : UPSC CSE MAINS 2023

DOWNLOAD General Studies 3 QUESTION PAPER : UPSC CSE MAINS 2023

UPSC MAINS GENERAL STUDIES PAPER – 1  MAINS 2023

GENERAL STUDIES

DOWNLOAD GS – 1 QUESTION PAPER : UPSC CSE MAINS 2023 [here]

• Explain the role of geographical factors towards the development of Ancient India. (Answer in 150 words) 10
• What was the difference between Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore in their approach towards education and nationalism? (Answer in 150 words) 10
• Bring out the socio-economic effects of the introduction of railways in different countries of the world. (Answer in 150 words) 10
• Discuss the consequences of climate change on the food security in tropical countries. (Answer in 150 words) 10
• Why is the world today confronted with a crisis of availability of and access to freshwater resources? (Answer in 150 words) 10
• How are the fjords formed? Why do they constitute some of the most picturesque areas of the world? (Answer in 150 words) 10
• Why is the South-West monsoon called ‘Purvaiya’ (easterly) in Bhojpur Region? How has this directional seasonal wind system influenced the cultural ethos of the region? (Answer in 150 words) 10
• Do you think marriage as a sacrament in loosing its value in Modern India?   (Answer in 150 words) 10
• Explain why suicide among young women is increasing in Indian Society. (Answer in 150 words) 10
• Child cuddling is now being replaced by mobile phones. Discuss its impact on the socialization of children. (Answer in 150 words) 10
• What are the main features of Vedic society and religion? Do you think some of the features are still prevailing in Indian society? (Answer in 250 words) 15
• What were the major technological changes introduced during the Sultanate period? How did those technological changes influence the Indian society? (Answer in 250 words) 15
• How did the colonial rule affect the tribals in India and what was the tribal response to the colonial oppression? (Answer in 250 words) 15
•  Comment on the resource potentials of the long coastline of India and highlight the status of natural hazard preparedness in these areas. (Answer in 250 words) 15
• Identify and discuss the factors responsible for diversity of natural vegetation in India. Assess the significance of wildlife sanctuaries in rain forests regions of India. (Answer in 250 words) 15
• Why did human development fail to keep pace with economic development in India? (Answer in 250 words) 15
• From being net food importer in 1960s, India has emerged as a net food exporter to the world. Provide reasons. (Answer in 250 words) 15
• Does urbanization lead to more segregation and/or marginalization of the poor in Indian metropolises? (Answer in 250 words) 15
• Why is caste identity in India both fluid and static? (Answer in 250 words) 15
• Discuss the impact of post-liberal economy on ethnic identity and communalism. (Answer in 250 words) 15

Join our  Official Telegram Channel  HERE  for Motivation and Fast Updates

Subscribe to our  YouTube Channel   HERE  to watch Motivational and New

Join our  Twitter Channel   HERE  

Follow our  Instagram Channel   HERE

Follow us on  LinkedIn :  HERE

• Our Mission, Vision & Values
• Director’s Desk
• Commerce & Accountancy
• Previous Years’ Question Papers-Prelims
• Previous Years’ Question Papers-Mains
• Environment & Ecology
• Science & Technology

How To Prepare For UPSC CAPF 2024 Paper 1 and 2

This article shares advice on getting ready for the UPSC CAPF 2024 Paper 1 and 2. By following these steps, candidates can do well in the exam and get high scores.

Table of Contents

UPSC has released the notification for CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces) for the recruitment of 506 posts as Assistant Commandant in BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP, SSB. There are three stages in this exam. We have described them one by one in the article.  Aspiring candidates should start preparing for the written examination that will be held on 4 August 2024.This examination requires consistent and sincere efforts to score good marks in the written exam to be called for other stages of examination.

There are three stages in this exam:     

The written examination is conducted in two stages on the same day:

• Paper 1 has questions about General Ability and Intelligence, and it’s in multiple-choice format.
• Paper 2 includes General Studies, Essay writing, and Comprehension, and it requires descriptive answers.

