UPSC Mains 2013 GS Paper 3 Q15: model answer
What do you understand by Umpire Decision Review System in Cricket? Discuss its various components. Explain how silicone tape on the edge of a bat may fool the system?
What the question wants
Explain the Decision Review System in cricket, its components, and how silicone tape on a bat edge could fool it.
How to structure it
System, parts, the trick.
- What DRS is
- Components
- How silicone tape fools it
- Limits
How to think it through
DRS: players can ask for third umpire review; limited reviews per innings. Components: TV replays, Hawk-Eye (ball tracking via multiple cameras, predicts path), Hot Spot (infrared cameras detect heat from friction at contact), Snickometer/UltraEdge (audio + video), Real-Time Snicko, ball-tracking. Silicone tape: reduces friction-generated heat at the edge, so Hot Spot shows no mark; alleged in 2013 Ashes. Limits: predictions, umpire's call margin.
Model answer
In the 2013 Ashes, reports claimed some batsmen had put silicone tape on the edges of their bats to beat the Hot Spot camera. The story showed how much modern cricket depends on technology, and how that technology can be fooled.
What DRS is
- The Decision Review System lets a team challenge an on-field umpire's decision.
- The third umpire reviews it using technology; each side has a limited number of unsuccessful reviews.
Its components
- Slow-motion replays from many angles.
- Hawk-Eye: several high-speed cameras track the ball and predict its path, used for LBW.
- Hot Spot: infrared cameras detect the heat produced by friction when ball hits bat or pad; the contact point shows as a
bright spot.
- Snickometer / UltraEdge: a sensitive stump microphone picks up the sound of an edge, synchronised with video.
- Real-time snicko in newer versions.
How silicone tape may fool it
- Silicone reduces friction at a faint edge.
- Less friction means less heat, so Hot Spot may show nothing.
- If the sound is also faint, the edge escapes detection.
Limits of DRS
- Ball-tracking is a prediction, hence the 'umpire's call' margin.
- Costly for smaller boards.
- Calibration errors and missing cameras at some venues have caused controversies.
- Players use reviews tactically, not only to correct errors.
- Sound and heat can be masked.
Technology made cricket fairer, but a strip of tape showed it is not infallible.
Draw: A bat edge with a 'hot spot' glowing, and the same edge with tape showing none.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
DRS, third umpire, Hawk-Eye, ball tracking, Hot Spot, infrared imaging, friction heat, Snickometer, UltraEdge, umpire's call, silicone tape 2013 Ashes.
Where most answers lose marks
- Explaining DRS rules but not the physics of the tape trick.
Related Mains PYQs
- What is the basic principle behind vaccine development? How do vaccines work? What approaches were adopted by the Indian vaccine manufacturers to… UPSC 2022 · GS-III
- The increase in life expectancy in the country has led to newer health challenges in the community. What are those challenges and… UPSC 2022 · GS-III
- Each year a large amount of plant material, cellulose, is deposited on the surface of Planet Earth. What are the natural processes… UPSC 2022 · GS-III
- Launched on 25th December, 2021, James Webb Space Telescope has been much in the news since then. What are its unique features… UPSC 2022 · GS-III
Fresh examples from current affairs
DRDO’s indigenous AIP for Kalvari-class submarines reaches the Setting to Work Phase-2 stage
Diesel-electric submarines must come up often to run their engines and charge batteries, which can give away their position. Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) lets them stay underwater much longer. The DRDO’s Naval Materials Research Laboratory has built India’s own AIP, and its energy module began the Setting to Work Phase-2 activity at Larsen and Toubro’s Hazira yard on 24 October. For you, it links fuel cells, the Kalvari class and defence self-reliance.
UPSC angle: Prelims: AIP, fuel cells, Kalvari class, Project-75. · Mains GS-III: defence indigenisation; maritime security.
25 Oct 2026
Panel to review pharma marketing code: UCPMP 2024 and why a voluntary code is not enough
The Department of Pharmaceuticals has set up a committee under Dr. M. Srinivas, Member, NITI Aayog, to review how drug companies market medicines and to suggest ways to curb unethical practices, PIB said on 23 October 2026. Former Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan and Dr. Naresh Trehan of Medanta are members, and the report is due within two months of its first meeting. The core issue: the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices is still voluntary.
UPSC angle: Prelims: UCPMP, Department of Pharmaceuticals, NITI Aayog. · Mains GS-II: health governance, regulation and ethics.
24 Oct 2026
NVS-03 launch on 30 October: can ISRO’s new satellite bring NavIC back to life?
ISRO will launch NVS-03, its third new-generation navigation satellite, on 30 October 2026, The Indian Express reported on 24 October. NavIC, India’s own GPS-like system, has not been able to give location data because only three satellites work, while positioning needs at least four. If NVS-03 works, NavIC can offer positioning again. It is a lesson in why strategic technology needs both satellites and users.
UPSC angle: Prelims: NavIC/IRNSS, coverage, signals, global GNSS. · Mains GS-III: indigenisation of technology, space programme.
24 Oct 2026
Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan reaches 35 crore people: demand reduction and the 2029 drug-free goal
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment said on 22 October 2026 that the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan has reached over 35 crore people, including 13.94 crore youth and 10.86 crore women, and more than 32 lakh educational institutions. Launched on 15 August 2020 in 272 vulnerable districts, it now runs across the country. It is the demand side of a twin strategy, while police and the NCB attack supply, with the Home Minister’s target of uprooting the drug trade by 31 December 2029.
UPSC angle: Prelims: NMBA, NAPDDR, Article 47, NDPS Act, helpline 14446. · Mains GS-II/III: drug abuse, demand and supply reduction.
23 Oct 2026Learn the concept
Question text as printed in the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) question paper. The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.
Want every PYQ in one place? See the Battle IAS PYQ Book.