UPSC Prelims PYQs with explanations
Real questions from official papers, mapped to syllabus topics. Attempt each one; the answer and the reason appear instantly.
Consider the following statements :
- 1. Tight monetary policy of US Federal Reserve could lead to capital flight.
- 2. Capital flight may increase the interest cost of firms with existing External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs).
- 3. Devaluation of domestic currency decreases the currency risk associated with ECBs.
Which of the statements given above are correct ?
No official answer (question dropped) & notes
UPSC dropped this question, so no answer was counted. Still, the ideas are core economy. Statement 1 is sound: when the US Federal Reserve raises rates, investors pull money out of emerging markets for safer US returns. This is capital flight, and it weakens their currencies. Statement 2 is sound: a weaker rupee means a firm with External Commercial Borrowings needs more rupees to pay the same dollar interest. Statement 3 is wrong: devaluation raises, not lowers, the currency risk of foreign-currency loans.
Notice the 2013 "taper tantrum", when Fed hints sank the rupee. That is why the RBI asks firms to hedge ECBs and keeps large forex reserves.
UPSC did not evaluate this question, so no official answer exists. Use it for practice only.
UPSC dropped this question from evaluation; there is no official answer.
“Yogavasistha” was translated into Persian by Nizamuddin Panipati during the reign of :
Answer (a) & explanation
It was translated under Akbar (a). Nizamuddin Panipati made a Persian version of the Yogavasishtha in 1597, during Akbar's reign, for Prince Salim. Akbar's translation bureau (Maktab Khana) at Fatehpur Sikri put many Sanskrit works into Persian: the Mahabharata as the Razmnama, the Ramayana, the Atharvaveda and the mathematics text Lilavati. Humayun (b) ruled before this work. Shahjahan (c) is wrong, though his son Dara Shukoh translated the Upanishads as Sirr-i-Akbar. Aurangzeb (d) did not sponsor such translations.
Notice the idea behind it: Akbar's sulh-i-kul (peace with all) pushed dialogue between faiths. The Yogavasishtha itself teaches, through a talk between sage Vasishtha and Rama, that the world is like a dream.
Dara Shukoh's translation work tempts you towards Shahjahan. The Yogavasishtha is an Akbar-period work.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
In some places in the world, the productivity of staples such as rice and wheat has reached a plateau. Neither new strains nor fancy agrochemicals are raising the yields. Nor is there much unfarmed land left that is suitable to be brought under the plough. If global temperature continues to rise, some places will become unsuitable for farming. Application of technology can help overcome these problems. Agricultural technology is changing fast. Much of this change is brought about by affluent farmers in the West/Americas. Techniques developed in the West are being adapted in some places to make tropical crops more productive. Technology is of little use if it is not adapted. In the developing world, that applies as much to existing farming techniques as it does to the latest advances in genetic modification. Extending to the smallholders and subsistence farmers of Africa and Asia the best of today’s agricultural practices, in such simple matters as how much fertilizers to apply and when, would lead to a greatly increased availability of food for humanity. So would things like better roads and storage facilities, to allow for the carriage of surpluses to markets and reduce wastage.
Based on the above passage, the following assumptions have been made :
- 1. Development of agricultural technology is confined to developed countries.
- 2. Agricultural technology is not adapted in developing countries.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?
Answer (d) & explanation
Neither assumption is valid (d). Step 1: the passage says "much of" the change in farm technology comes from the West. "Much of" is not "all of", so technology is not confined to developed countries (1 fails). Step 2: it says Western techniques "are being adapted in some places" to make tropical crops more productive. So statement 2, that technology is not adapted in developing countries, is false. Step 3: so options (a), (b) and (c) fail.
Tip: watch absolute words like "confined" and "not adapted". One line saying "much of" or "some places" is enough to reject them.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
If presents bring less thrill now that we are grown up, perhaps it is because we have too much already; or perhaps it is because we have lost the fullness of the joy of giving, and with it the fullness of the joy of receiving. Children’s fears are poignant, their miseries are acute, but they do not look too forward nor too far backward. Their joys are clear and complete, because they have not yet learnt always to add ‘but’ to every proposition. Perhaps we are too cautious, too anxious, too sceptical. Perhaps some of our cares would shrink if we thought less about them and entered with more single-minded enjoyment into the happiness that come our way.
