UPSC Civil Services Examination 2016: Mains General Studies Paper 3 Analysis

Analysis - UPSC CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION 2016 (Mains)

#1. GENERAL STUDIES [PAPER-3]

Overall analysis

• Both in Prelims-2016 and Mains-2016, there seems to be a trend of asking ‘current’ affairs that are way past their expiry date.
• Mars Orbital Mission, Jan Dhan, Jobless growth, Smart cities - questions needed precise and exact knowledge to answer.
• This paper requires precise and focused writing skills.
• Overall this was a moderate paper in difficulty level.

Comparison with Past Papers

Topic-wise breakup

#1.1. Economics

• Question on women budgeting, again a women empowerment question in a simple language,but requires an indepth knowledge and good writing skills.

(Q - Women empowerment in India needs gender budgeting. What are the requirements and status of gender budgeting in the Indian context?)

• Simple question related to sustainability (wider aspects and knowledge required)

(Q - What is water-use efficiency? Describe the role of micro-irrigation in increasing the water-use efficiency.)

• Questions on irrigation planning, govt scheme (fasal beema yojana) first time asked but were easy questions.

(Q - What is water-use efficiency? Describe the role of micro-irrigation in increasing the water-use efficiency.)

(Q - Given the vulnerability of Indian agriculture to vagaries of nature, discuss the need for crop insurance and bring out the salient features of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY))

• Question on allelopathy was an unexpected one and required great knowlwdge.

(Q - What is allelopathy? Discuss its role in major cropping systems of irrigated agriculture.)

#1.2. Disaster Management

• Trend shows that atleast one question is asked every year related to disaster management. This year two were asked.

Qustion related to flood was sort of expected and was an easy one.

(Q - The frequency of urban floods due to high intensity rainfall is increasing over the years. Discussing the reasons for urban floods. highlight the mechanisms for preparedness to reduce the risk during such events)

• The other question was also a regular type of question.

 (Q - With reference to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) guidelines, discuss the measures to be adopted to mitigate the impact of the recent incidents of cloudbursts in many places of Uttarakhand.).

#1.3. Science and Technology

• The question asked were general in nature and related to very common topics of national intersts as recent ISRO’s missions and PM’s aspiration for led lights in india totally reflected in the questions. Nothing extraordinary asked. Simple questions of precise knowledge were asked.

(Q - Give an account of the current status and the targets to be achieved pertaining to renewable energy sources in the country. Discuss in brief the importance of National Programme on Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs).)

(Q.Discuss India’s achievements in the field of Space Science and Technology. How the application of this technology has helped India in its socio-economic development?)

#1.4. Internal Security

• Simple themes were asked directly from the syllabus. In Internal Security, every year it has been the trend that topics come directly from the syllabus.
• Excellent question framing language to evaluate the strength of knowledge sphere of candidates BUT OVERALL EASY QUESTIONS FROM THAT PART.

(Q - Terrorism is emerging as a competitive industry over the last few decades.” Analyse the above statement.) 

(Q - The terms ‘Hot Pursuit’ and ‘Surgical Strikes’ are often used in connection with armed action against terrorist attacks. Discuss the strategic impact of such actions.)

#1.5. Ecology n Environment

• Simple and direct questions from the syllabus.

(Q - Rehabilitation of human settlements is one of the important environmental impacts which always attracts controversy while planning major projects. Discuss the measures suggested for mitigation of this impact while proposing major developmental projects.)

CONCLUDING NOTES

• Go through all the important govt schemes launched within 1-2 years of ambit.
• DEMONETISATION, its effect on economy and different parameters involved are important .
• RBI as an institution is important for next year.
• Terrorism related questions are always imp.
• Static part of ecnomcics can be studied through Sanjiv Verma.

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