GS 3 Sample Questions

                                                           Comparison Table

Trademark ATS 2018 Qs	UPSC GS 3 Mains 2018 Qs
“India needs to defend policies that make agriculture remunerative and stand by its poor at this stage of development”. Critically discuss.	Qs 3
What are the various methods of money-laundering? What could be the possible impacts of money-laundering?      & Connectivity of North-East with South-East Asia is an imperative for economic growth of the region as well as India. However, do you think that such an Open Door policy could be to the detriment of India’s security interests?	Qs 20
India is set to become the first and the only country to produce a national plan and local strategy targeted at reducing the losses caused by natural calamities. With this global plan, aimed at reducing losses during such mishaps, the country has earned praise from the United Nations. Comment.	Qs 18
Discuss, with instances, the role of supply chain logistics in respect of food processing and related industries in India.	Qs 4
Public sector food grain stocks are significant support of India’s food policy and food security. Critically examine.	Qs 3
Is insurgency in India a reflection of lack of governance or development? In this light, discuss the Maoist insurgency in particular.	Qs 10
As we target to have more smart cities, we need to have a better management of the basics of cyber security, money-laundering and urban terrorism funded by cross-border elements. Critically evaluate the statement.  &  In the era of big data, the debate between privacy and personalization will be ongoing. Big Data is a big deal today but confirming to privacy guidelines is equally important. Opine.	Qs 19,20
Do you think that gigantic projects like the Large Hadron Colider at CERN should be better avoided?  Bring out the pros and cons.	Qs 5
Should India join China’s ‘One Belt One Road’ programme? Post a debate. [GS 2 Sample]	Qs 9
How has Niti Ayog helped in promoting inclusive growth and in giving fillip to government's goal of ‘SABKA SAATH SABKA VIKAS’? [GS 2 Sample]	Qs 11
“India is one of the fast growing economies of the world. Associated with the rapid increase in incomes is rapid increase in the demand for energy.” Tell the tale for the quest of India’s energy security  [ATS 2017]	Qs 16

This is the 4th module in the series. 

These 60 questions of our Advance Test Series [ATS] 2018 pertain to GS III

Advance Test Series 2018
GS 3 : Indian Economy & Security Issues

Max Marks 250                                                                                                                     Max Time 180 min

All questions are compulsory. Marks are indicated against each question.

Questions with 15 marks have to be answered in 250 words
Questions with 10 marks have to be answered in 150 words

1.       What are the advantages of Integrated Farming System? Explain the Livestock-crop production system.                                       15

2.       “India needs to defend policies that make agriculture remunerative and stand by its poor at this stage of development”. Critically discuss.                   15

3.       More than half the respondents in the RBI consumer confidence survey do not expect any improvement in their income, their employment prospects and general economic conditions in the next one year. What is your take on this issue?                     15

4.       "The government’s perspective is that we need to look at telecom as an enabler, which is why, we have said revenue optimization, not revenue maximisation" Elaborate.                    15

5.       In recent times, what has the government done as far as Agri-Insurance is concerned?    10
 

6.       Post arguments and counter-arguments with respect to farm subsidies in India.               10

7.       Recently, the Supreme Court has said that diverting customers' money to other projects is a "criminal breach of trust" and the companies and promoters would be prosecuted for funneling the investors money to other ventures. What is your opinion on this?                  10

8.       Major reforms were undertaken over the past year. The transformational Goods and Services

Tax (GST) was launched at the stroke of midnight on July 1, 2017. And the long-festering

Twin Balance Sheet (TBS) problem was decisively addressed by sending the major stressed

companies for resolution under the new Indian Bankruptcy Code and implementing a major

recapitalization package to strengthen the public sector banks. Deliberate.                      15

9.       As Besley and Persson (2013) note, there is a social contract between citizens and the state. “The state's role,” they write, “is to create the conditions for prosperity for all by providing essential services and protecting the less well-off via redistribution. The citizen's part of the contract is to hold the state accountable when it fails to honor that contract.” In this context, if the performance over the last one year is considered, can we say that the Indian state has lived up to the expectations of its citizens?                15

10.    The skewed sex ratio in favor of males led to the identification of “missing” women. But there may be a meta-preference manifesting itself in fertility stopping rules contingent on the sex of the last child, which notionally creates “unwanted” girls, estimated at about 21 million. Critically examine.   10

11.    “Clearly, India needs to redouble its efforts to improve science and R&D in the country first

and foremost by doubling national expenditures on R&D with most of the increase coming from

the private sector and universities” Do you agree? Suggest more solutions to combat the scenario of improving science and R&D in India.             15

12.    “To re-ignite growth, raising investment is more important than raising savings”. Discuss.  10

13.    India jumped thirty places to break into the top 100 for the first time in the World Bank’s

Ease of Doing Business Report (EODB), 2018. What does it indicate? Is management of Tax litigation an essential component of Ease of Doing Business?              15