The author of the passage is against
Answer (a) & explanation
The author is against worrying too much about the past and future (a). Step 1: the passage says children's joys are complete because they "do not look too forward nor too far backward". Step 2: it adds that our cares might shrink "if we thought less about them". So the author is against too much worrying about past and future. That is (a). Step 3: option (b), thinking about presents, misreads the word "presents". Options (c) and (d) are not what the author criticises.
Tip: here "presents" means gifts, not the present time. Read the wording closely; UPSC builds traps on such double meanings.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to the Indian economy, what are the advantages of "Inflation-Indexed Bonds (IIBs)" ?
- 1. Government can reduce the coupon rates on its borrowing by way of IIBs.
- 2. IIBs provide protection to the investors from uncertainty regarding inflation.
- 3. The interest received as well as capital gains on IIBs are not taxable.
Which of the statements given above are correct ?
Answer (a) & explanation
Statements 1 and 2 are correct (a). In an Inflation-Indexed Bond, the principal, and so the interest, is adjusted for inflation. Statement 2 is right: this protects the investor's real return from uncertain inflation. Statement 1 is right: because of this cover, investors accept a lower coupon, which saves the government money on its borrowing. Statement 3 is wrong: there is no tax break; interest and capital gains on IIBs are taxable like any other bond.
Notice that India's IIBs of 2013 were linked to the WPI, and later ones to the CPI, but they drew little interest. Other countries' versions include the US TIPS. The Sovereign Gold Bond (2015) offered a different hedge, linked to gold prices.
statement 3 adds a tax benefit that sounds attractive. Indian IIBs never had one.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
In the context of vaccines manufactured to prevent COVID-19 pandemic, consider the following statements :
- 1. The Serum Institute of India produced COVID-19 vaccine named Covishield using mRNA platform.
- 2. Sputnik V vaccine is manufactured using vector based platform.
- 3. COVAXIN is an inactivated pathogen based vaccine.
Which of the statements given above are correct ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Statements 2 and 3 are correct (b). Statement 1 is wrong: Covishield, the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India, uses a chimpanzee adenovirus vector (ChAdOx1), not mRNA. Statement 2 is right: Sputnik V, from Russia's Gamaleya Institute, uses two human adenovirus vectors (Ad26 and Ad5). Statement 3 is right: Bharat Biotech's Covaxin uses a whole inactivated virus that cannot cause disease.
Notice that the mRNA vaccines were Pfizer-BioNTech's, Moderna's and India's own Gemcovac (Gennova). The 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine went to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for the mRNA work. Covishield was withdrawn in 2024 after rare clotting side effects drew attention.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
In India, what is the role of the Coal Controller's Organization (CCO) ?
- 1. CCO is the major source of Coal Statistics in Government of India.
- 2. It monitors progress of development of Captive Coal/Lignite blocks.
- 3. It hears any objection to the Government's notification relating to acquisition of coal-bearing areas.
- 4. It ensures that coal mining companies deliver the coal to end users in the prescribed time.
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
Answer (a) & explanation
Statements 1, 2 and 3 are correct (a). The Coal Controller's Organisation, based in Kolkata under the Ministry of Coal, does three things named here. Statement 1 is right: it is the main source of coal statistics in the Government of India. Statement 2 is right: it monitors progress of captive coal and lignite blocks. Statement 3 is right: it hears objections to notifications for acquiring coal-bearing land under the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957. Statement 4 is wrong: timely delivery of coal to buyers is a commercial matter between companies and their customers.
Notice that Coal India produces about three-quarters of India's coal. Commercial coal mining by private firms was opened up in 2020.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following pairs :
| Site of Ashoka’s major rock edicts | Location in the State of
| 1. Dhauli | Odisha
| 2. Erragudi | Andhra Pradesh
| 3. Jaugada | Madhya Pradesh
| 4. Kalsi | Karnataka
How many pairs given above are correctly matched ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Two pairs are correctly matched (b). Pair 1 is right: Dhauli, near Bhubaneswar, is in Odisha. Pair 2 is right: Erragudi (Yerragudi) is in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh. Pair 3 is wrong: Jaugada, in Ganjam district, is also in Odisha, not Madhya Pradesh. At both Dhauli and Jaugada, the separate Kalinga edicts replace Rock Edicts XI–XIII, which speak of the Kalinga war. Pair 4 is wrong: Kalsi is in Dehradun district, Uttarakhand, not Karnataka.
