UPSC Prelims PYQs with explanations
Real questions from official papers, mapped to syllabus topics. Attempt each one; the answer and the reason appear instantly.
Read the passage
Financial markets in India have acquired greater depth and liquidity over the years. Steady reforms since 1991 have led to growing linkages and integration of the Indian economy and its financial system with the global economy. Weak global economic prospects and continuing uncertainties in the international financial markets therefore, have had their impact on the emerging market economies. Sovereign risk concerns, particularly in the Euro area, affected financial markets for the greater part of the year, with the contagion of Greece’s sovereign debt problem spreading to India and other economies by way of higher-than-normal levels of volatility.
The funding constraints in international financial markets could impact both the availability and cost of foreign funding for banks and corporates. Since the Indian financial system is bank dominated, banks’ ability to withstand stress is critical to overall financial stability. Indian banks, however, remain robust, notwithstanding a decline in capital to risk-weighted assets ratio and a rise in non-performing asset levels in the recent past. Capital adequacy levels remain above the regulatory requirements. The financial market infrastructure continues to function without any major disruption. With further globalization, consolidation, deregulation, and diversification of the financial system, the banking business may become more complex and riskier. Issues like risk and liquidity management and enhancing skill therefore assume greater significance.
Risk and liquidity management assumes more importance in the Indian banking system in future due to
- 1. further globalization.
- 2. more consolidation and deregulation of the financial system.
- 3. further diversification of the financial system.
- 4. more financial inclusion in the economy.
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
Answer (a) & explanation
1, 2 and 3 are correct (a). Step 1: the passage says: 'With further globalization, consolidation, deregulation, and diversification of the financial system, the banking business may become more complex and riskier.' So risk and liquidity management matters more because of 1, 2 and 3. Step 2: point 4, financial inclusion, is not mentioned anywhere. Step 3: (b) and (d) include 4, and (c) leaves out 3. So (b), (c) and (d) fail.
Tip: match each point to a word in the sentence. When the passage gives a list, the correct option usually repeats that list exactly; any extra item from general knowledge is a trap.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
Ecological research over the last quarter of the century has established the deleterious effects of habitat fragmentation due to mining, highways and such other intrusions on forests. When a large block of forests gets fragmented into smaller bits, the edges of all these bits come into contact with human activities resulting in the degradation of the entire forests. Continuity of forested landscapes and corridors gets disrupted affecting several extinction-prone species of wildlife. Habitat fragmentation is therefore considered as the most serious threat to biodiversity conservation. Ad hoc grants of forest lands to mining companies coupled with rampant illegal mining is aggravating this threat.
What is the purpose of maintaining the continuity of forested landscapes and corridors ?
- 1. Preservation of biodiversity.
- 2. Management of mineral resources.
- 3. Grant of forest lands for human activities.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
Answer (a) & explanation
Only 1 is correct (a). Step 1: the passage says when continuity of forests and corridors is broken, it affects 'several extinction-prone species of wildlife'. So keeping forests connected helps preserve biodiversity (1). Step 2: point 2, managing mineral resources, is wrong: mining is described as a threat to forests, not a purpose of corridors. Step 3: point 3, granting forest land for human activities, is wrong: such grants cause fragmentation; they are the problem. So (b), (c) and (d) fail.
Tip: ask whether an option is the goal or the threat. Here mining and land grants are the threats, and saving wildlife is the goal. Wildlife corridors let animals move between forest patches and keep populations healthy.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to the usefulness of the by-products of sugar industry, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1. Bagasse can be used as biomass fuel for the generation of energy.
- 2. Molasses can be used as one of the feedstocks for the production of synthetic chemical fertilizers.
- 3. Molasses can be used for the production of ethanol.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
Answer (c) & explanation
Statements 1 and 3 are correct (c). Bagasse, the fibrous residue left after crushing cane, is burnt in co-generation plants to produce steam and electricity (1). Molasses, the thick syrup left after sugar crystallises, is fermented into ethanol for blending with petrol and for alcohol (3). Statement 2 is wrong: synthetic fertilisers such as urea are made from natural gas or naphtha, not molasses, though press mud from sugar mills is used as organic manure. So (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice the ethanol drive: India reached E20 (20% ethanol in petrol) in 2025, five years ahead of the original target, with sugarcane juice, B-heavy molasses and grains as feedstock. Bagasse is also used to make paper. Trap: organic manure is not synthetic fertiliser.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following statements is/are applicable to Jain doctrine?