UPSC CAPF has a vast syllabus and the level of exam conducted is similar to that of other UPSC exams. This makes it more difficult to crack but with good preparation and strategy it is easy to crack. To help you with your preparation we are providing tips and topics after making a detailed analysis of previous year questions. 

Tips To Prepare For General Ability and intelligence (Paper I)

Paper 1 is conducted in Pen-Paper mode. A Total of 125 questions are asked from 6 subjects as mentioned below:

General Ability and intelligence

This section includes Math and Reasoning. Here’s what you should prioritize while preparing for this section.

• A total of 9-10 questions are asked from this topic.
• Solving PYQ of reasoning is more than enough.
• For math, start by basic Arithmetic Math like Percentage, Piipe and Cistern, Speed time and distance etc . 
• In Advance Math, Mensuration and Geometry questions are of more importance.
• Numerical ability and Data interpretation are the most scoring topics.

General Science

  This section includes questions related to basic Science and Technology. It is one of the most important sections that should not be ignored. Here’s some important topics for General Science 

• Recent updates and advancements in Information Technology, Biotechnology and Environment Science
• Important Chemistry equations and concepts
• Practice numerical based questions in Physics 
• Cover Physics, chemistry, biology from NCERTs for better understanding.

Current Events

Current affairs hold great importance in CAPF, there is wide categories of topics, out of them all we have mentioned some:- 

• Read Newspaper on daily basis, this will help you in both Paper 1 and Paper 2 
• Follow weekly and monthly Current Affairs
• More preference on topics of National Interest, Defence advancements, Space missions, Maritime advancements, International organisations, Organisations for Military and Economic Collaborations.

Indian Polity and Economy

This section is very important as direct questions are asked from here, we should follow the rule of Read, Revise, Repeat in Polity and Economy.

• Start by reading PYQs, to know about the pattern of questions. 
• Revision is the key for Polity.
• Approach of study should be topic wise like Articles, Committees, Amendments, Lok Sabha etc.
• Basic terms and formulas of Economy

History is a vast subject, students often get distracted by the wide range of topics. By focusing on the following you can stay on track in your History preparation. 

• Refer to PYQs to get insight into the pattern.
• History is divided into different time periods for our convenience. 
• Start in chronological order from prehistoric to modern history
• Give special attention to Modern History National movements, Dynasties and Rulers, Indus Valley Civilizations etc
• Note down topics while solving PYQ and read them separately 

India and World Geography

This section covers the Geography of India as well as the World. Proper notes with the help of Maps & Diagrams should be maintained to grasp the topics more easily. Here is the points that you must remember.

• Solving PYQ of CDS and NDA Geography will add great value to your CAPF prep. 
• Use maps to study topics of Mountains, Rivers, Winds, Mountain passes, Grasslands.
• Use topic wise study approach
• Focus separately on Physical geography, Regional geography and World geography.

It is advised to solve daily quizzes for each subject and give at least two mock tests weekly. This will help you to not only keep track of your preparation, you will also know the types of questions that are asked in CAPF.

Tips To Prepare For General studies, Essay and Comprehension (Paper II)

Paper 2 is a descriptive paper which includes Comprehension, Precis writing, developing counter arguments, simple grammar and other aspects of language testing. Writing essays on topics related to Modern Indian history, Freedom Struggles,Geography, Polity and Economy, Security and Human Right Issues and issues of National Importance.

Types of Questions Asked In Paper II

Essay Writing is a way to express your thoughts and ideas on a particular topic. It involves organizing your thoughts into paragraphs, with each paragraph focusing on different points. Essays have an introduction body, paragraphs and a conclusion. You can practice by writing on following topics:

• Unemployment and New Education Policy
• Work from home- A Boon or Bane
• Women in Indian Armed forces
• Price Rise 

Arguments for and against are questions in which you are provided topics and you have to decide if you are writing against the topic or for the topic. In Arguments for, points that support the topic or idea are discussed. In Arguments against , points that are against the topic or oppose it are discussed. Try writing for and against for following topics:

• Modifies crops are necessary for food sufficiency
• Video games sharpen the mind

In Report Writing , you have to communicate information in an organized manner. It involves adding of data, factual information and should be free from biases or personal opinions. We are providing some previously asked topics for report writing:

• Depletion of Water table in major cities
• Green Energy progress in India 
• Increasing presence of Women in Sports

Precis Writing is rewriting of a given passage keeping it short by adding only main points and ideas to understand the main message meaning. Students have to first read the whole passage and have to write a shorter version in their own words.