Notice the other major rock edict sites: Girnar (Gujarat), Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra (Pakistan), Sopara (Maharashtra), Kandahar (Afghanistan) and Sannati (Karnataka). The Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra edicts are in Kharoshthi script; most others are in Brahmi.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
Natural selection cannot anticipate future environments on the earth. Therefore, the set of existing organisms can never be fully prepared for environmental catastrophes that await life. An outcome of this is the extinction of those species which cannot overcome environmental adversity. This failure to survive, in modern terms, can be attributed to the genomes which are unable to withstand geological vagaries or biological mishaps (infections, diseases and so on). In biological evolution on the earth, extinction of species has been a major feature. The earth may presently have up to ten million species, yet more than 90% of species that have ever lived on the earth are now extinct. Once again, the creationist doctrines fail to satisfactorily address why a divine creator will firstly bother to create millions of species and then allow them to perish. The Darwinian explanation for extinct life is once again simple, elegant and at once convincing—organisms go extinct as a function of environmental or biological assaults for which their inheritance deems them ill-equipped. Therefore, the so-called Darwinian theory of evolution is not a theory at all. Evolution happens—this is a fact. The mechanism of evolution (Darwin proposed natural selection) is amply supported by scientific data. Indeed, to date no single zoological, botanical, geological, paleontological, genetic or physical evidence has refuted either of the central two main Darwinian ideas. If religion is not taken into consideration, Darwinian laws are acceptable just like the laws proposed by Copernicus, Galileo, Newton and Einstein—sets of natural laws that explain natural phenomena in the universe.
The passage suggests that Darwinian theory of evolution is not a theory at all because
Answer (b) & explanation
UPSC's key gives (b): extinction is a function of environment and biological assaults. Step 1: the passage says organisms "go extinct as a function of environmental or biological assaults". Step 2: the very next line says "Therefore", Darwinian theory is "not a theory at all". UPSC links the "therefore" to this line. The author means evolution is a fact, not just a theory. Step 3: option (c), no evidence to refute it, comes later in the passage. Options (a) and (d) are creationist ideas the author rejects.
Tip: when a question asks "because", look for the line just before "therefore". Here the author argues evolution is so well shown that it is a fact.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Two candidates X and Y contested an election. 80% of voters cast their vote and there were no invalid votes. There was no NOTA (None of the above) option. X got 56% of the votes cast and won by 1440 votes. What is the total number of voters in the voters list?
Answer (a) & explanation
The voters list has 15000 names (a). Step 1: there are only two candidates and no invalid votes. X got 56%, so Y got 44%. Step 2: X won by 56 − 44 = 12% of votes cast = 1440. So votes cast = 1440 ÷ 0.12 = 12000. Step 3: votes cast are 80% of the list. So the list = 12000 ÷ 0.8 = 15000. Option (b), 12000, is the votes cast, not the list. Options (c) and (d) are miscalculations.
Tip: the winning margin is the difference in percentages. Then work back step by step to the base you need.
12000 is the votes cast, not the voters list. It is the trap option.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
- 1. Attorney General of India and Solicitor General of India are the only officers of the Government who are allowed to participate in the meetings of the Parliament of India.
- 2. According to the Constitution of India, the Attorney General of India submits his resignation when the Government which appointed him resigns.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (d) & explanation
Neither statement is correct (d). Statement 1 is wrong: under Article 88, the right to speak in and take part in the proceedings of Parliament belongs to ministers and the Attorney General, not the Solicitor General. The AG cannot vote. Statement 2 is wrong: under Article 76, the Attorney General holds office during the pleasure of the President. Resigning when the government changes is a convention, not a rule in the Constitution.
Notice that the AG must be qualified to be a Supreme Court judge, is the government's chief legal adviser, and is not a member of the Cabinet. The Solicitor General and Additional Solicitors General are not constitutional posts. The State-level counterpart is the Advocate General (Article 165).