- 1. The surest way of annihilating Karma is to practice penance.
- 2. Every object, even the smallest particle has a soul.
- 3. Karma is the bane of the soul and must be ended.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
Answer (d) & explanation
All three are correct (d). In Jainism, karma is fine matter that sticks to the soul (jiva) and binds it to rebirth, so it is the bane of the soul and must be ended (3). Severe penance, fasting and self-discipline burn away karma, and Jains see this as the surest path (1). Every object, even stones, water, earth and the smallest particles, has a soul, which is why ahimsa is so strict (2). So options (a), (b) and (c) leave out real doctrines.
Notice the path: the three jewels (right faith, knowledge and conduct) and five vows, ahimsa, satya, asteya, aparigraha and brahmacharya, the last added by Mahavira. Liberation (kaivalya) frees the soul. Jains split into Digambara and Svetambara. Trap: statement 2 seems extreme but is core Jain belief.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Annie Besant was
- 1. responsible for starting the Home Rule Movement
- 2. the founder of the Theosophical Society
- 3. once the President of the Indian National Congress
Select the correct statement/statements using the codes given below.
Answer (c) & explanation
Statements 1 and 3 are correct (c). Annie Besant started the Home Rule League in September 1916 at Madras, alongside Tilak's league at Poona earlier that year (1). She was President of the Indian National Congress at the Calcutta session of 1917, the first woman to hold the post (3). Statement 2 is wrong: the Theosophical Society was founded in New York in 1875 by Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott; Besant joined in 1889 and later led it from Adyar, Madras. So (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice her other work: the Central Hindu College at Varanasi (1898), which grew into Banaras Hindu University, and the newspapers New India and Commonweal. Trap: leading a society is not founding it.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
Malnutrition most commonly occurs between the ages of six months and two years. This happens despite the child’s food requirements being less than that of an older child. Malnutrition is often attributed to poverty, but it has been found that even in households where adults eat adequate quantities of food, more than 50 per cent of children-under-five do not consume enough food. The child’s dependence on someone else to feed him/her is primarily responsible for the malnutrition. Very often the mother is working and the responsibility of feeding the young child is left to an older sibling. It is therefore crucial to increase awareness regarding the child’s food needs and how to satisfy them.
According to the author, poverty is not the main cause of malnutrition, but the fact that
- 1. taking care of younger ones is not a priority for working mothers.
- 2. awareness of nutritional needs is not propagated by the Public Health authorities.
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
Answer (b) & explanation
Only statement 2 is the key (b). Step 1: the passage says even well-fed families have hungry children, so the real cause is that people do not know a child's food needs. It calls for 'increasing awareness', which suggests awareness is not being spread: the key reads this as statement 2. Step 2: note that the passage never names Public Health authorities, so statement 2 is a loose fit; it is DOUBTFUL, and (d) is arguable. Step 3: statement 1 is wrong: working mothers lack time, so older siblings feed the child; nothing says the child is not a priority for them. So (a) and (c) fail.
Tip: when an option adds a new actor (here, health authorities), check carefully. UPSC sometimes accepts it if the core idea matches.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
The law in many parts of the world increasingly restricts the discharge of agricultural slurry into watercourses. The simplest and often the most economically sound practice returns the material to the land as semisolid manure or as sprayed slurry. This dilutes its concentration in the environment to what might have occurred in a more primitive and sustainable type of agriculture and converts pollutant into fertilizer. Soil microorganisms decompose the organic components of sewage and slurry and most of the mineral nutrients become available to be absorbed again by the vegetation.
The excess input of nutrients, both nitrogen and phosphorus — based, from agricultural runoff (and human sewage) has caused many ‘healthy’ oligotrophic lakes (low nutrient concentrations, low plant productivity with abundant water weeds, and clear water) to change to eutrophic condition where high nutrient inputs lead to high phytoplankton productivity (sometimes dominated by bloom-forming toxic species). This makes the water turbid, eliminates large plants and, in the worst situations, leads to anoxia and fish kills; so called cultural eutrophication. Thus, important ecosystem services are lost, including the provisioning service of wild-caught fish and the cultural services associated with recreation.