In Comprehension and Passage , a comprehension with passages are provided and questions are asked that need to be answered in descriptive form. Students who read newspapers on a daily basis can easily do this. 

In rewriting of sentences , grammatically incorrect sentences are provided and you have to find the error and rewrite the correct sentence. Students should have grammatical knowledge to do well in this type of question.

How To Score Good Marks In CAPF Paper II?

• Read newspaper and watch documentaries 
• Practice essay writing on a daily basis. To add more value to your essay  use statistical data, use numbers to show accuracy and add more factual information.
• Stay updated with national developments and government policies.
• Practice comprehension on a daily basis to enhance your reading abilities. 
• Strong hold of english grammar 
• The more you will read , the better you will be able to write well. 

Physical and Medical Test (Second Stage)

Individuals who clear the written exam are called for a Physical test followed by a Medical test. Candidates are advised to devote at least two hours on a daily basis for running practice and other sports activities. 

• Eating a balanced diet
• Take care of nutritional needs
• Indulging in sports 
• Practise running 
• Do yoga and meditation

Interview and Personality Test (Third Stage)

In the Interview and Personality test, the personality of the candidate , leadership qualities and suitability for the role of assistant commandant are checked. It is a test of overall personality and behavior which can’t be developed overnight. You have to add hobbies and habits in your daily routine to develop the qualities they are looking for:

• Read newspaper daily
• Stay updated with the latest national and international news
• Spend time with your family and friends
• Work on your physical ability 
• Know your armed forces well
• Have full knowledge about the organisation you are applying for
• Speak in front of mirror to develop speaking skills
• Spend more time with people of same mindset 

In this article, we have discussed how to start your preparation for the UPSC CAPF exam. Candidates preparing for this exam can make full use of the resources available on our website defenceadda.com and application Adda247. We hope that this article will help you to clear this exam. 

• preparation strategy

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Recent Posts

• Dams and Reservoirs
• Scientific Names of Animals
• National Parks
• United Nation Agencies
• First Ranked States in Minerals
• Sports Cups and Trophies
• Rivers and their Tributaries
• Mountain Passes
• Famous Inventions and Inventors
• Mountain Passes of India
• IAF Command Training Institutes
• Gallantry Awards
• List of Military Operations
• List of India’s Missiles
• List of Presidents of France
• Largest Telescopes in The World
• List of UK Prime Ministers
• Chief Ministers of Tripura
• Father of Computer
• Largest State in India by Population
• Highest Waterfall in India
• Highest Peak in India
• Longest National Highway
• List of IPL Winners
• Prime Ministers of India
• Languages of India
• Famous Books and Authors
• List of RBI Governors
• Fathers of Various Fields
• Terminologies in Sports
• Folk Dances of India
• Bird Sanctuary in India
• How To Prepare For Psychology Test In SSB
• What After CDS Exam? CDS SSB Interview Process
• How To Clear NDA SSB Interview
• How To Maintain Physical Fitness For SSB Interview
• SSB Lecturette Tips For Freshers
• SSB Interview Questions, Download PDF
• SSB Day 1 Process, Get Complete Detail Of Day 1
• 25 PPDT Pictures for AFCAT AFSB Interview

IMPORTANT EXAMS

• AFCAT Notification
• AFCAT Syllabus
• AFCAT Salary
• CDS Notification
• CDS Syllabus
• NDA Notification
• NDA Syllabus
• ICG Notification
• ICG Syllabus

Agniveer 2024

• Army Agniveer Notification
• Army Agniveer Syllabus
• Army Agniveer Salary
• Army Agniveer Previous Year Papers

Our Other Websites

• Teachers Adda
• Bankers Adda
• Engineers Adda
• Current Affairs
• Defence Adda
• Adda School

Welcome to Defence Adda, your one-stop solution to prepare for all Defence Examinations!! Adda247 Defence portal has complete information about all Sarkari Jobs and Naukri Alerts related to defence and its latest recruitment notifications, from all state, grand rush and national level jobs and their updates.