"only" plus the wrong officer. The Solicitor General is not a constitutional post.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The “Miyawaki method” is well known for the :
Answer (c) & explanation
The Miyawaki method creates mini forests in urban areas (c). Developed by the Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki in the 1970s, the method plants many native species, about three to five saplings per square metre, very close together on small plots, in layers from shrubs to tall trees. The saplings compete for light and grow about ten times faster, so a dense mini forest forms in two to three years, which suits cities. Option (a) is wrong: it is not about commercial farming. Option (b) is wrong: it uses native, not GM, plants. Option (d) is wrong: it has nothing to do with wind energy.
Notice its use in Indian cities such as Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Critics say such small plots cannot replace natural forests.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following countries :
- 1. Armenia
- 2. Azerbaijan
- 3. Croatia
- 4. Romania
- 5. Uzbekistan
Which of the above are members of the Organization of Turkic States ?
Answer (c) & explanation
Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan are members (c). The Organization of Turkic States, renamed from the Turkic Council in 2021, has five members: Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Hungary, Turkmenistan and the self-declared Northern Cyprus are observers. Item 1 is wrong: Armenia is not Turkic and has a long conflict with Azerbaijan and Turkey. Items 3 and 4 are wrong: Croatia and Romania are European, non-Turkic states. So options (a), (b) and (d) fall.
Notice the link with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in which Turkey backed Azerbaijan; Azerbaijan took the region in 2023. The group's headquarters is in Istanbul, and it pushes trade routes across the Caspian called the Middle Corridor.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
“In simple matters like shoe-making, we think only a specially trained person will serve our purpose, but in politics, we presume that everyone who knows how to get votes knows how to administer a State. When we are ill, we call for a trained physician, whose degree is a guarantee of specific preparation and technical competence—we do not ask for the handsomest physician, or the most eloquent one : well then, when the whole State is ill should we not look for the service and guidance of the wisest and the best?”
Which one of the following statements best reflects the message of the author of the passage?
Answer (c) & explanation
The author's message is that we need a way to bar incompetence from public office (c). Step 1: the passage says we want a trained shoemaker and a trained doctor. Yet in politics we assume anyone who can get votes can run a State. Step 2: it ends: when the State is ill, we should seek "the wisest and the best". So incompetence must be kept out. That is (c). Step 3: option (a) is the assumption the author criticises. Option (b), only administrators, is narrower than his point. Option (d) goes against the passage.
Tip: this is Plato's argument in the Republic. Don't pick the view the author attacks; pick the one he argues for.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
The demographic dividend, which has begun in India and is expected to last another few decades, is a great window of opportunity. The demographic dividend is basically a swelling in the working age population, which conversely means that the relative ratio of very young and very old will, for a while, be on the decline. From the experience of Ireland and China, we know that this can be a source of energy and an engine of economic growth. The demographic dividend tends to raise a nation’s savings rate since in any nation, it is the working age population that is the main saver. And since the savings rate is an important driver of growth, this should help elevate our growth rate. However, the benefits of demographic dividend depend on the quality of the working age population. And this implies bringing back the importance of education, acquisition of skills and human capital.
Which of the following would invariably happen in a country, when the demographic dividend has begun to operate?
- 1. The number of illiterate people will decrease.
- 2. The ratio of very old and very young will decrease for a while.
- 3. Population growth rate will quickly stabilize.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (b) & explanation
Only statement 2 happens invariably (b). Step 1: the passage defines the demographic dividend as a swelling working-age population. It says this means the ratio of very young and very old will decline "for a while" (2). That always happens by definition. Step 2: statement 1, fewer illiterates, depends on policy. The passage says benefits depend on education, not that literacy rises automatically. Step 3: statement 3, population growth stabilising quickly, is not mentioned. So options (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Tip: "invariably" means always. Only what is true by definition passes; outcomes that need policy action do not.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
What is the value of X in the sequence 2, 12, 36, 80, 150, X?
Answer (b) & explanation
X is 252 (b). Step 1: look for a pattern: 2 = 1 × 2, 12 = 4 × 3, 36 = 9 × 4, 80 = 16 × 5, 150 = 25 × 6. Step 2: each term is n² × (n + 1). Step 3: the next term is 6² × 7 = 36 × 7 = 252. Options (a) 248, (c) 258 and (d) 262 do not fit this pattern.
