UPSC Prelims PYQs with explanations
Real questions from official papers, mapped to syllabus topics. Attempt each one; the answer and the reason appear instantly.
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.
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment describes the following major categories of ecosystem services—provisioning, supporting, regulating, preserving and cultural. Which one of the following is supporting service?
Answer (c) & explanation
Nutrient cycling and crop pollination is correct per UPSC's key (c), but pollination's place is doubtful. In the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005), provisioning services give products such as food and water (a), regulating services control processes such as climate and disease (b), and supporting services keep everything running: nutrient cycling, soil formation and primary production. The MEA itself lists pollination under regulating services, so (c) is only half right; UPSC chose it as the best fit. (d) is wrong: 'maintenance of diversity' is a habitat idea, not an MEA supporting service as worded.
Notice the wider idea: the MEA has four categories, not five; 'preserving' in the question is not one of them. Cultural services include recreation and spiritual value. Trap: the stem adds a fake category.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
During the last summer vacation, Ankit went to a summer camp where he took part in hiking, swimming and boating. This summer, he is looking forward to a music camp where he hopes to sing, dance and learn to play the guitar. Based on the above information, four conclusions, as given below, have been made. Which one of these logically follows from the information given above?
Answer (d) & explanation
'Ankit likes to sing and dance' is the key (d). Step 1: Ankit 'hopes to sing, dance and learn to play the guitar' at a camp he is 'looking forward to'. Looking forward to singing and dancing suggests he likes them. Step 2: (a) is wrong: his parents are never mentioned. (b) is wrong: we cannot compare his liking for music with outdoor activities; he enjoyed both camps. Step 3: (c) is wrong: two summers do not prove he goes every summer. So (a), (b) and (c) fail. Note: (d) is itself a mild inference, but it is the closest to the facts.
Tip: choose the conclusion that needs the fewest extra assumptions. 'Every', 'prefers' and new people are signs of overreach.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
The poor especially in market economies, need the strength that collectivities offer for creating more economic, social and political space for themselves, for enhancing their socio-economic well-being and voice, and as a protection against free market individualism. It has been argued that a group approach to farming, especially in the form of bottom up agricultural production collectivities, offers substantial scope for poverty alleviation and empowering the poor as well as enhancing agricultural productivity. To realise this potential, however, the groups would need to be voluntary in nature, small in size, participative in decision making and equitable in work sharing and benefit distribution. There are many notable examples of such collectivities to be found in varied contexts, such as in the transition economies. All of them bear witness to the possibility of successful cooperation under given conditions. And although the gender impact of the family cooperatives in the transition economies are uncertain, the Indian examples of women-only groups farming offer considerable potential for benefiting women.
Agricultural collectivities such as group based farming can provide the rural poor
- 1. empowerment.
- 2. increased agricultural productivity.
- 3. safeguard against exploitative markets.
- 4. surplus production of agricultural commodities.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
Answer (b) & explanation
1, 2 and 3 are correct (b). Step 1: the passage says group farming offers scope for 'empowering the poor' (1) and 'enhancing agricultural productivity' (2). Step 2: it says collectivities give the poor 'a protection against free market individualism'. That is a safeguard against harsh, exploitative markets (3). Step 3: point 4, surplus production, is never claimed. Higher productivity does not mean a surplus beyond needs. So (a), (c) and (d), which include 4 or leave out 1, fail.
Tip: separate what the passage says from what might follow from it. 'More productive' is stated; 'surplus' is your own extra step, and UPSC usually rejects such steps.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
How does National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) help in protecting the Indian agriculture?
- 1. NBA checks the biopiracy and protects the indigenous and traditional genetic resources.
- 2. NBA directly monitors and supervises the scientific research on genetic modification of crop plants.
- 3. Application for Intellectual Property Rights related to genetic/biological resources cannot be made without the approval of NBA.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (c) & explanation
Statements 1 and 3 are correct (c). The National Biodiversity Authority (set up 2003 under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, at Chennai) regulates access to Indian biological resources and associated traditional knowledge to check biopiracy (1). Anyone seeking a patent or other IPR based on Indian biological material needs its approval (3). Statement 2 is wrong: research on GM crops is regulated by the GEAC and the Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation, not the NBA. So (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice the cases: India fought patents on neem and turmeric, and the NBA backed action against Bt brinjal biopiracy (2011). The 2023 amendment eased rules for AYUSH and research, and requires approval at the time of grant of patent rather than filing.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to Ryotwari Settlement, consider the following statements :
- 1. The rent was paid directly by the peasants to the Government.