Download Adda247 App

Follow us on

• Responsible Disclosure Program
• Cancellation & Refunds
• Terms & Conditions
• Privacy Policy

Announcing the NeurIPS 2023 Paper Awards 

Communications Chairs 2023 2023 Conference awards , neurips2023

By Amir Globerson, Kate Saenko, Moritz Hardt, Sergey Levine and Comms Chair, Sahra Ghalebikesabi 

We are honored to announce the award-winning papers for NeurIPS 2023! This year’s prestigious awards consist of the Test of Time Award plus two Outstanding Paper Awards in each of these three categories: 

• Two Outstanding Main Track Papers 
• Two Outstanding Main Track Runner-Ups 
• Two Outstanding Datasets and Benchmark Track Papers  

This year’s organizers received a record number of paper submissions. Of the 13,300 submitted papers that were reviewed by 968 Area Chairs, 98 senior area chairs, and 396 Ethics reviewers 3,540  were accepted after 502 papers were flagged for ethics reviews . 

We thank the awards committee for the main track: Yoav Artzi, Chelsea Finn, Ludwig Schmidt, Ricardo Silva, Isabel Valera, and Mengdi Wang. For the Datasets and Benchmarks track, we thank Sergio Escalera, Isabelle Guyon, Neil Lawrence, Dina Machuve, Olga Russakovsky, Hugo Jair Escalante, Deepti Ghadiyaram, and Serena Yeung. Conflicts of interest were taken into account in the decision process.

Congratulations to all the authors! See Posters Sessions Tue-Thur in Great Hall & B1-B2 (level 1).

Outstanding Main Track Papers

Privacy Auditing with One (1) Training Run Authors: Thomas Steinke · Milad Nasr · Matthew Jagielski

Poster session 2: Tue 12 Dec 5:15 p.m. — 7:15 p.m. CST, #1523

Oral: Tue 12 Dec 3:40 p.m. — 4:40 p.m. CST, Room R06-R09 (level 2)

Abstract: We propose a scheme for auditing differentially private machine learning systems with a single training run. This exploits the parallelism of being able to add or remove multiple training examples independently. We analyze this using the connection between differential privacy and statistical generalization, which avoids the cost of group privacy. Our auditing scheme requires minimal assumptions about the algorithm and can be applied in the black-box or white-box setting. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework by applying it to DP-SGD, where we can achieve meaningful empirical privacy lower bounds by training only one model. In contrast, standard methods would require training hundreds of models.

Are Emergent Abilities of Large Language Models a Mirage? Authors: Rylan Schaeffer · Brando Miranda · Sanmi Koyejo

Poster session 6: Thu 14 Dec 5:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m. CST, #1108

Oral: Thu 14 Dec 3:20 p.m. — 3:35 p.m. CST, Hall C2 (level 1) 

Abstract: Recent work claims that large language models display emergent abilities, abilities not present in smaller-scale models that are present in larger-scale models. What makes emergent abilities intriguing is two-fold: their sharpness, transitioning seemingly instantaneously from not present to present, and their unpredictability , appearing at seemingly unforeseeable model scales. Here, we present an alternative explanation for emergent abilities: that for a particular task and model family, when analyzing fixed model outputs, emergent abilities appear due to the researcher’s choice of metric rather than due to fundamental changes in model behavior with scale. Specifically, nonlinear or discontinuous metrics produce apparent emergent abilities, whereas linear or continuous metrics produce smooth, continuous, predictable changes in model performance. We present our alternative explanation in a simple mathematical model, then test it in three complementary ways: we (1) make, test and confirm three predictions on the effect of metric choice using the InstructGPT/GPT-3 family on tasks with claimed emergent abilities, (2) make, test and confirm two predictions about metric choices in a meta-analysis of emergent abilities on BIG-Bench; and (3) show how to choose metrics to produce never-before-seen seemingly emergent abilities in multiple vision tasks across diverse deep networks. Via all three analyses, we provide evidence that alleged emergent abilities evaporate with different metrics or with better statistics, and may not be a fundamental property of scaling AI models.

