UPSC Prelims PYQs with explanations
Real questions from official papers, mapped to syllabus topics. Attempt each one; the answer and the reason appear instantly.
With reference to agriculture in India, how can the technique of ‘genome sequencing’ often seen in the news, be used in the immediate future ?
- 1. Genome sequencing can be used to identify genetic markers for disease resistance and drought tolerance in various crop plants.
- 2. This technique helps in reducing the time required to develop new varieties of crop plants.
- 3. It can be used to decipher the host-pathogen relationships in crops.
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
Answer (d) & explanation
All three are correct (d). Genome sequencing reads an organism's full DNA. In crops, it helps scientists find genetic markers for traits such as disease resistance and drought tolerance (1). These markers drive marker-assisted selection, which can cut years off breeding new varieties (2). Sequencing both the crop and its pathogen shows how infection works, revealing host–pathogen relationships (3) and helping to design resistance.
India helped sequence rice, wheat, tomato and chickpea. Notice the new tools: in 2025, ICAR released the world's first genome-edited rice varieties (DRR Dhan 100 Kamala and Pusa DST Rice 1) using SDN-1/2 editing, which India exempts from GM rules. Pusa Basmati 1509 with blast resistance came from marker-assisted breeding.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
- 1. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) helps in promoting the financial inclusion in the country.
- 2. NPCI has launched RuPay, a card payment scheme.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Answer (c) & explanation
Both statements are correct (c). The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), set up in 2008, is a not-for-profit company under Section 8 of the Companies Act. It was formed by banks under RBI guidance through the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. It runs RuPay (2), India's own card network, which is issued free with Jan Dhan accounts, as well as UPI, IMPS, AePS, NACH, FASTag (NETC) and BBPS. These cheap domestic payment systems support financial inclusion (1).
The international arm, NIPL, takes UPI and RuPay abroad. Notice that RuPay is now accepted in Singapore, the UAE, Bhutan and Nepal, and RuPay credit cards can link to UPI. NPCI also limits any one UPI app's share of the market.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
By 2020, when the global economy is expected to run short of 56 million young people, India, with its youth surplus of 47 million, could fill the gap. It is in this context that labour reforms are often cited as the way to unlock double-digit growth in India. In 2014, India’s labour force was estimated to be about 40 per cent of the population, but 93 per cent of this force was in unorganized sector. Over the last decade, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of employment has slowed to 0·5 per cent, with about 14 million jobs created during last year when the labour force increased by about 15 million.
Which of the following is the most rational inference from the above passage?
Answer (b) & explanation
The rational inference is that labour reforms are needed to use India's large workforce productively (b). Step 1: the passage says about 93% of India's workforce is unorganised, and calls labour reform "the way to unlock double-digit growth". That is option (b). Step 2: option (c) says India will reach double-digit growth very soon. But the passage notes slow job growth, so that is not certain. Step 3: option (d) calls the youth skilled, which the passage never says. Option (a), population control, is not discussed.
Tip: an inference should not promise more than the passage. "Very soon" and "skilled" are added claims, so reject them. India's four labour codes, in force since 21 November 2025, are such a reform.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
There are 4 horizontal and 4 vertical lines, parallel and equidistant to one another on a board. What is the maximum number of rectangles and squares that can be formed?
Answer (c) & explanation
The maximum number of rectangles and squares is 36 (c). Step 1: any rectangle, including a square, needs 2 horizontal lines and 2 vertical lines as its sides. Step 2: ways to pick 2 lines out of 4: (1,2), (1,3), (1,4), (2,3), (2,4), (3,4). That is 6 ways. Step 3: total = horizontal choices × vertical choices = 6 × 6 = 36. Four lines each way make a 3 × 3 grid, with only 9 small squares, so options (a), (b) and (d) undercount or overcount.
Tip: with m horizontal and n vertical lines, rectangles = (m choose 2) × (n choose 2). Squares are included in this count.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
(Same information as the question above.)
To which city does the Lecturer specialized in Economics belong?
Answer (b) & explanation
The Economics lecturer is from Mumbai (b). Step 1: list the cities already fixed: C is from Delhi, D Shillong, F Srinagar and G Chennai. B teaches Geography, so B is from Kanpur. Step 2: that leaves Hyderabad and Mumbai for A and E. Step 3: A teaches Economics and is not from Hyderabad (clue 5). So A is from Mumbai. Option (a), Hyderabad, is ruled out by clue 5. Option (c) is wrong because one of the two must fit. Option (d) fails because the answer is clear.
