GS Paper 2 practice questions for UPSC Mains 2026.

Introduction: The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments 1992 added Parts IX and IXA and the Eleventh and Twelfth Schedules, listing 29 panchayat and 18 municipal subjects.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) constitutional design left functions, funds and functionaries as 'may' devolutions under Articles 243G and 243W; (ii) State Finance Commissions under Article 243-I are constituted with delay and ignored; the 15th Finance Commission flagged uneven local-body grant utilisation; (iii) parallel bodies and elected mayors with no executive control hollow the third tier.

Way forward / Conclusion: Activity mapping for all 29 and 18 subjects, predictable SFC awards, and a constitutional bar on parallel bodies are the reforms that match the 1992 promise.

Introduction: The FCRA 2010 replaced the 1976 Act and was tightened by the 2020 amendment to channel all foreign funds through a designated SBI Parliament Street branch.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) statutory tightening — Section 7 ban on sub-grants, mandatory Aadhaar of office bearers, and tightened renewal under Sections 11 and 16; (ii) impact — FCRA registrations fell from over 22,400 in 2017 to under 16,000 by 2024 according to MHA disclosures; (iii) constitutional test — Noel Harper v. Union of India (2022) upheld the amendments under Article 19(1)(c) and Article 14, while Indian Social Action Forum v. Union of India (2020) preserved political-activity restrictions.

Way forward / Conclusion: A reasoned renewal process with appellate review and a narrower definition of 'political activity' would reconcile the security purpose with constitutional freedoms.

Introduction: The 75 PVTGs across 18 states and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands inherit the Dhebar Commission 1961 category of 'Primitive Tribal Groups', renamed in 2006.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) constitutional anchors — Article 46 DPSP, Fifth and Sixth Schedules, PESA 1996, Forest Rights Act 2006; (ii) institutional — Tribal Sub-Plan, Eklavya Model Residential Schools, and the PM-JANMAN mission launched 15 November 2023 with a Rs 24,104 crore outlay; (iii) gaps — absence of disaggregated census data, low Habitation Development Plan coverage.

Way forward / Conclusion: Group-specific Habitation Development Plans, PVTG enumeration in the next census, and convergence with the Forest Rights Act community-forest-resource rights are the policy levers.

Introduction: Article 21 has evolved from A.K. Gopalan (1950) to Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978) reading 'procedure established by law' as 'fair, just and reasonable'.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) personal liberty — Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India (2023) on mandatory written grounds of arrest under Article 22; (ii) substantive expansion — right to privacy (Puttaswamy, 2017), right to die with dignity (Common Cause, 2018) and right to clean environment (M.C. Mehta cases); (iii) the 2025 Supreme Court ruling in Pragya Prasun v. Union of India recognising inclusive digital access as part of Article 21.

Way forward / Conclusion: The doctrinal arc shows judicial activism in writing positive obligations into a negatively framed right — a strength when backed by enforceable directions, a risk when courts substitute for the legislature.

Introduction: Articles 323A and 323B, inserted by the 42nd Amendment 1976, empower Parliament and State Legislatures to set up administrative and other tribunals, originally with appeals lying directly to the Supreme Court.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) statutory base — Administrative Tribunals Act 1985 for CAT, and over fifteen subject tribunals; (ii) L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India (1997) struck down clauses excluding High Court jurisdiction under Articles 226 and 227, restoring writ jurisdiction as a basic-structure feature; (iii) Tribunals Reforms Act 2021 abolished nine tribunals and standardised tenure and service conditions — Madras Bar Association v. Union of India (2021) struck down several provisions.

Way forward / Conclusion: A National Tribunals Commission (Justice R.C. Lahoti recommendation), separation of selection from administrative control, and clear procedural rules will deliver the original tribunal promise.