- 2. The Government gave Pattas to the Ryots.
- 3. The lands were surveyed and assessed before being taxed.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (c) & explanation
All three are correct (c). Under the Ryotwari system, introduced by Thomas Munro and Alexander Read in Madras and later Bombay, each ryot paid revenue directly to the government, with no zamindar in between (1). The ryot received a patta, a title deed recognising his right to the land (2). Land was surveyed and assessed for quality before revenue was fixed (3). So (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice the comparison: the Permanent Settlement (1793, Bengal) worked through zamindars, and the Mahalwari system (Holt Mackenzie, 1822; North-West Provinces and Punjab) assessed whole villages. Ryotwari rates were high, often 45–55% of produce at first, and revised every 20–30 years. Trap: 'rent' paid directly fits only Ryotwari among the three systems.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The Rowlatt Act aimed at
Answer (b) & explanation
Imprisonment without trial is correct (b). The Rowlatt Act (March 1919), based on the Sedition Committee under Justice S.A.T. Rowlatt, let the government jail suspects without trial for up to two years and try cases in special courts with no appeal. Indians summed it up as 'no vakil, no dalil, no appeal'. (a) is wrong: it did not deal with war contributions. (c) is wrong: the Khilafat movement began later, in 1919–20. (d) is wrong: press curbs came under the Press Act, 1910.
Notice what followed: Gandhi's Rowlatt Satyagraha (April 1919), his first all-India campaign, and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on 13 April 1919 in Amritsar under General Dyer. The Hunter Committee inquired into it. Trap: the Act was nicknamed the 'Black Act'.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to the history of ancient India, which of the following was/were common to both Buddhism and Jainism?
- 1. Avoidance of extremities of penance and enjoyment
- 2. Indifference to the authority of the Vedas
- 3. Denial of efficacy of rituals
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
Answer (b) & explanation
Statements 2 and 3 are correct (b). Both Buddhism and Jainism rejected the authority of the Vedas (2) and denied the efficacy of rituals and animal sacrifices (3), stressing ethics and personal effort instead. Statement 1 is wrong: the Middle Path, avoiding both extreme penance and indulgence, is Buddhist only; Jainism praised severe austerity, even fasting unto death (sallekhana). So (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the other contrasts: Jainism believes in a soul in all things, while Buddhism teaches anatta (no permanent self). Both used local languages, Pali and Prakrit, and both arose in the 6th century BCE Magadha region with Kshatriya founders. Trap: shared anti-ritualism hides different views on austerity.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
Invasions of exotic species into new geographic areas sometimes occur naturally and without human agency. However, human actions have increased this trickle to a flood. Human-caused introductions may occur either accidentally as a consequence of human transport, or intentionally but illegally to serve some private purpose or legitimately to procure some hoped-for public benefit by bringing a pest under control, producing new agricultural products or providing novel recreational opportunities. Many introduced species are assimilated into communities without much obvious effect. However, some have been responsible for dramatic changes to native species and natural communities. For example, the accidental introduction of the brown tree snake Boiga irregularis into Guam, an island in the Pacific, has through nest predation reduced 10 endemic forest bird species to the point of extinction.
One of the major reasons for the world’s great biodiversity is the occurrence of centers of endemism so that similar habitats in different parts of the world are occupied by different groups of species that happen to have evolved there. If every species naturally had access to everywhere on the globe, we might expect a relatively small number of successful species to become dominant in each biome. The extent to which this homogenization can happen naturally is restricted by the limited powers of dispersal of most species in the face of the physical barriers that exist to dispersal. By virtue of the transport opportunities offered by humans, these barriers have been breached by an ever-increasing number of exotic species. The effects of introductions have been to convert a hugely diverse range of local community compositions into something much more homogeneous.
It would be wrong, however, to conclude that introducing species to a region will inevitably cause a decline in species richness there. For example, there are numerous species of plants, invertebrates and vertebrates found in continental Europe but absent from the British Isles (many because they have so far failed to recolonize after the last glaciations). Their introduction would be likely to augment British biodiversity. The significant detrimental effect noted above arises where aggressive species provide a novel challenge to endemic biotas ill-equipped to deal with them.