Tip: when two people share two places, one "not" clue settles both. Keep track of the cities still free as you go.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following are the objectives of ‘National Nutrition Mission’ ?
- 1. To create awareness relating to malnutrition among pregnant women and lactating mothers.
- 2. To reduce the incidence of anaemia among young children, adolescent girls and women.
- 3. To promote the consumption of millets, coarse cereals and unpolished rice.
- 4. To promote the consumption of poultry eggs.
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
Answer (a) & explanation
Statements 1 and 2 are correct (a). The National Nutrition Mission, or POSHAN Abhiyaan, launched in March 2018 at Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, aims to reduce stunting, undernutrition, low birth weight and anaemia among children, adolescent girls and women (2). It works through convergence of schemes, technology such as the Poshan Tracker, and Jan Andolan campaigns that raise awareness among pregnant women and nursing mothers (1). Statements 3 and 4 are wrong because promoting millets, coarse grains or eggs was not among its stated objectives.
It has since merged into Mission Poshan 2.0 (Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0), which does push millets. Notice the yearly Poshan Maah in September and Poshan Pakhwada in March.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
For election to the Lok Sabha, a nomination paper can be filed by
Answer (c) & explanation
Any citizen whose name is on an electoral roll can file (c). Under Section 4(d) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, a Lok Sabha candidate must be an elector for any parliamentary constituency in India. They need not live in or be registered in the constituency they contest, so (b) is wrong. Being a resident (a) or just a citizen (d) is not enough. The person must be on a roll and must also meet Article 84: Indian citizenship, the oath, and a minimum age of 25. Reserved seats need an SC/ST candidate from any State.
Rajya Sabha candidates need to be 30, and since 2003 they need not live in the State they represent (Kuldip Nayar, 2006). Notice that a candidate can contest at most two seats (Section 33(7)).
(b) residence in the same constituency is not needed. (d) citizenship alone is not enough.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
- 1. The Election Commission of India is a five-member body.
- 2. Union Ministry of Home Affairs decides the election schedule for the conduct of both general elections and bye-elections.
- 3. Election Commission resolves the disputes relating to splits/mergers of recognised political parties.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (d) & explanation
Only statement 3 is correct (d). Statement 1 is wrong because the Election Commission has been a three-member body since 1993: the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners. Statement 2 is wrong because the Commission itself fixes the schedule for general elections and by-elections, not the Home Ministry. Statement 3 is right because, under paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, it decides disputes between rival groups of a recognised party, as it did for the Shiv Sena and NCP in 2023–24.
Under the CEC and Other ECs Act, 2023, a panel of the PM, the Leader of the Opposition and a Union Minister chooses the members. Notice the earlier case Anoop Baranwal (2023), which had included the CJI on that panel.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
“Rights are certain advantageous conditions of social well-being indispensable to the true development of the citizen.”
In the light of this statement, which one of the following is the correct understanding of rights?
Answer (c) & explanation
Rights aim at both individual and social good (c). Step 1: the statement calls rights conditions "of social well-being" that are needed for "the true development of the citizen". So rights serve society and the individual at once. That is option (c). Step 2: option (a), individual good only, keeps half of the definition. Option (b), social good only, keeps the other half. Step 3: option (d), individual good without social well-being, contradicts the words "social well-being".
Tip: options with "only" often cut a two-part definition in half. When a statement names two aims, pick the option that keeps both. This view of rights is linked to the thinker Harold Laski.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Certain 3-digit numbers have the following characteristics :
- 1. All the three digits are different.
- 2. The number is divisible by 7.
- 3. The number on reversing the digits is also divisible by 7.
How many such 3-digit numbers are there?
Answer (b) & explanation
There are 4 such numbers (b). Step 1: write the number as 100a + 10b + c. Number − reverse = 99(a − c). Both are divisible by 7, so 7 must divide 99(a − c). Since 7 does not divide 99, it must divide a − c. Step 2: the digits are all different, so a ≠ c. So a − c = ±7, giving end digits (1, 8), (8, 1), (2, 9), (9, 2). Step 3: test middle digits for each: 168, 861, 259 and 952 all work (168 = 7 × 24, 259 = 7 × 37). That is 4 numbers. Options (a), (c) and (d) do not fit.