14.    “A compromise with local militant actors can achieve lasting peace only if it is democratic and built on the rule of law” Elucidate in the Indian context.               10

15.    What are the non-traditional security issues India should worry about?            10

16.    Article 355 of the Constitution enjoins the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance and to ensure that the Government of every State is carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. What are the roles of the different Central Armed Police Forces in this context?             15

17.    “One cannot have a great and powerful country if you cannot manage the internal security. It is only the policemen who can fight this battle and win it." Opine.           10

18.    The proposal for a Coastal Border Police Force (CBPF), first suggested in 2016, seeks to create another ICG-like organisation to safeguard the national maritime frontiers. Examine how much critical is coastal security for India. What have been the government initiatives in this direction?                   15

19.    Attacks against international civil aviation cause substantial loss of life, economic damage and disruption.

There is a growing awareness of the global terrorist threat to civil aviation. Is India’s preparedness fine enough in this regard?        10

20.    What are the various methods of money-laundering? What could be the possible impacts of money-laundering?         10

                      General Studies Paper III [Part B]

            Science, Technology, Environment & Disaster Management

                               

Time Allowed: 180 mins                                        Max Marks: 250

There are nineteen questions. All Questions are compulsory. Marks are specified against each question.

Use A-4 size sheets for your answers. Keep sufficient margins on at least three sides of the answer sheets for comments, if any. Any blank page / portion of the page should be clearly struck off.

Answer the questions in:

Marks	Words
05	50
10	150
12.5	200
15	250
20	350

Q1 Write short notes on the following in about 20 words each: 2 X 5 =10

Wheat Genome, Gaganyaan, Aerogels, Blockchain Technology, Leptospirosis

Q2 What do you know of the following ?         5 X 4 = 20

Indian Science Congress, General Theory of Relativity and String Theory, Buckminsterfullerene, 3D Printing Materials

 

Q3 “The key criteria for technologies is that they should belong to what I would call ASSURED inclusive innovation – where A stands for affordable, S for scalable, S for sustainable, U for user-friendly, E for excellence and D for distinctive or disruptive.”  Critically analyse.            [10]

 

 

Q4 Elaborate on ‘Digitalisation and Banking’ in India.      [10]

 

Q5 Sharpening analytics will help us calculate the efficacy of certain chemotherapy regimens and the chances of exact matching of a drug with the patient. Do you agree?            [10]

 

Q6 “90% of the technologies powering GIFT City have been sourced from Indian companies, a lot of them startups.” What is your opinion on this issue?            [10]

 

Q7 Of the 10 persons defecating in the open globally, six are Indians. By 2019, six will be from African countries, and none from India, as the country is inching towards meeting total sanitation targets. How will this be achieved?   [10]

 

Q8  As global temperatures rise, trees around the world are experiencing longer growing seasons, sometimes as much as three extra weeks a year. All that time helps trees grow faster. But a study of the forests of Central Europe suggests the higher temperatures—combined with pollution from auto exhaust and farms—are making wood weaker, resulting in trees that break more easily and lumber that is less durable. Discuss.          [10]

Q9  In the era of big data, the debate between privacy and personalization will be ongoing. Big Data is a big deal today but confirming to privacy guidelines is equally important. Opine.           [10]

 

 

Q10 Even a minor rise in sea level will create greater risk of tsunamis for coastal communities across the world, claims a study by a team of scientists from multiple universities. According to the study, which was published in Science Advances journal, in future, smaller tsunamis can have the same adverse impacts as big tsunamis would today, given the possibility of increased flooding farther inland from tsunamis, following earthquakes. Discuss.  [12.5]

 

Q11 The Supreme Court blasted the Centre, Uttar Pradesh government and the Archaeological Survey of India for failing to preserve the Taj Mahal. Critically discuss on the matter.   [12.5]

 

Q12  Since February this year, India has witnessed more than 44 storms in 16 states. About 423 people have been killed and over 785 people have been injured. The storms also caused massive damage to property—almost 5,000 houses collapsed. In some places, wind speeds exceeded 130 km per hour—when the threshold speed for storms is about 90-100 km per hour. Is climate change responsible for this ominous trend?                    [12.5]

 

 

Q13 “Curbing desertification as critical as mitigating climate change impact”. Do you agree?          [12.5]

Q14  The recent outbreak of Nipah virus is another example of virus transferring from animals to human beings. The sudden spurt of zoonotic diseases in the last few years has caught the world unprepared. It includes Ebola hemorrhagic fever and microcephaly caused by Zika virus. Try to bring out the possible causes for the outbreaks.               [15]

 

Q15 India is set to become the first and the only country to produce a national plan and local strategy targeted at reducing the losses caused by natural calamities. With this global plan, aimed at reducing losses during such mishaps, the country has earned praise from the United Nations. Comment.    [15]

