Industry, infrastructure, poverty, employment and social sector: previous-year questions
70 real UPSC Prelims questions (2011–2026) with the official answer and a clear explanation. 19 of them came in the last five papers.
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Questions per year, counted from the official papers.
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Consider the following :
- 1. Hotels and restaurants
- 2. Motor transport undertakings
- 3. Newspaper establishments
- 4. Private medical institutions
The employees of which of the above can have the ‘Social Security’ coverage under Employees’ State Insurance Scheme?
Answer (d) & explanation
All four are correct (d). The Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 began with factories and has been extended by notifications to shops, hotels and restaurants (1), road motor transport undertakings (2), cinemas, newspaper establishments (3), and private medical and educational institutions (4) employing 10 or more people. Covered workers get medical care, sickness, maternity, disability and dependants' benefits. So options (a), (b) and (c) leave out real coverage.
Notice the current frame: the Code on Social Security, 2020, in force since 21 November 2025, subsumes the ESI Act and allows ESIC coverage to be extended to all districts and, voluntarily, to establishments with fewer workers and gig workers. The wage ceiling is ₹21,000 a month. Trap: the scheme's name suggests factories only.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
How do District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs) help in the reduction of rural poverty in India?
- 1. DRDAs act as Panchayati Raj Institutions in certain specified backward regions of the country.
- 2. DRDAs undertake area-specific scientific study of the causes of poverty and malnutrition and prepare detailed remedial measures.
- 3. DRDAs secure inter-sectoral and inter-departmental coordination and cooperation for effective implementation of anti-poverty programmes.
- 4. DRDAs watch over and ensure effective utilization of the funds intended for anti-poverty programmes.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (b) & explanation
Statements 3 and 4 are correct (b). The District Rural Development Agency is the district-level body that coordinates departments, banks and agencies for anti-poverty programmes (3) and monitors the use of funds meant for them (4). Statement 1 is wrong: a DRDA is not a Panchayati Raj institution; it is a registered society, often chaired by the Zila Parishad head or Collector. Statement 2 is wrong: it is not a research body that studies the causes of poverty and malnutrition. So (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the later change: from April 2022, the separate DRDA administration scheme was merged, and DRDAs were folded into Zila Parishads or district rural development cells in most states, to strengthen panchayats. Trap: 'scientific study' sounds impressive but is not its role.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to National Rural Health Mission, which of the following are the jobs of ‘ASHA’, a trained community health worker?
- 1. Accompanying women to the health facility for antenatal care checkup
- 2. Using pregnancy test kits for early detection of pregnancy
- 3. Providing information on nutrition and immunization
- 4. Conducting the delivery of baby
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
Answer (a) & explanation
Statements 1, 2 and 3 are correct (a). An ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist), created under the National Rural Health Mission (2005), is a trained village woman who links families to the health system. She accompanies women for antenatal check-ups and institutional delivery (1), uses pregnancy test kits for early detection (2), and gives advice on nutrition and immunisation (3). Statement 4 is wrong: she does not conduct deliveries; she encourages delivery at a health facility, where trained staff attend. So (b), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the scale: India has about 10 lakh ASHAs, paid through task-based incentives. They were recognised with the WHO Global Health Leaders Award in 2022. ASHAs work with ANMs and Anganwadi workers. Trap: helping with delivery is not conducting it.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
How does the National Rural Livelihood Mission seek to improve livelihood options of rural poor?
- 1. By setting up a large number of new manufacturing industries and agribusiness centres in rural areas
- 2. By strengthening ‘self-help groups’ and providing skill development
- 3. By supplying seeds, fertilizers, diesel pump-sets and micro-irrigation equipment free of cost to farmers
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
Answer (b) & explanation
Statement 2 only is correct (b). The National Rural Livelihood Mission (Aajeevika, 2011), now DAY-NRLM, organises poor rural women into self-help groups and their federations, links them to bank credit, and provides skill training for self-employment and placement-linked jobs (2). Statement 1 is wrong: it does not set up manufacturing industries or agribusiness centres itself. Statement 3 is wrong: it does not supply seeds, fertilisers, pump-sets or micro-irrigation equipment free to farmers. So (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the scale: about 10 crore women in some 90 lakh SHGs. Its 'Lakhpati Didi' drive aims at women earning ₹1 lakh a year, and DDU-GKY handles skilling. Trap: free inputs and factories sound helpful but are not its method.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The Multi-dimensional Poverty Index developed by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative with UNDP support covers which of the following?