Introduction: Article 19(1)(c) protects the right to form associations and unions, subject to reasonable restrictions under Article 19(4); the 97th Constitutional Amendment Act 2011 made cooperative-society formation a fundamental right.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) cooperatives — Article 19(1)(c) right to form cooperatives, Part IXB (Articles 243ZH to 243ZT) struck down for States in Union of India v. Rajendra N. Shah (2021); Ministry of Cooperation set up 2021; National Cooperative Policy 2025; (ii) FPOs — Companies Act Section 581A category, Central Sector Scheme for 10,000 FPOs (2020) led by SFAC and NABARD; (iii) trade unions — Trade Unions Act 1926, Industrial Relations Code 2020 raising recognition threshold; All India Trade Union Congress and other federations facing eroded bargaining space.

Way forward / Conclusion: A facilitative-regulatory balance, judicially enforced under Article 19(1)(c), is the basis for healthy pluralism.

Introduction: The NITI Aayog National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) uses the Alkire-Foster method developed at the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative; it has 12 indicators across health, education and standard of living.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) measurement framework — based on NFHS-4 (2015-16) and NFHS-5 (2019-21); MPI fell from 24.85 per cent in 2015-16 to 14.96 per cent in 2019-21, lifting about 13.5 crore out of multidimensional poverty; (ii) policy gaps — calorie-based poverty line (Tendulkar 2009, Rangarajan 2014) no longer drives PDS or DBT eligibility, leaving an outdated 2011-12 NSS line at the core; (iii) the proposed National Consumption Expenditure Survey 2022-23 results and the case for an updated Census-linked poverty line.

Way forward / Conclusion: A multidimensional, periodically updated poverty line aligned with SECC 2.0 and a transparent SDG-1 reporting framework would modernise India's poverty measurement.

Introduction: Section 17 of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 mandates a social audit by the Gram Sabha at least once every six months; Meghalaya became the first State to enact a comprehensive social-audit law in 2017.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) statutory base — MGNREGA Audit of Scheme Rules 2011 set the procedure; independent State Social Audit Units function across 28 States; Comptroller and Auditor General provides audit framework; (ii) Meghalaya Community Participation and Public Services Social Audit Act 2017 extended the model to all government schemes; (iii) gaps — under-staffed SSAUs, low Action Taken on findings, contractor capture at panchayat level.

Way forward / Conclusion: Statutory autonomy and budgetary security for SSAUs, time-bound Action Taken Reports under Section 17(3) MGNREGA, and replication of the Meghalaya 2017 Act in other States would deepen social-audit accountability.

Introduction: The District Magistrate, traced to Warren Hastings's reorganisation in 1772, combines revenue, magisterial and coordination functions; the office is rooted in the All India Services Act 1951 and the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 (now BNSS 2023).

Body: Three dimensions — (i) statutory base — Section 14 BNSS / Section 20 CrPC empowers the State Government to appoint DMs; Land Revenue Codes, Disaster Management Act 2005 Section 25, and Representation of the People Act 1951 Section 13C (DM as District Election Officer) define the role; (ii) capture by political transfers — average tenure under 18 months according to Civil Services Survey (2010) and Hota Committee, despite T.S.R. Subramanian v. Union of India (2013); (iii) contemporary stress — Mission Karmayogi competencies, Aspirational Districts leadership, and the case for separating magisterial from developmental roles (2nd ARC Sixth Report).

Way forward / Conclusion: Fixed three-year tenure under Civil Services Boards, separation of policing/judicial functions consistent with Prakash Singh v. Union of India (2006), and a District Performance Index would modernise the colonial office for a constitutional republic.

Introduction: The Central Vigilance Commission was set up on Santhanam Committee's recommendation in 1964 and given statutory status by the CVC Act 2003; the CBI operates under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act 1946.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) statutory architecture — CVC Act 2003 Section 4 (selection by PM, Home Minister, Leader of largest opposition party), Section 8 (powers); CBI Director appointment under Section 4A DSPE Act 1946; (ii) judicial scaffolding — Vineet Narain v. Union of India (1997) directed CVC to supervise CBI investigations, fixed two-year CBI Director tenure, struck down the 'single directive' requiring prior approval for senior public-servant investigation; that protection was statutorily restored as Section 17A by the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act 2018; (iii) federalism — withdrawal of general consent under Section 6 DSPE Act by 9 States is curtailing CBI jurisdiction.