Tip: number − reverse is always a multiple of 99 for 3-digit numbers. This fact unlocks many reversal puzzles.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to the Parliament of India, consider the following statements :
- 1. A private member's bill is a bill presented by a Member of Parliament who is not elected but only nominated by the President of India.
- 2. Recently, a private member's bill has been passed in the Parliament of India for the first time in its history.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (d) & explanation
Neither statement is correct (d). Statement 1 is wrong because a private member is any MP who is not a minister, whether elected or nominated. A nominated member is just one kind of private member. Statement 2 is wrong because private members' Bills have become law before. Fourteen have been passed since 1952, and the last was in 1970: the Supreme Court (Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Act. In 2015 the Rajya Sabha passed Tiruchi Siva's transgender rights Bill, the first in 45 years to clear one House, but it never passed the Lok Sabha.
Private members' business is taken up on Friday afternoons. Notice how such Bills shape debate even when they fail: the government later passed its own Transgender Persons Act, 2019.
"private" does not mean "nominated". It means "not a minister".
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to the 'National Intellectual Property Rights Policy', consider the following statements :
- 1. It reiterates India's commitment to the Doha Development Agenda and the TRIPS Agreement.
- 2. Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion is the nodal agency for regulating intellectual property rights in India.
Which of the above statements is/are correct ?
Answer (c) & explanation
Both statements are correct (c). The National IPR Policy (May 2016), with the slogan "Creative India; Innovative India", reaffirms India's commitment to the Doha Development Agenda and the TRIPS Agreement (1). It keeps flexibilities such as compulsory licensing for public health. It made DIPP (now DPIIT) the nodal department for IPR (2), moving copyright and semiconductor layout designs there from other ministries. It has seven objectives, including awareness, IP commercialisation and enforcement.
CIPAM was set up to carry it out. Notice India's careful approach under Section 3(d) of the Patents Act, which blocks "evergreening" of drug patents, as upheld in the Novartis (Glivec) case of 2013.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following in respect of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) :
- 1. Inaugural IONS was held in India in 2015 under the chairmanship of the Indian Navy.
- 2. IONS is a voluntary initiative that seeks to increase maritime co-operation among navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region.
Which of the above statements is/are correct ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Only statement 2 is correct (b). Statement 1 is wrong because the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium was started by the Indian Navy in 2008 in New Delhi, not in 2015. Statement 2 is right because IONS is a voluntary forum where the navies of the Indian Ocean coastal states share information and cooperate on maritime security, disaster relief (HADR), piracy and information sharing. Its chair rotates among members, and it has about 25 members and 9 observers.
India took the chair again in 2025. Notice India's wider Indian Ocean policies: SAGAR (2015), now MAHASAGAR (2025), the IFC-IOR information centre in Gurugram, and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), which is a separate economic body.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following is not a feature of Indian federalism?
Answer (d) & explanation
Indian federalism is not the result of an agreement among the units (d). Article 1 calls India a "Union of States". Ambedkar explained that the federation did not come from an agreement among States, so no State has the right to leave it. This is unlike the USA, where independent states agreed to form a union. The other options are real features. India has an independent judiciary to settle Centre–State disputes (a). Powers are divided through the Seventh Schedule (b). States have unequal representation in the Rajya Sabha according to population (c), unlike the US Senate.
K. C. Wheare called India "quasi-federal". Notice the Supreme Court's view in S. R. Bommai (1994): federalism is part of the basic structure.
(c) sounds unfederal, but unequal Rajya Sabha seats are in fact how India works. The question asks what is not a feature.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Suppose the average weight of 9 persons is 50 kg. The average weight of the first 5 persons is 45 kg, whereas the average weight of the last 5 persons is 55 kg. Then the weight of the 5th person will be
Answer (c) & explanation
The 5th person weighs 50 kg (c). Step 1: total of all 9 = 9 × 50 = 450 kg. Step 2: total of the first 5 = 5 × 45 = 225 kg. Total of the last 5 = 5 × 55 = 275 kg. Step 3: the first five and the last five together make 10 people. But there are only 9, so the 5th person is counted twice. 225 + 275 − 450 = 50 kg. Option (a), 45 kg, is the first group's average. Options (b) and (d) are guesses between the averages.