How is homogenization prevented under natural conditions ?
Answer (d) & explanation
All three is correct (d). Step 1: the passage says biodiversity is high because of 'centers of endemism': similar habitats elsewhere hold different species 'that happen to have evolved there'. That supports (a) local evolution and (c) adaptation to local conditions. Step 2: it adds that natural homogenization is limited by species' poor dispersal 'in the face of the physical barriers'. Oceans and mountain ranges are such barriers (b). Step 3: all three work together, so (d) is right and any single option is incomplete.
Tip: when several options each match a different sentence of the passage and none contradicts it, 'all of the above' is likely. Check that each one has textual support first.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Two glasses of equal volume are respectively half and three-fourths filled with milk. They are then filled to the brim by adding water. Their contents are then poured into another vessel. What will be the ratio of milk to water in this vessel?
Answer (d) & explanation
5 : 3 is correct (d). Step 1: take each glass as 4 units so the fractions are easy. Glass 1 is half milk: 2 milk + 2 water. Glass 2 is three-fourths milk: 3 milk + 1 water. Step 2: pour both into the vessel. Milk = 2 + 3 = 5 units. Water = 2 + 1 = 3 units. Step 3: so milk : water = 5 : 3. (a) 1 : 3 and (b) 2 : 3 put water above milk, and (c) 3 : 2 is the wrong split. So (a), (b) and (c) fail.
Tip: choose a glass size that clears all fractions (the LCM of the denominators, here 4). Then everything becomes whole numbers and simple adding.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Lead, ingested or inhaled, is a health hazard. After the addition of lead to petrol has been banned, what still are the sources of lead poisoning?
- 1. Smelting units
- 2. Pens and pencils
- 3. Paints
- 4. Hair oils and cosmetics
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
Answer (b) & explanation
Smelting units and paints are correct per UPSC's key (b), but the key is doubtful on item 4. Lead still comes from smelters and battery-recycling units (1) and from lead-based paints (3). Item 2 is wrong: 'pencil lead' is actually graphite mixed with clay. Item 4 is the doubt: some traditional cosmetics such as sindoor, surma/kohl and certain hair dyes have been found to contain lead, so (a)-type answers including 4 are arguable; UPSC left them out. So (c) fails on any reading.
Notice the rules: India's 2016 rules cap lead in household paint at 90 ppm. A 2020 UNICEF report estimated about 27.5 crore Indian children have high blood lead. Trap: the word 'lead' in pencils.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
When you travel in Himalayas, you will see the following :
- 1. Deep gorges
- 2. U-turn river courses
- 3. Parallel mountain ranges
- 4. Steep gradients causing land-sliding
Which of the above can be said to be the evidences for Himalayas being young fold mountains?
Answer (d) & explanation
All four are correct (d). The Himalayas are young fold mountains, still rising as the Indian plate pushes into Asia. Fast uplift makes rivers cut deep gorges (1), such as the Indus, Sutlej and Dihang gorges, and take sharp U-turns at the syntaxial bends (2). The parallel ranges, Shiwalik, Lesser and Greater Himalaya, are sharp-crested and little eroded (3). Steep, unstable slopes cause frequent landslides (4). So options (a), (b) and (c) leave out real evidence.
Notice the contrast: old mountains like the Aravallis are worn down and gentle. Frequent earthquakes are further evidence. The Joshimath subsidence (2023) and the 2025 Dharali flash flood show the risks of building on young slopes. Trap: rivers older than the mountains are called antecedent rivers.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Despite having large reserves of coal, why does India import millions of tonnes of coal?
- 1. It is the policy of India to save its own coal reserves for future, and import it from other countries for the present use.
- 2. Most of the power plants in India are coal-based and they are not able to get sufficient supplies of coal from within the country.