Way forward / Conclusion: Statutory CBI charter, independent prosecution wing, and a single-window appellate mechanism would consolidate the Vineet Narain protections.

Introduction: The RPwD Act 2016 is the Indian implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by India on 1 October 2007, and the Rajive Raturi v. Union of India ruling on 8 November 2024 declared accessibility a fundamental right under Article 21.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) Statutory architecture: 21 specified disabilities, social model definition, 4 percent reservation in government jobs (Section 34), 5 percent in higher education (Section 32), Chief Commissioner and State Commissioners as quasi-judicial enforcers; (ii) Implementation gap: only 8.73 percent of buses accessible per the Centre's own Rajive Raturi compliance affidavit; Sugamya Bharat Phase 1 targets missed; Census 2011 enumerates only 2.21 percent disabled against WHO's 16 percent global estimate; (iii) Compliance hearing on 11 February 2026 — the Court refused the Centre's plea to defer mandatory accessibility rules; vacancies in DEPwD and State Commissions persist.

Way forward / Conclusion: Notify enforceable accessibility rules under Section 40 with penalties, conduct a disability-inclusive Census 2027 with the Washington Group Short Set, fill commissioner vacancies and audit the 4 percent reservation backlog.

Introduction: The National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP), renamed from RNTCP in 2020, pursues India's 2025 elimination target under the National Strategic Plan 2017-25.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) Architecture: Ni-kshay digital surveillance, Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana cash transfer of Rs 1,000 per month (raised in 2024) for nutritional support, free first-line and second-line drugs, BPaL/BPaLM oral regimen for MDR-TB; (ii) Burden: WHO Global TB Report 2024 — India had about 28 lakh TB cases and 3.15 lakh TB deaths in 2023, 26 percent of global incidence; MDR/RR-TB notifications around 75,000; (iii) Gaps: private-sector notification under-coverage, latent-TB infection screening only nascent, stock-outs of pediatric formulations and HIV-TB co-infection management.

Way forward / Conclusion: Universal active case finding in slums and tribal pockets, mandatory private-sector notification with conditional cash, and integration with PM-JAY for catastrophic-cost protection.

Introduction: The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for 2023-24 (released 23 September 2024) shows female labour-force participation jumping from 23.3 percent (2017-18) to 41.7 percent — an 18-point rise.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) Composition: women classified as 'helpers in household enterprises' more than doubled from 9.1 percent to 19.6 percent, and rural women's engagement in agriculture rose from 71.1 percent (2018-19) to 76.9 percent (2023-24); (ii) Pay gap: self-employed men earn about 2.8 times what self-employed women earn; regular salaried women earn 76 percent of male pay; (iii) Unpaid burden: NSO Time Use Survey 2024 — women spend 289 minutes/day on unpaid domestic work against men's 88 minutes.

Way forward / Conclusion: Public investment in the care economy (creches, eldercare, school meals) per the ILO 5R framework; enforce Code on Wages 2019 equal-pay clause; and operationalise Section 67 of Code on Social Security 2020 for women platform workers.

Introduction: The SCO, evolved from the Shanghai Five (1996), is a 9-member Eurasian security and economic bloc (China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India (2017), Pakistan (2017), Iran (2023), Belarus (2024)).

Body: Three dimensions — (i) Tianjin Summit (31 August-1 September 2025) — PM Modi attended; SCO Tianjin Declaration covered terrorism, AI, energy; India did not endorse Belt and Road para; (ii) Counter-terrorism via Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS, Tashkent); India hosted the SCO Council of Heads of Government 2023 virtually after the Goa CFM; (iii) China-Russia dominance and Pakistan-India bilateral friction limit deliverables.

