General Studies Paper I (GS I)

25 questions, 250 marks, 3 hours. Open a question for its Hindi text, a topper’s answer to it, and to write it and get it marked.

1. Q1To what extent has the urban planning and culture of the Indus Valley Civilization provided inputs to the present day urbanization ? Discuss.10 marks · 150 words
2. Q2Gandhara sculpture owed as much to the Romans as to the Greeks. Explain.10 marks · 150 words
3. Q3Taxila university was one of the oldest universities of the world with which were associated a number of renowned learned personalities of different disciplines. Its strategic location caused its fame to flourish, but unlike Nalanda, it is not considered as a university in the modern sense. Discuss.10 marks · 150 words
4. Q4The third battle of Panipat was fought in 1761. Why were so many empire-shaking battles fought at Panipat ?10 marks · 150 words
5. Q5Sufis and medieval mystic saints failed to modify either the religious ideas and practices or the outward structure of Hindu / Muslim societies to any appreciable extent. Comment.10 marks · 150 words
6. Q6Examine critically the various facets of economic policies of the British in India from mid-eighteenth century till independence.10 marks · 150 words
7. Q7In what ways did the naval mutiny prove to be the last nail in the coffin of British colonial aspirations in India ?10 marks · 150 words
8. Q8What were the major political, economic and social developments in the world which motivated the anti-colonial struggle in India ?10 marks · 150 words
9. Q9What were the events that led to the Suez Crisis in 1956 ? How did it deal a final blow to Britain's self-image as a world power ?10 marks · 150 words
10. Q10The New Economic Policy – 1921 of Lenin had influenced the policies adopted by India soon after independence. Evaluate.10 marks · 150 words
11. Q11How does patriarchy impact the position of a middle class working woman in India ?10 marks · 150 words
12. Q12Why do some of the most prosperous regions of India have an adverse sex ratio for women ? Give your arguments.10 marks · 150 words
13. Q13The life cycle of a joint family depends on economic factors rather than social values. Discuss.10 marks · 150 words
14. Q14Discuss the various economic and socio-cultural forces that are driving increasing feminization of agriculture in India.10 marks · 150 words
15. Q15How do the Indian debates on secularism differ from the debates in the West ?10 marks · 150 words
16. Q16Most of the unusual climatic happenings are explained as an outcome of the El-Nino effect. Do you agree ?10 marks · 150 words
17. Q17Why are the world's fold mountain systems located along the margins of continents ? Bring out the association between the global distribution of fold mountains and the earthquakes and volcanoes.10 marks · 150 words
18. Q18Explain the formation of thousands of islands in Indonesian and Philippines archipelagos.10 marks · 150 words
19. Q19Tropical cyclones are largely confined to South China Sea, Bay of Bengal and Gulf of Mexico. Why ?10 marks · 150 words
20. Q20Bring out the relationship between the shrinking Himalayan glaciers and the symptoms of climate change in the Indian sub-continent.10 marks · 150 words
21. Q21Whereas the British planters had developed tea gardens all along the Shivaliks and Lesser Himalayas from Assam to Himachal Pradesh, in effect they did not succeed beyond the Darjeeling area. Explain.10 marks · 150 words
22. Q22Why did the Green Revolution in India virtually by-pass the eastern region despite fertile soil and good availability of water ?10 marks · 150 words
23. Q23Account for the change in the spatial pattern of the Iron and Steel industry in the world.10 marks · 150 words
24. Q24Critically evaluate the various resources of the oceans which can be harnessed to meet the resource crisis in the world.10 marks · 150 words
25. Q25How does India see its place in the economic space of rising natural resource rich Africa ?10 marks · 150 words

Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Main) Examination 2014, General Studies Paper I. The paper on upsc.gov.in.