- 3. Steel companies need large quantity of coking coal which has to be imported.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (b) & explanation
Statements 2 and 3 are correct (b). Most of India's electricity is coal-based, and domestic output has often not kept pace with demand from thermal plants, besides being of high-ash quality, so coastal plants import coal (2). India also has little good coking coal for steel, so steel makers import it, mainly from Australia (3). Statement 1 is wrong: there is no policy to save domestic coal for the future while importing for now. So (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the trend: India's coal output crossed 1 billion tonnes in 2024–25, and imports of thermal coal for blending have fallen, but coking coal imports remain high. Mission Coking Coal aims to raise domestic supply. Trap: India has the world's fifth-largest reserves, yet still imports.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
Chemical pesticides lose their role in sustainable agriculture if the pests evolve resistance. The evolution of pesticide resistance is simply natural selection in action. It is almost certain to occur when vast numbers of a genetically variable population are killed. One or a few individuals may be unusually resistant (perhaps because they possess an enzyme that can detoxify the pesticide). If the pesticide is applied repeatedly, each successive generation of the pest will contain a larger proportion of resistant individuals. Pests typically have a high intrinsic rate of reproduction, and so a few individuals in one generation may give rise to hundreds or thousands in the next, and resistance spreads very rapidly in a population.
This problem was often ignored in the past, even though the first case of DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) resistance was reported as early as 1946. There is exponential increase in the numbers of invertebrates that have evolved resistance and in the number of pesticides against which resistance has evolved. Resistance has been recorded in every family of arthropod pests (including dipterans such as mosquitoes and house flies, as well as beetles, moths, wasps, fleas, lice and mites) as well as in weeds and plant pathogens. Take the Alabama leafworm, a moth pest of cotton, as an example. It has developed resistance in one or more regions of the world to aldrin, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, lindane and toxaphene.
If chemical pesticides brought nothing but problems, — if their use was intrinsically and acutely unsustainable — then they would already have fallen out of widespread use. This has not happened. Instead, their rate of production has increased rapidly. The ratio of cost to benefit for the individual agricultural producer has remained in favour of pesticide use. In the USA, insecticides have been estimated to benefit the agricultural products to the tune of around $5 for every $1 spent.
Moreover, in many poorer countries, the prospect of imminent mass starvation, or of an epidemic disease, are so frightening that the social and health costs of using pesticides have to be ignored. In general the use of pesticides is justified by objective measures such as ‘lives saved’, ‘economic efficiency of food production’ and ‘total food produced’. In these very fundamental senses, their use may be described as sustainable. In practice, sustainability depends on continually developing new pesticides that keep at least one step ahead of the pests — pesticides that are less persistent, biodegradable and more accurately targeted at the pests.
What does the passage imply ?
Answer (d) & explanation
Both (a) and (b) is the official key (d). Step 1: the passage shows heavy chemical use leads to resistance in every pest family and to social and health costs. That implies too much chemical use is not good for the ecosystem (b). Step 2: from the same problems, the key reads support for alternatives (a). Step 3: (c) is clearly wrong: the passage says sustainability depends on new, better pesticides that are less persistent and more targeted, so there is scope for improvement. Note: (a) is DOUBTFUL, because the passage never mentions alternatives; it pins its hope on improved pesticides. (b) alone is arguable, but UPSC's key is (d).
Tip: 'implies' questions allow reasonable inference, but stay close to the text.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Examine the following statements:
- 1. None but students are the members of the club.
- 2. Some members of the club are married.
- 3. All married persons are invited for dance.
Which one of the conclusions can be drawn from the above statements?
Answer (b) & explanation
'All married students are invited' is correct (b). Step 1: statement 3 says all married persons are invited for dance. So any married student, being a married person, is invited: (b) follows. Statement 1 tells us club members are all students, and statement 2 confirms that some of them are married. Step 2: (a) is wrong: unmarried students are not covered by the dance rule. Step 3: (c) is wrong: only some members are married, not all. Since (b) follows, (d) fails.
Tip: apply the 'all' statement to any subgroup that fits it. 'All married persons' covers married students, but says nothing about students who are not married.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
A local man, staying on the top floor of an old wooden house, was awakened at midnight by a fire. Losing his way in a smoke-filled passage, he missed the stairway and went into another room. He picked up a bundle to protect his face from the fire and immediately fell through the floor below where he managed to escape through a clear doorway. The “bundle” proved to be the baby of the Mayor’s wife. The “hero” was congratulated by all.
The man was called a hero because he
Answer (d) & explanation
(d) is correct. Step 1: the 'bundle' he grabbed to protect his face turned out to be the Mayor's baby, and both escaped. So he saved a life, and people called him a hero. Step 2: (a) is wrong: he did not choose to risk his life for others; he grabbed the bundle for his own protection. (b) is wrong: escaping alone would not make him a hero. Step 3: (c) is wrong: he did not fight the fire at all. So (a), (b) and (c) fail.