Outstanding Main Track Runner-Ups

Scaling Data-Constrained Language Models Authors : Niklas Muennighoff · Alexander Rush · Boaz Barak · Teven Le Scao · Nouamane Tazi · Aleksandra Piktus · Sampo Pyysalo · Thomas Wolf · Colin Raffel

Poster session 2: Tue 12 Dec 5:15 p.m. — 7:15 p.m. CST, #813

Oral: Tue 12 Dec 3:40 p.m. — 4:40 p.m. CST, Hall C2 (level 1)  

Abstract : The current trend of scaling language models involves increasing both parameter count and training dataset size. Extrapolating this trend suggests that training dataset size may soon be limited by the amount of text data available on the internet. Motivated by this limit, we investigate scaling language models in data-constrained regimes. Specifically, we run a large set of experiments varying the extent of data repetition and compute budget, ranging up to 900 billion training tokens and 9 billion parameter models. We find that with constrained data for a fixed compute budget, training with up to 4 epochs of repeated data yields negligible changes to loss compared to having unique data. However, with more repetition, the value of adding compute eventually decays to zero. We propose and empirically validate a scaling law for compute optimality that accounts for the decreasing value of repeated tokens and excess parameters. Finally, we experiment with approaches mitigating data scarcity, including augmenting the training dataset with code data or removing commonly used filters. Models and datasets from our 400 training runs are freely available at https://github.com/huggingface/datablations .

Direct Preference Optimization: Your Language Model is Secretly a Reward Model Authors: Rafael Rafailov · Archit Sharma · Eric Mitchell · Christopher D Manning · Stefano Ermon · Chelsea Finn

Poster session 6: Thu 14 Dec 5:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m. CST, #625

Oral: Thu 14 Dec 3:50 p.m. — 4:05 p.m. CST, Ballroom A-C (level 2)  

Abstract: While large-scale unsupervised language models (LMs) learn broad world knowledge and some reasoning skills, achieving precise control of their behavior is difficult due to the completely unsupervised nature of their training. Existing methods for gaining such steerability collect human labels of the relative quality of model generations and fine-tune the unsupervised LM to align with these preferences, often with reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF). However, RLHF is a complex and often unstable procedure, first fitting a reward model that reflects the human preferences, and then fine-tuning the large unsupervised LM using reinforcement learning to maximize this estimated reward without drifting too far from the original model. In this paper, we leverage a mapping between reward functions and optimal policies to show that this constrained reward maximization problem can be optimized exactly with a single stage of policy training, essentially solving a classification problem on the human preference data. The resulting algorithm, which we call Direct Preference Optimization (DPO), is stable, performant, and computationally lightweight, eliminating the need for fitting a reward model, sampling from the LM during fine-tuning, or performing significant hyperparameter tuning. Our experiments show that DPO can fine-tune LMs to align with human preferences as well as or better than existing methods. Notably, fine-tuning with DPO exceeds RLHF’s ability to control sentiment of generations and improves response quality in summarization and single-turn dialogue while being substantially simpler to implement and train.

Outstanding Datasets and Benchmarks Papers

In the dataset category : 

ClimSim: A large multi-scale dataset for hybrid physics-ML climate emulation

Authors:  Sungduk Yu · Walter Hannah · Liran Peng · Jerry Lin · Mohamed Aziz Bhouri · Ritwik Gupta · Björn Lütjens · Justus C. Will · Gunnar Behrens · Julius Busecke · Nora Loose · Charles Stern · Tom Beucler · Bryce Harrop · Benjamin Hillman · Andrea Jenney · Savannah L. Ferretti · Nana Liu · Animashree Anandkumar · Noah Brenowitz · Veronika Eyring · Nicholas Geneva · Pierre Gentine · Stephan Mandt · Jaideep Pathak · Akshay Subramaniam · Carl Vondrick · Rose Yu · Laure Zanna · Tian Zheng · Ryan Abernathey · Fiaz Ahmed · David Bader · Pierre Baldi · Elizabeth Barnes · Christopher Bretherton · Peter Caldwell · Wayne Chuang · Yilun Han · YU HUANG · Fernando Iglesias-Suarez · Sanket Jantre · Karthik Kashinath · Marat Khairoutdinov · Thorsten Kurth · Nicholas Lutsko · Po-Lun Ma · Griffin Mooers · J. David Neelin · David Randall · Sara Shamekh · Mark Taylor · Nathan Urban · Janni Yuval · Guang Zhang · Mike Pritchard

