UPSC Mains 2014 GS3 Previous Year Questions

Question list

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1. Q1 · Normally countries shift from agriculture to industry and later to services, but India shifted directly from agriculture to services. What are the reasons for the huge growth of services vis-a-vis industry? Can India become a developed country without a strong industrial base?
2. Q2 · While we flaunt India’s demographic dividend, we ignore dropping rates of employability. What are we missing? Where will the jobs that India desperately needs come from? Explain.
3. Q3 · Capitalism has guided the world economy to unprecedented prosperity. However, it often encourages short-sightedness and contributes to wide disparities between rich and poor. In this light, would it be correct to believe and adopt capitalism for bringing inclusive growth in India? Discuss.
4. Q4 · There is a point of view that Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) set up under State Acts have not only impeded development of agriculture but also caused food inflation in India. Critically examine.
5. Q5 · ‘In the villages itself no form of credit organization will be suitable except the cooperative society.’ — All India Rural Credit Survey. Discuss this statement in the background of agricultural finance in India. What constraints and challenges do financial institutions supplying agricultural finance face? How can technology be used to better reach and serve rural clients?
6. Q6 · The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 has come into effect from 1 January 2014. What key issues would get addressed with the Act in place? What implications would it have on industrialization and agriculture in India?
7. Q7 · National Urban Transport Policy emphasises on ‘moving people’ instead of ‘moving vehicles’. Discuss critically the success of various Government strategies in this regard.
8. Q8 · Explain how Public-Private Partnership arrangements in long-gestation infrastructure projects can transfer unsustainable liabilities to the future. What arrangements need to be put in place to ensure that successive generations’ capacities are not compromised?
9. Q9 · Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the defence sector is now set to be liberalized. What influence is this expected to have on Indian defence and economy in the short and long run?
10. Q10 · Should the pursuit of carbon credits and clean development mechanisms set up under UNFCCC be maintained even though there has been a massive slide in the value of a carbon credit? Discuss with respect to India’s energy needs for economic growth.
11. Q11 · Environmental Impact Assessment studies are increasingly undertaken before a project is cleared by Government. Discuss environmental impacts of coal-fired thermal plants located at coal pitheads.
12. Q12 · Scientific research in Indian universities is declining because a career in science is not as attractive as business professions, engineering or administration, and universities are becoming consumer-oriented. Critically comment.
13. Q13 · Can overuse and free availability of antibiotics without a doctor’s prescription contribute to emergence of drug-resistant diseases in India? What mechanisms are available for monitoring and control? Critically discuss the issues involved.
14. Q14 · In a globalized world, Intellectual Property Rights assume significance and are a source of litigation. Broadly distinguish between Copyrights, Patents and Trade Secrets.
15. Q15 · Drought has been recognized as a disaster in view of its spatial expanse, temporal duration, slow onset and lasting effects on vulnerable sections. With a focus on the September 2010 NDMA guidelines, discuss mechanisms for preparedness to deal with likely El Nino and La Nina fallouts in India.
16. Q16 · The diverse nature of India as a multi-religious and multi-ethnic society is not immune to the impact of radicalism seen in her neighbourhood. Discuss along with strategies to be adopted to counter this environment.
17. Q17 · International civil aviation laws provide all countries complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above their territory. What do you understand by ‘airspace’? What are the implications of these laws on the space above this airspace? Discuss challenges this poses and suggest ways to contain the threat.
18. Q18 · How does illegal transborder migration pose a threat to India’s security? Discuss strategies to curb this, bringing out factors which give impetus to such migration.
19. Q19 · China and Pakistan have entered into an agreement for development of an economic corridor. What threat does this pose for India’s security? Critically examine.
20. Q20 · In 2012, the longitudinal marking for high-risk areas for piracy was moved from 65 degrees east to 78 degrees east in the Arabian Sea by the International Maritime Organization. What impact does this have on India’s maritime security concerns?