Tip: when two groups overlap, add their totals and subtract the whole. What is left is the overlap. This trick saves time in many average questions.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
In a certain code, '256' means 'red colour chalk', '589' means 'green colour flower' and '254' means 'white colour chalk'. The digit in the code that indicates 'white' is
Answer (b) & explanation
The digit for 'white' is 4 (b). Step 1: compare '256' = 'red colour chalk' with '254' = 'white colour chalk'. Step 2: both share the words colour and chalk, and both share the digits 2 and 5. Step 3: the only change is red to white, and 6 to 4. So white = 4. Option (c), 5, is shared by all three codes, so it means 'colour'. Option (a), 2, is shared by the chalk codes, so it means 'chalk'. Option (d), 8, belongs to 'green' or 'flower'.
Tip: in word-code questions, compare two codes that differ in only one word. The digit that changes is the code for that word.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Who among the following was/were associated with the introduction of Ryotwari Settlement in India during the British rule ?
- 1. Lord Cornwallis
- 2. Alexander Read
- 3. Thomas Munro
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
Answer (c) & explanation
Alexander Read and Thomas Munro introduced Ryotwari (c). The Ryotwari system, where the cultivator (ryot) paid revenue directly to the state, began in the Baramahal district under Alexander Read in 1792, with Thomas Munro as his assistant. Munro, as Governor of Madras (1820–27), spread it across the presidency, and Elphinstone took it to Bombay. Statement 1 is wrong because Lord Cornwallis brought in the Permanent Settlement (1793) with zamindars in Bengal.
Revenue under Ryotwari was very high, often 45–55% of the produce, and it was revised every 20–30 years. Notice the third system: Mahalwari (Holt Mackenzie, 1822; later Bird and Thomason) in the North-West Provinces and Punjab, settled with the whole village community.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The main advantage of the parliamentary form of government is that
Answer (c) & explanation
The main advantage is that the executive stays responsible to the legislature (c). In a parliamentary system, the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha under Article 75(3). It must answer every day through questions, debates and motions, and it can be removed by a no-confidence motion. Option (a) describes a presidential system, where the two branches work separately. Option (b) is wrong because stability and continuity are seen as the strengths of the presidential system. Option (d) is wrong because the head of government can be changed without an election.
The Constituent Assembly chose responsibility over stability, as Ambedkar explained. Notice the features of the parliamentary system: a nominal head of state, dual executive, majority rule, and collective responsibility.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The term ‘M-STrIPES’ is sometimes seen in the news in the context of
Answer (b) & explanation
M-STrIPES is used to manage tiger reserves (b). M-STrIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers – Intensive Protection and Ecological Status) is a GPS-based mobile app brought in by the NTCA and the Wildlife Institute of India in 2010. Forest guards use it to record patrol routes, wildlife sightings, poaching signs and habitat data, which gives managers a live picture of protection in each reserve. It has nothing to do with captive breeding (a), NavIC (c), or highway security (d).
Data from M-STrIPES feeds into the All India Tiger Estimation, which counted 3,682 tigers in 2022. Notice the related tools: camera traps, the Management Effectiveness Evaluation of reserves, and the CA|TS global standard for tiger sites.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
The very first lesson that should be taught to us when we are old enough to understand it, is that complete freedom from the obligation to work is unnatural, and ought to be illegal, as we can escape our share of the burden of work only by throwing it on someone else’s shoulders. Nature ordains that the human race shall perish of famine if it stops working. We cannot escape from this tyranny. The question we have to settle is how much leisure we can afford to allow ourselves.
The main idea of the passage is that
Answer (a) & explanation
The main idea is that work is essential for human beings (a). Step 1: the passage says freedom from work is "unnatural", and humanity "shall perish of famine if it stops working". So work is necessary for survival. Step 2: option (b), a balance of work and leisure, is raised only near the end, not as the main idea. Step 3: option (c) calls work a tyranny we must face. The word "tyranny" is a figure of speech in the passage, not its message. Option (d), understanding the nature of work, is too vague.
Tip: the main idea is the claim the author repeats and backs with reasons. A colourful word used once is rarely the point.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.