- 1. Deprivation of education, health, assets and services at household level
- 2. Purchasing power parity at national level
- 3. Extent of budget deficit and GDP growth rate at national level
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
Answer (a) & explanation
Statement 1 only is correct (a). The Multidimensional Poverty Index, developed by OPHI (Oxford) with UNDP in 2010, measures household-level deprivations in three dimensions: health, education and living standards, using ten indicators such as nutrition, child mortality, years of schooling, cooking fuel, sanitation, water, electricity, housing and assets (1). Statement 2 is wrong: it uses no PPP figures. Statement 3 is wrong: it ignores budget deficits and GDP growth. So (b), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice India's figures: NITI Aayog's national MPI adds maternal health and bank accounts, and estimates about 24.8 crore people escaped multidimensional poverty between 2013–14 and 2022–23. A person is poor if deprived in a third or more of the weighted indicators. Trap: MPI is non-income by design.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
What is/are the recent policy initiative(s) of Government of India to promote the growth of manufacturing sector?
- 1. Setting up of National Investment and Manufacturing Zones
- 2. Providing the benefit of ‘single window clearance’
- 3. Establishing the Technology Acquisition and Development Fund
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
Answer (d) & explanation
All three are correct (d). The National Manufacturing Policy (2011) aimed to raise manufacturing's share of GDP to 25% and create 10 crore jobs. It provided for National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZs), large integrated industrial townships (1), single-window clearance to cut red tape (2), and a Technology Acquisition and Development Fund to help MSMEs buy green technology (3). So options (a), (b) and (c) leave out real measures.
Notice the later push: Make in India (2014), PLI schemes (2020) across 14 sectors, PM Gati Shakti (2021), and the National Manufacturing Mission announced in the 2025–26 Budget. Manufacturing is still around 17% of GDP. Trap: all three look like generic reforms, but each was named in the 2011 policy.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
India is regarded as a country with “Demographic Dividend”. This is due to
Answer (b) & explanation
The answer is (b). A demographic dividend is the economic growth potential that arises when a large share of the population is of working age (15-64), with fewer dependants (children and elderly) to support. More workers, savings and investment can speed up growth, provided they are healthy, educated and employed. Option (a), a high under-15 population, means a high dependency burden. Option (c), many elderly, means an ageing society, like Japan. Option (d), a high total population, is not by itself a dividend.
Notice India's position: about two-thirds of Indians are of working age, and the median age is around 28-29. India's dividend window is expected to last until about the 2040s. To reap it, India needs skilling (Skill India, PMKVY), quality education, health and jobs; otherwise it becomes a 'demographic disaster'. India became the world's most populous country in 2023. Trap: working-age share, not total size, defines the dividend.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Among the following who are eligible to benefit from the “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act” ?
Answer (d) & explanation
Adult members of any rural household is correct (d). MGNREGA (2005) guaranteed 100 days of unskilled manual work a year to every rural household whose adult members volunteered for it. It was universal and demand-driven, with no condition of caste, BPL status or backwardness. So (a), (b) and (c) wrongly add a condition. Work had to be given within 15 days of demand, or an unemployment allowance was due.
Notice the recent change: the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 (Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission, Gramin) repealed MGNREGA from 1 July 2026 and raised the guarantee to 125 days per rural household, keeping the same open, demand-based entitlement. Trap: welfare schemes often target BPL, but this one did not.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
In the context of Indian economy, consider the following statements :
- 1. The growth rate of GDP has steadily increased in the last five years.
- 2. The growth rate in per capita income has steadily increased in the last five years.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Answer (d) & explanation
Neither statement is correct (d). In the five years to 2010–11, India's GDP growth did not rise steadily: it was about 9.6% in 2006–07 and 9.3% in 2007–08, then fell to about 6.7% in 2008–09 after the global financial crisis, before recovering to around 8–9%. Per capita income growth followed the same ups and downs (2). So (a), (b) and (c) fail.
Notice the method: UPSC often uses 'steadily' to test whether you know a dip occurred. GDP data have since been revised to the 2011–12 base, and a new 2022–23 base series is being introduced. Per capita income growth is roughly GDP growth minus population growth. Trap: high average growth is not the same as steady increase.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following can aid in furthering the Government’s objective of inclusive growth ?
- 1. Promoting Self-Help Groups
- 2. Promoting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
- 3. Implementing the Right to Education Act
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
Answer (d) & explanation
All three are correct (d). Inclusive growth, the theme of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007–12), means growth whose gains reach the poor and excluded. Self-Help Groups give women and the poor credit, savings and income (1). MSMEs create jobs on a large scale and spread industry beyond big cities (2). The Right to Education Act, 2009 builds the skills that let people share in growth (3). So options (a), (b) and (c) leave out real tools.
Notice the present versions: DAY-NRLM links about 10 crore women to SHGs, the Udyam portal registers MSMEs, and the NEP 2020 builds on the RTE. The 12th Plan's theme was 'faster, more inclusive and sustainable growth'. Trap: inclusive growth is about broad access, so all three fit.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.