Tip: the quotation marks round 'hero' and 'bundle' show irony: he saved the baby by accident. Still, the question asks why he was called a hero, and the answer is that a life was saved.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following is/are the principal feature(s) of the Government of India Act, 1919?
- 1. Introduction of dyarchy in the executive government of the provinces
- 2. Introduction of separate communal electorates for Muslims
- 3. Devolution of legislative authority by the centre to the provinces
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
Answer (c) & explanation
Statements 1 and 3 are correct (c). The Government of India Act, 1919 (Montagu–Chelmsford reforms) introduced dyarchy in the provinces, dividing subjects into transferred (handled by ministers responsible to the legislature) and reserved (kept by the Governor) (1). It also separated central and provincial subjects, devolving legislative authority to the provinces (3). Statement 2 is wrong: separate electorates for Muslims came earlier, with the Morley–Minto reforms of 1909; the 1919 Act extended them to Sikhs, Indian Christians and others. So (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice the other features: a bicameral central legislature, direct elections on a limited franchise, and a provision for a statutory commission after ten years, which became the Simon Commission (1927). Trap: 1919 extended communal electorates but did not introduce them.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
What is the provision to safeguard the autonomy of the Supreme Court of India?
- 1. While appointing the Supreme Court Judges, the President of India has to consult the Chief Justice of India.
- 2. The Supreme Court Judges can be removed by the Chief Justice of India only.
- 3. The salaries of the Judges are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India to which the legislature does not have to vote.
- 4. All appointments of officers and staffs of the Supreme Court of India are made by the Government only after consulting the Chief Justice of India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (a) & explanation
Statements 1 and 3 are correct (a). The President must consult the Chief Justice of India while appointing Supreme Court judges (Article 124(2)); under the collegium system, this consultation is effectively binding (1). Judges' salaries are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India, so Parliament does not vote on them (3). Statement 2 is wrong: judges are removed by the President after an address by both Houses with a special majority (Article 124(4)), not by the CJI. Statement 4 is wrong: Supreme Court staff are appointed by the CJI (Article 146), not by the government. So (b), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the related safeguards: salaries cannot be cut to their disadvantage except in a financial emergency, and their conduct cannot be discussed in Parliament (Article 121). The NJAC was struck down in 2015. Trap: statement 4 reverses who appoints staff.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
What is the difference between the antelopes Oryx and Chiru?
Answer (a) & explanation
Option (a) is correct. The oryx is adapted to the hot, arid deserts of Africa and Arabia, with pale coats and water-saving physiology. The chiru (Tibetan antelope) lives in the cold, high-altitude steppes and semi-deserts of the Tibetan plateau and Ladakh. (b) is wrong: antelopes have horns, not antlers, and the chiru is poached for its fine wool (shahtoosh), not musk. (c) is wrong: the oryx is not found wild in India, and the chiru lives in Ladakh, not the north-east. (d) fails because (a) is correct.
Notice the conservation side: shahtoosh trade is banned under CITES, and the chiru is in Schedule I; its numbers recovered enough to be moved to Near Threatened in 2016. The Arabian oryx was reintroduced after extinction in the wild. Trap: musk belongs to musk deer.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Three persons A, B and C wore shirts of black, blue and orange colours (not necessarily in that order) and pants of green, yellow and orange (not necessarily in that order). No person wore shirt and pants of the same colour. Further, it is given that
- 1. A did not wear shirt of black colour.
- 2. B did not wear shirt of blue colour.
- 3. C did not wear shirt of orange colour.
- 4. A did not wear pants of green colour.
- 5. B wore pants of orange colour.
What were the colours of the pants and shirt worn by C, respectively?
Answer (b) & explanation
Green pants and blue shirt is correct (b). Step 1: pants first. B wore orange pants. A did not wear green, so A wore yellow and C wore green. Step 2: shirts. B cannot wear blue (clue 2) and cannot wear orange (same as his pants), so B wore black. Step 3: C did not wear an orange shirt (clue 3), so C wore blue, and A wore orange. Check: A's orange shirt differs from his yellow pants. So C wore green pants and a blue shirt, and (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Tip: start with the most fixed clue (B's pants) and use 'no same colour' to cut options. A small grid of people vs colours makes this quick.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.