The process of cultural eutrophication of lakes has been understood for some time. But only recently did scientists notice huge ‘dead zones’ in the oceans near river outlets, particularly those draining large catchment areas such as the Mississippi in North America and the Yangtze in China. The nutrient-enriched water flows through streams, rivers and lakes, and eventually to the estuary and ocean where the ecological impact may be huge, killing virtually all invertebrates and fish in areas up to 70,000 km² in extent. More than 150 sea areas worldwide are now regularly starved of oxygen as a result of decomposition of algal blooms, fuelled particularly by nitrogen from agricultural runoff of fertilizers and sewage from large cities. Oceanic dead zones are typically associated with industrialized nations and usually lie off countries that subsidize their agriculture, encouraging farmers to increase productivity and use more fertilizer.
The passage refers to the conversion of “pollutant to fertilizer”. What is pollutant and what is fertilizer in this context ?
Answer (b) & explanation
(b) is correct. Step 1: slurry dumped into watercourses is a pollutant. When returned to land, soil microorganisms decompose it, and 'most of the mineral nutrients become available to be absorbed again by the vegetation'. So decomposed slurry in the soil acts as fertilizer. Step 2: (a) is wrong: microorganisms are the agents that break down the slurry, not the fertilizer itself. Step 3: (c) is wrong: a watercourse cannot be a fertilizer, and spraying slurry on land is the remedy, not the pollution. Since (b) is right, (d) fails.
Tip: in 'what is X and what is Y' questions, check both halves of each option. One wrong half rejects the whole option.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
It was already late when we set out for the next town, which according to the map was about fifteen kilometres away on the other side of the hills. There we felt that we would find a bed for the night. Darkness fell soon after we left the village, but luckily we met no one as we drove swiftly along the narrow winding road that led to the hills. As we climbed higher, it became colder and rain began to fall, making it difficult at times to see the road. I asked John, my companion, to drive more slowly. After we had travelled for about twenty kilometres, there was still no sign of the town which was marked on the map. We were beginning to get worried. Then without warning, the car stopped and we found we had run out of petrol.
The travellers set out for the town although it was getting dark because
Answer (d) & explanation
(d) is correct. Step 1: the passage says the town was 'about fifteen kilometres away' and 'there we felt that we would find a bed for the night'. So they set out because the town was near and offered a place to rest: (d). Step 2: (b) is wrong: its first half is right, but nothing calls the town a hill-resort. Step 3: (a) is wrong: being in a hurry is not mentioned. (c) is wrong: they had just left a village, not a wilderness. So (a), (b) and (c) fail.
Tip: when two options share the same first half, the difference lies in the second half. Check that half against the passage.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Contour bunding is a method of soil conservation used in
Answer (d) & explanation
None of the above is correct (d). Contour bunding means building earth embankments along the contours of sloping land to slow runoff, hold water and stop soil erosion by water on gentle hill slopes and undulating land. (a) is wrong: wind erosion in desert margins is checked by shelter belts and windbreaks. (b) is wrong: low, flat floodplains need embankments or drainage, not contour bunds. (c) is wrong: weed spread is not controlled by bunds.
Notice the related methods: terracing on steep slopes, contour ploughing, strip cropping, check dams and gully plugging. Watershed programmes such as PMKSY-Watershed Development (WDC 2.0) use contour bunds widely in the Deccan. Trap: options describe other erosion settings that contour bunds do not suit.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to the history of philosophical thought in India, consider the following statements regarding Sankhya school :
- 1. Sankhya does not accept the theory of rebirth or transmigration of soul.
- 2. Sankhya holds that it is the self-knowledge that leads to liberation and not any exterior influence or agent.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (b) & explanation
Statement 2 only is correct (b). Sankhya, traced to the sage Kapila, is dualist: it sees reality as purusha (consciousness) and prakriti (matter, with its three gunas). It holds that liberation comes from right knowledge, discriminating the self from matter, not from God or any outside agent (2); classical Sankhya is even atheistic. Statement 1 is wrong: Sankhya accepts rebirth and the transmigration of the subtle body until liberation. So (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the six orthodox schools: Sankhya pairs with Yoga (Patanjali), Nyaya (logic) with Vaisheshika (atomism), and Mimamsa with Vedanta. Heterodox schools include Charvaka, Buddhism and Jainism. Trap: atheism does not mean denying rebirth.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Many transplanted seedlings do not grow because
Answer (c) & explanation
Most of the root hairs are lost is correct (c). Root hairs, thin outgrowths near the root tips, absorb most of a plant's water and minerals. They are delicate and are torn off when a seedling is uprooted, so the transplanted plant cannot take up enough water and wilts, sometimes dying. (a) is wrong: the new soil usually has adequate minerals. (b) is wrong: root hairs do not 'grip too hard'. (d) is wrong: leaf damage can happen but is not the main reason.
