GS 1

UPSC Mains 2015

20 questions · 240 marks · Indian Heritage & Culture, History, Geography of the World and Society

World Geography 12 Marks

Q1. What is the economic significance of the discovery of oil in the Arctic Sea and its possible environmental consequences?

View answer Explain
Indian Society 12 Marks

Q2. Smart cities in India cannot sustain without smart villages. Discuss this statement in the backdrop of rural urban integration.

Indian Geography 12 Marks

Q3. How far do you agree that the behaviour of the Indian monsoon has been changing due to humanising landscape? Discuss.

View answer Discuss
Indian Geography 12 Marks

Q4. The states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are reaching the limits of ecological carrying capacity due to tourism. Critically evaluate.

Indian Geography 12 Marks

Q5. India is well endowed with fresh water resources. Critically examine why it still suffers from water scarcity.

Indian Geography 12 Marks

Q6. Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata are the three Megacities of the country but the air pollution is a much more serious problem in Delhi as compared to the other two. Why is this so?

Physical Geography 12 Marks

Q7. Explain the factors responsible for the origin of ocean currents. How do they influence regional climates, fishing and navigation?

View answer Explain
Indian Society 12 Marks

Q8. Debate the issue whether and how contemporary movements for assertion of Dalit identity work towards annihilation of caste.

Indian Society 12 Marks

Q9. Discuss the positive and negative effects of globalisation on women in India?

View answer Discuss
Indian Society 12 Marks

Q10. Discuss the changes in the trends of labour migration within and outside India in the last four decades.

View answer Discuss
Indian Society 12 Marks

Q11. How do you explain the statistics that show that the sex ratio in Tribes in India is more favourable to women than the sex ratio among Scheduled Castes?

View answer Discuss
Indian Society 12 Marks

Q12. Critically examine whether growing population is the cause of poverty OR poverty is the main cause of population increase in India.

View answer Critically Examine
Indian Society 12 Marks

Q13. Describe any four cultural elements of diversity in India and rate their relative significance in building a national identity.

View answer Describe
World History 12 Marks

Q14. To what extent can Germany be held responsible for causing the two World Wars? Discuss critically.

World History 12 Marks

Q15. Why did the industrial revolution first occur in England? Discuss the quality of life of the people there during the industrialization. How does it compare with that in India at present times?

View answer Explain
Modern History 12 Marks

Q16. It would have been difficult for the Constituent Assembly to complete its historic task of drafting the Constitution for Independent India in just three years, but its experience gained with the Government of India Act, 1935 .Discuss.

Modern History 12 Marks

Q17. Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. B R Ambedkar, despite having divergent approaches and strategies, had a common goal of amelioration of the downtrodden. Elucidate.

Modern History 12 Marks

Q18. How difficult would have been the achievement of Indian independence without Mahatma Gandhi? Discuss.

Art & Culture 12 Marks

Q19. Mesolithic rock cut architecture of India not only reflects the cultural life of the times but also a fine aesthetic sense comparable to modern painting. Critically evaluate this comment.

Art & Culture 12 Marks

Q20. The ancient civilization in the Indian sub continent differed from those of Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece in that its culture and traditions have been preserved without breakdown to the present day. Comment.