Way forward / Conclusion: Use SCO for Central Asia connectivity (INSTC, Chabahar, Ashgabat Agreement) and counter-terror intel via RATS; refuse BRI endorsements; preserve issue-based engagement with Russia and Iran.

Introduction: India's G20 Presidency culminated in the New Delhi Leaders' Declaration (9-10 September 2023), built on the theme Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — 'One Earth, One Family, One Future'.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) Diplomatic wins: 100 percent consensus despite Ukraine war, AU membership as 21st permanent member, IMEC launched on the sidelines; (ii) Substantive deliverables: Global Biofuels Alliance, DPI as a public good (India Stack export), Voluntary SDG Action Plan, MDB reform agenda; (iii) Continuity: Brazil 2024 (Rio) carried forward, South Africa 2025, Trump's 2026 hosting in jeopardy after Russia-Iran tensions.

Way forward / Conclusion: Use Sherpa-track continuity to lock in DPI standards (Modular Open-Source Identity Platform), keep AU's permanent seat as Global South leverage, and push 2026 successor declaration on critical minerals governance.

Introduction: The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), legislated under Regulation (EU) 2023/956, enters definitive phase from 1 January 2026, imposing a carbon levy on six sectors — iron and steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, electricity, hydrogen.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) Trade exposure: India exported about $8.2 billion of CBAM-covered goods to EU in 2023-24, with iron-and-steel and aluminium most exposed; (ii) Equity argument: CBAM violates CBDR-RC principle of UNFCCC and Article 4 of the Paris Agreement; India and BASIC group oppose it as 'green protectionism'; (iii) Domestic response: India proposes its own Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS, 2023), Perform Achieve Trade (PAT) cycle credits, and a domestic carbon price to retain revenue.

Way forward / Conclusion: Bilateral CBAM-equivalence under the India-EU FTA (concluded 27 January 2026), accelerate hydrogen-based steel via National Green Hydrogen Mission, and contest CBAM at WTO under GATT Article XX(b)(g).

Introduction: The IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report (March 2023) warned that the 1.5 degree pathway requires global GHG emissions to peak before 2025 and decline 43 percent by 2030 (relative to 2019).

Body: Three dimensions — (i) India's Updated NDC (August 2022): 45 percent reduction in emissions intensity of GDP by 2030 (from 2005), 50 percent non-fossil installed capacity, net zero by 2070; LIFE (Lifestyle for Environment) added at COP27; (ii) COP30 Belem (November 2025) — India pushed CBDR-RC, Loss and Damage Fund operationalisation (post-COP28), and a Just Transition narrative; (iii) Domestic delivery: 232 GW renewable capacity (March 2026), Green Hydrogen Mission (Rs 19,744 crore), India SDG Index score 71/100 (NITI Aayog 2023-24).

Way forward / Conclusion: Submit NDC 3.0 in 2025-26 cycle, push Loss and Damage finance from developed countries ($300 billion New Collective Quantified Goal at COP29), and align CCTS with EU CBAM equivalence.

Introduction: The India Semiconductor Mission (December 2021) anchors Programme for Development of Semiconductors and Display Manufacturing Ecosystem in India with Rs 76,000 crore outlay, expanded under ISM 2.0 in 2024.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) Approved units: Tata Electronics-PSMC fab in Dholera ($11 billion, 28 nm), Tata OSAT in Jagiroad, Micron OSAT in Sanand ($2.75 billion), Kaynes ATMP, CG Power-Renesas ATMP; (ii) Strategic logic: friend-shoring under US CHIPS Act 2022 dynamics, JIST trilateral with US and Japan, Quad Semiconductor Supply Chain Initiative; (iii) Limits: most approvals are packaging-assembly-test (OSAT) rather than leading-edge fabrication; talent gap of 250,000-300,000 engineers per the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association; capital-intensive long gestation.

Way forward / Conclusion: Move from 28 nm to 14 nm via Tata-PSMC roadmap, scale design-linked incentives for fabless start-ups under DLI scheme, and use iCET technology agreement for advanced lithography access.