Notice the practice: gardeners transplant with a ball of soil around the roots, water well, shade the seedlings, and transplant in the evening to cut transpiration. Paddy is transplanted from nurseries, while Direct Seeded Rice avoids transplanting altogether and saves water. Trap: the problem is at the roots, not the soil.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
(Same information as the question above.)
If all the three males are selected, then how many combinations of four member teams are possible?
Answer (b) & explanation
2 teams is correct (b). Step 1: A, B and C are all selected, so we need exactly one woman to make four. Step 2: W cannot play with B, so W is out. Z cannot play with C, so Z is out. Step 3: X and Y have no problem with A, B or C (the W–Y rule does not apply, since only one woman is chosen). So the possible teams are A, B, C, X and A, B, C, Y: 2 combinations. So (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Tip: count only the free choices. Once three places are fixed, ask how many candidates can fill the last place without breaking any rule.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Four cars are hired at the rate of ₹ 6 per km plus the cost of diesel at ₹ 40 a litre. In this context, consider the details given in the following table:
| Car | Mileage (km/l) | Hours | Total Payment (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 8 | 20 | 2120 |
| B | 10 | 25 | 1950 |
| C | 9 | 24 | 2064 |
| D | 11 | 22 | 1812 |
Which car maintained the maximum average speed?
Answer (a) & explanation
1. Find the cost of 1 km for each car: ₹ 6 hire + diesel (₹ 40 ÷ mileage).
2. A: 6 + 40 ÷ 8 = ₹ 11 per km. Distance = 2120 ÷ 11 ≈ 193 km. Speed ≈ 193 ÷ 20 ≈ 9·6 km/h.
3. B: 6 + 4 = ₹ 10 per km. Distance = 195 km. Speed = 195 ÷ 25 = 7·8 km/h.
4. C: 6 + 4·44 = ₹ 10·44 per km. Distance ≈ 198 km. Speed ≈ 198 ÷ 24 ≈ 8·2 km/h.
5. D: 6 + 3·64 = ₹ 9·64 per km. Distance ≈ 188 km. Speed ≈ 188 ÷ 22 ≈ 8·5 km/h.
6. The highest speed is for Car A.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
What will follow if a Money Bill is substantially amended by the Rajya Sabha?
Answer (a) & explanation
Option (a) is correct. The Rajya Sabha cannot amend or reject a Money Bill; it can only make recommendations within 14 days. The Lok Sabha is free to accept or reject them, and either way the Bill is deemed passed by both Houses (Article 109). So even a 'substantial amendment' is only a recommendation. (b) is wrong: the Lok Sabha can certainly proceed. (c) is wrong: there is no return to the Rajya Sabha for reconsideration. (d) is wrong: there is no joint sitting on a Money Bill (Article 108 excludes it).
Notice the related rules: the Speaker certifies a Money Bill (Article 110), and her decision is final, though the Supreme Court has examined such certification in the Aadhaar (2018) and Rojer Mathew (2019) cases; a larger bench is reviewing it. Trap: 'substantially amended' tempts you to think the Rajya Sabha has real power.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
In which of the following States is lion-tailed macaque found in its natural habitat?
- 1. Tamil Nadu
- 2. Kerala
- 3. Karnataka
- 4. Andhra Pradesh
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
Answer (a) & explanation
Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka are correct (a). The lion-tailed macaque, an Endangered primate with a silver-white mane, lives only in the rainforests of the Western Ghats in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, in places such as Silent Valley, the Anamalai hills and the Sharavathi valley (1, 2, 3). Item 4 is wrong: it is not found in Andhra Pradesh. So (b), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the threats: habitat broken up by tea, coffee and teak plantations; only about 4,000 remain in the wild. The Silent Valley campaign of the 1980s was partly fought to save it. It is in Schedule I of the Wildlife Act. Trap: the Eastern Ghats in Andhra look similar on a map but lack its rainforest.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
- 1. The Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha are not the members of that House.