Poster session 4: Wed 13 Dec 5:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m. CST, #105 

Oral: Wed 13 Dec 3:45 p.m. — 4:00 p.m. CST, Ballroom A-C (level 2)

Abstract: Modern climate projections lack adequate spatial and temporal resolution due to computational constraints. A consequence is inaccurate and imprecise predictions of critical processes such as storms. Hybrid methods that combine physics with machine learning (ML) have introduced a new generation of higher fidelity climate simulators that can sidestep Moore’s Law by outsourcing compute-hungry, short, high-resolution simulations to ML emulators. However, this hybrid ML-physics simulation approach requires domain-specific treatment and has been inaccessible to ML experts because of lack of training data and relevant, easy-to-use workflows. We present ClimSim, the largest-ever dataset designed for hybrid ML-physics research. It comprises multi-scale climate simulations, developed by a consortium of climate scientists and ML researchers. It consists of 5.7 billion pairs of multivariate input and output vectors that isolate the influence of locally-nested, high-resolution, high-fidelity physics on a host climate simulator’s macro-scale physical state. The dataset is global in coverage, spans multiple years at high sampling frequency, and is designed such that resulting emulators are compatible with downstream coupling into operational climate simulators. We implement a range of deterministic and stochastic regression baselines to highlight the ML challenges and their scoring. The data (https://huggingface.co/datasets/LEAP/ClimSim_high-res) and code (https://leap-stc.github.io/ClimSim) are released openly to support the development of hybrid ML-physics and high-fidelity climate simulations for the benefit of science and society.   

In the benchmark category :

DecodingTrust: A Comprehensive Assessment of Trustworthiness in GPT Models

Authors: Boxin Wang · Weixin Chen · Hengzhi Pei · Chulin Xie · Mintong Kang · Chenhui Zhang · Chejian Xu · Zidi Xiong · Ritik Dutta · Rylan Schaeffer · Sang Truong · Simran Arora · Mantas Mazeika · Dan Hendrycks · Zinan Lin · Yu Cheng · Sanmi Koyejo · Dawn Song · Bo Li

Poster session 1: Tue 12 Dec 10:45 a.m. — 12:45 p.m. CST, #1618  

Oral: Tue 12 Dec 10:30 a.m. — 10:45 a.m. CST, Ballroom A-C (Level 2)

Abstract: Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) models have exhibited exciting progress in capabilities, capturing the interest of practitioners and the public alike. Yet, while the literature on the trustworthiness of GPT models remains limited, practitioners have proposed employing capable GPT models for sensitive applications to healthcare and finance – where mistakes can be costly. To this end, this work proposes a comprehensive trustworthiness evaluation for large language models with a focus on GPT-4 and GPT-3.5, considering diverse perspectives – including toxicity, stereotype bias, adversarial robustness, out-of-distribution robustness, robustness on adversarial demonstrations, privacy, machine ethics, and fairness. Based on our evaluations, we discover previously unpublished vulnerabilities to trustworthiness threats. For instance, we find that GPT models can be easily misled to generate toxic and biased outputs and leak private information in both training data and conversation history. We also find that although GPT-4 is usually more trustworthy than GPT-3.5 on standard benchmarks, GPT-4 is more vulnerable given jailbreaking system or user prompts, potentially due to the reason that GPT-4 follows the (misleading) instructions more precisely. Our work illustrates a comprehensive trustworthiness evaluation of GPT models and sheds light on the trustworthiness gaps. Our benchmark is publicly available at https://decodingtrust.github.io/.