Q16 The period from 2011 to 2015 has been the warmest five-year period on record globally. The average temperature in 2015 had already risen by more than one degree (with 2016 on track to be even warmer) since the pre-industrial period. What could be the possible reasons?  [15]

Q17 Would slowing human population growth lessen future impacts of anthropogenic climate change? With an additional 4 billion people expected on the planet by 2100, the answer seems an obvious “yes.” Critically comment.    [15]

Q18 Do you think that gigantic projects like the Large Hadron Colider at CERN should be better avoided?  Bring out the pros and cons.                [20]      

Q19 With Manjul Bhargava and Akshay Venkatesh receiving Field Medals, do you think that learning mathematics would get a boost in India? Has the subject been relegated to the backyard in the academic curriculum of the country?             [20]

General Studies Paper III [Economy, Security, Science-Technology, Disaster Management, Ecology]                                                                 

Time Allowed: 180 mins                                                                    Marks: 250

Instructions

1.       There are 20 questions printed in ENGLISH.

2.       All questions are compulsory.

3.       Question nos. 1-10 are of 15 marks each & question nos. 11-20 are of 10 marks each.

4.       Questions with 10 marks are to be answered in 150 words & questions with 15 marks are to be answered in 250 words

5.       Any page or portion of the page left blank in the Question-cum-Answer Booklet must be clearly struck off.

Q1. When asked if India is an easy place to do business, most corporate chiefs say “not yet”. The country performed something of a miracle in jumping 30 places last year on the World Bank’s ease of doing business rankings to stand 100th out of 190 countries. Has India’s business climate really improved? Which states are the most attractive investment destinations, and what sets them apart from the others? Ultimately, what do business leaders need most to empower them in helping to drive growth and prosperity across the country?

Q2. GDP annual growth rate in India averaged 6.13% from 1951 until 2017, reaching an all-time high of 11.40% in the first quarter of 2010 and a record low of -5.20% in the fourth quarter of 1979. To be fair, India’s economic growth begins at a low level of resources utilization. Therefore, it can raise GDP growth by the better employment of excess resources with existing technologies.

Elaborate. In this context, contrast with China’s GDP growth rate.

Q3. Each year the chairman of the Indian Central Board of Direct Taxation e-mails a “Certificate of Appreciation” to every resident who has paid over 100,000 rupees ($1,500) in tax. In a country of 1.3bn, fewer than 400,000 of these precious testaments were awarded in the latest wave. Critically discuss.

Q4. India’s innovative start-ups have stolen headlines in recent years by receiving billions from domestic and foreign investors. Realising the potential these firms present for job creation, growth and investment, many states have retooled their policy frameworks to show they are open for business and provide conducive environments for entrepreneurs. 

Where do start-ups prefer to set up businesses, and which states and cities are most hospitable? How can the young business leaders of tomorrow, who have national and global ambitions, capitalise on what the most forward-thinking states are offering?

Q5. Are the Goods and Services Tax [GST] good enough for individual states? Will businesses in the informal economy be able to adapt to the new system? Which industries are most or least affected?

Q6. India has two main drags on economic growth. One is the difficulty of finding a job, especially in the places people live. The other is a chronic shortage of cheap housing. Do you agree? Has the government been pro-active in this regard? 

Q7. Explain the twin balance sheet problem in India. Discuss solutions to this effect.

Q8. Discuss, with instances, the role of supply chain logistics in respect of food processing and related industries in India. 

Q9. State the economic arguments in favour of Land Reform. What are the Indian evidences on the causes and effects of Land Reform?

Q10. Public sector food grain stocks are significant support of India’s food policy and food security. Critically examine. 

Q11. Cite examples where e-technology has been used to the benefit of the farming community in India. 

Q12. Explain how inclusive growth has been accommodated in the budgeting process in India?

Q13. What are the methods to negotiate Tsunamis and Earthquakes? Discuss salient features of managing Cloud Burst disasters.

Q14. Is insurgency in India a reflection of lack of governance or development? In this light, discuss the Maoist insurgency in particular.

Q15. Connectivity of North-East with South-East Asia is an imperative for economic growth of the region as well as India. However, do you think that such an Open Door policy could be to the detriment of India’s security interests?

Q16.  Elaborate on the role of media and social networking sites in India’s internal security challenges. 

Q17. As we target to have more smart cities, we need to have a better management of the basics of cyber security, money-laundering and urban terrorism funded by cross-border elements. Critically evaluate the statement. 

Q18. Discuss present and possible conflict zones with respect to India’s coastal border.

Q19. What has/have catapulted India’s stature in world stage in science and technology post-independence? What more can India do to improve upon its capabilities in science and technology?

Q20. Has the Seechewal model been successful? Post a critique of India’s posture towards climate change.