- 2. While the nominated members of the two Houses of the Parliament have no voting right in the presidential election, they have the right to vote in the election of the Vice President.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (b) & explanation
Statement 2 only is correct (b). Statement 1 is wrong: the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is the Vice-President, who is not a member of the House, but the Deputy Chairman is elected from among its members. Statement 2 is correct: nominated members of both Houses cannot vote in the presidential election (Article 54 counts only elected members), but they do vote in the Vice-Presidential election (Article 66), whose electoral college is all members of both Houses. So (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the latest: C.P. Radhakrishnan became Vice-President in September 2025 after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned in July 2025. State legislators vote for the President but not the Vice-President. Trap: one officer of the Rajya Sabha is a member and the other is not.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
- 1. An amendment to the Constitution of India can be initiated by an introduction of a bill in the Lok Sabha only.
- 2. If such an amendment seeks to make changes in the federal character of the Constitution, the amendment also requires to be ratified by the legislature of all the States of India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (d) & explanation
Neither statement is correct (d). Statement 1 is wrong: under Article 368, a constitutional amendment bill can be introduced in either House of Parliament, not only the Lok Sabha, and it needs no prior presidential permission. Statement 2 is wrong: amendments affecting federal provisions, such as the distribution of powers, representation of States in Parliament, or the Supreme Court and High Courts, need ratification by half of the State legislatures, not all of them. So (a), (b) and (c) fail.
Notice the related rules: each House must pass the bill separately by a special majority; there is no joint sitting, and the President must give assent (24th Amendment, 1971). The GST amendment (101st, 2016) was ratified by states under this rule. Trap: 'all States' overstates the requirement.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
There are five hobby clubs in a college viz, photography, yachting, chess, electronics and gardening. The gardening group meets every second day, the electronics group meets every third day, the chess group meets every fourth day, the yachting group meets every fifth day and the photography group meets every sixth day. How many times do all the five groups meet on the same day within 180 days?
Answer (a) & explanation
3 times is correct (a). Step 1: all five groups meet on the same day only when the day number is a multiple of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 together. Step 2: the LCM of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 is 60. (4 = 2², 6 = 2 × 3, so LCM = 2² × 3 × 5 = 60.) Step 3: within 180 days, the common days are 60, 120 and 180, which is 3 times. So (b), (c) and (d) fail.
Tip: 'meet together every…' questions are LCM questions. Then divide the period by the LCM (180 ÷ 60 = 3). Check the wording: if day 0 were counted as a meeting day, the answer would change, but here the count starts after day 0.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
In a rare coin collection, there is one gold for every three non-gold coins. 10 more gold coins are added to the collection and the ratio of gold coins to non-gold coins would be 1 : 2. Based on the information, the total number of coins in the collection now becomes
Answer (a) & explanation
90 is correct (a). Step 1: gold to non-gold is 1 : 3, so let gold = k and non-gold = 3k. Non-gold coins do not change. Step 2: after adding 10 gold coins, (k + 10) : 3k = 1 : 2. So 2(k + 10) = 3k, which gives 2k + 20 = 3k, and k = 20. Step 3: now gold = 20 + 10 = 30 and non-gold = 60. Total = 90. Check: 30 : 60 = 1 : 2. So (b), (c) and (d) fail.
Tip: in ratio-change questions, fix the quantity that stays the same (non-gold coins here) and build the equation around it. Always check the new ratio with your final numbers.
the question asks for the total now, after adding 10. 80 is the old total.
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Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Variations in the length of daytime and nighttime from season to season are due to
Answer (d) & explanation
Revolution of the earth on a tilted axis is correct (d). The Earth's axis is tilted about 23.5°. As the Earth revolves round the Sun, each hemisphere leans towards the Sun for part of the year, getting long days and summer, and away from it for the rest, getting short days and winter. (a) is wrong: rotation alone gives day and night, but not their changing lengths. (b) is wrong: the elliptical orbit changes the Earth–Sun distance only slightly and does not cause seasons. (c) is wrong: latitude affects how much day length varies, but it does not cause the seasonal change.
Notice the dates: the equinoxes (about 21 March and 23 September) give equal day and night everywhere; the solstices (21 June and 22 December) give the longest and shortest days. Trap: the Earth is actually closest to the Sun in January.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.