Tip: when terms grow fast but not by a fixed ratio, try squares or cubes times a simple number. Here n² × (n + 1) = n³ + n².
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
In the northern hemisphere, the longest day of the year normally occurs in the :
Answer (b) & explanation
The longest day is in the second half of June (b). The summer solstice falls on 20–21 June, when the sun is overhead at the Tropic of Cancer (23.5° N). That gives the northern hemisphere its longest day and shortest night. North of the Arctic Circle, the sun does not set at all. So option (b), the second half of June, is right. Options (a), (c) and (d) miss the solstice date.
Notice the other key dates: the winter solstice (shortest day) on 21–22 December, when the sun is over the Tropic of Capricorn, and the equinoxes on about 21 March and 23 September, when day and night are nearly equal. The seasons happen because Earth's axis is tilted by about 23.5°.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following States :
- 1. Andhra Pradesh
- 2. Kerala
- 3. Himachal Pradesh
- 4. Tripura
How many of the above are generally known as tea-producing States ?
Answer (d) & explanation
All four are tea-producing states (d). Beyond the big three, Assam, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, the Tea Board lists many smaller tea states. Kerala grows tea around Munnar and Wayanad. Himachal Pradesh has Kangra tea, which has a GI tag. Tripura has old tea gardens linked to the Barak valley belt. Andhra Pradesh grows tea in the tribal Araku and Paderu hills. So options (a), (b) and (c) all undercount.
Notice the geography: tea needs warm, wet weather, well-drained slopes and acidic soil, which is why it grows on hill slopes, not flat plains where water collects. India is the world's second-largest tea producer after China, and the largest consumer.
Small growers count too: Kangra and Araku are small producers, but they are still tea states.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The world’s second tallest statue in sitting pose of Ramanuja was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India at Hyderabad recently. Which one of the following statements correctly represents the teachings of Ramanuja ?
Answer (a) & explanation
Ramanuja taught that devotion is the best way to salvation (a). Ramanuja (11th–12th century) taught Vishishtadvaita, or qualified non-dualism: the soul is real but depends on a personal God, Vishnu. The way to moksha is bhakti and prapatti, complete surrender to God. Option (b) is the Mimamsa view of the Vedas as eternal and self-existent. Option (c) fits the Nyaya school, which stressed logic. Option (d) fits Yoga, or Shankara's path of knowledge and meditation.
Notice the Statue of Equality, a 216-foot seated statue at Muchintal near Hyderabad, unveiled in 2022. It marks his 1000th birth anniversary and his teaching that all people, of any caste, can reach God through devotion.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
In some places in the world, the productivity of staples such as rice and wheat has reached a plateau. Neither new strains nor fancy agrochemicals are raising the yields. Nor is there much unfarmed land left that is suitable to be brought under the plough. If global temperature continues to rise, some places will become unsuitable for farming. Application of technology can help overcome these problems. Agricultural technology is changing fast. Much of this change is brought about by affluent farmers in the West/Americas. Techniques developed in the West are being adapted in some places to make tropical crops more productive. Technology is of little use if it is not adapted. In the developing world, that applies as much to existing farming techniques as it does to the latest advances in genetic modification. Extending to the smallholders and subsistence farmers of Africa and Asia the best of today’s agricultural practices, in such simple matters as how much fertilizers to apply and when, would lead to a greatly increased availability of food for humanity. So would things like better roads and storage facilities, to allow for the carriage of surpluses to markets and reduce wastage.
Based on the above passage, the following assumptions have been made :
- 1. Poor countries need to bring about change in their existing farming techniques.
- 2. Developed countries have better infrastructure and they waste less food.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?
Answer (a) & explanation
Only assumption 1 is valid (a). Step 1: the passage says spreading "the best of today's agricultural practices" to smallholders in Africa and Asia would greatly increase food. This assumes poor countries must change their current farming methods (1). Step 2: it mentions roads and storage to cut wastage, but it never compares developed and poor countries on infrastructure or waste (2). Step 3: so options (b), (c) and (d) fail.
Tip: an assumption must be needed for the author's argument. A comparison the author never makes cannot be an assumption.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.