Test of Time

This year, following the usual practice, we chose a NeurIPS paper from 10 years ago to receive the Test of Time Award, and “ Distributed Representations of Words and Phrases and their Compositionality ” by Tomas Mikolov, Ilya Sutskever, Kai Chen, Greg Corrado, and Jeffrey Dean, won. 

Published at NeurIPS 2013 and cited over 40,000 times, the work introduced the seminal word embedding technique word2vec. Demonstrating the power of learning from large amounts of unstructured text, the work catalyzed progress that marked the beginning of a new era in natural language processing.

Greg Corrado and Jeffrey Dean will be giving a talk about this work and related research on Tuesday, 12 Dec at 3:05 – 3:25 pm CST in Hall F.  

Related Posts

2023 Conference

Announcing NeurIPS 2023 Invited Talks

Reflections on the neurips 2023 ethics review process, neurips newsletter – november 2023.

2024 exams: Ofqual issues warning over cheating

Ofqual has warned of the risk of disqualification for students who take mobile phones into this summer’s GCSE and A-level exams.

Instances of students being found with mobile phones in exam rooms have almost doubled since 2018, and there were 2,180 penalties for this in 2023 compared with 1,825 in 2022.

The exams regulator also issued a reminder today about other rules on malpractice, such as not searching for exam papers on social media.

Ofqual chief regulator Sir Ian Bauckham said: “Students have been working hard to prepare for their exams, and nobody wants them to miss out on their grades and qualifications.

“Thankfully, most students are aware of the risks of malpractice and comply with the rules. It’s important that the rules are followed so that grades reflect what a student knows, understands and can do.

“Students should also be aware of the risks of exam papers on social media. Accounts claiming to sell this year’s exam papers are almost always scams. Students should report these accounts to teachers.”

Rise in GCSE and A-level exam cheating

Ofqual data, released in December last year, showed there were 4,895 cases of malpractice involving students during GCSE, AS- and A-level examinations in 2023, up from 4,105 in 2022.

Sir Ian added: “Students risk losing the qualification they’ve been studying for if they search for or communicate with social media accounts claiming to sell leaked exam papers.

“Sanctions can still apply even if the papers turn out to be fake. Buying papers is never worth the risk. 

“Students should focus on their revision and do their best in their exams. I want to wish them all the best.”

• GCSEs and A levels: How Ofqual plans to cope with AI
• GCSEs 2024: Concern over Year 11 absence as exams loom
• Malpractice: Mobile phone exam cheating up by 33 per cent

Ofqual has said previously that it will be requesting information from all awarding organisations about how they are managing malpractice risks from AI.

Eventually Ofqual plans to record when AI-related cheating occurs.

Tech misuse ‘a real headache’ for schools

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “We are sure that the vast majority of students taking exams will stick to the rules, but there are always some who do not do so, and unfortunately the misuse of digital technology is a real headache.

“Schools and colleges rigorously police exam rooms to ensure that devices are not brought in by candidates, and they warn students not to try to find exam papers on social media.

“These are generally fake papers being circulated as a scam, but in the rare event of a genuine paper being leaked, any student accessing that paper risks disqualification.

“It is really important that students take heed of these warnings.”

A spokesperson for the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), which represents the UK’s major exam boards, said: “It is important students know to report fraudulent accounts claiming to sell exam papers on social media to their teachers.

“JCQ wishes all students well with their exams and assessments.”

Want to keep reading for free?

Register with Tes and you can read two free articles every month plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters.

Keep reading for just £1 per month

You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £1 per month for three months and get:

• Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content
• Exclusive subscriber-only stories
• Award-winning email newsletters

topics in this article

• Skip to main content

Search form

संघ लोक सेवा आयोग union public service commission.

• Active Examinations
• Forthcoming Examinations
• Previous Question Papers
• Cut-off Marks
• Answer Keys
• Marks Information
• Public Disclosure of marks & other details of non-recommended willing candidates
• Specimen Question Cum Answer Booklet (QCAB)
• Common mistakes committed by the candidates in Conventional Papers
• Revised Syllabus and Scheme
• Representation on Question Papers

Previous Year Question Papers

View Archives >>

• Visitor No:683643793

(Since: 15 Sep 2016)