GS Paper 2 practice questions for UPSC Mains 2026.

Introduction: The Special Intensive Revision is conducted under Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act 1950 read with Rules 25–31 of the Registration of Electors Rules 1960; the Election Commission ordered an SIR in Bihar in June 2025 before the 2025 Assembly polls.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) statutory base — Section 16 disqualifications (non-citizenship, of unsound mind, disqualified by RPA 1951), Section 21 special revision; the ECI must follow due process and publish draft rolls; (ii) Bihar 2025 exercise — over 65 lakh names initially flagged for non-availability of documents, raising Article 326 universal-adult-suffrage concerns; (iii) judicial scrutiny — the Supreme Court in Association for Democratic Reforms v. Election Commission (interim order, July–August 2025) directed acceptance of Aadhaar, ration card and EPIC as identity proof during SIR.

Way forward / Conclusion: SIR must remain a tool of inclusion, not exclusion; transparent draft publication, independent grievance redress, and door-to-door verification with named BLOs are the safeguards.

Introduction: Article 148 establishes the office of CAG, appointed by the President; Article 149 sets duties; Article 150 prescribes form of accounts; Article 151 requires reports to be laid before Parliament and the State legislatures; the CAG's (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act 1971 is the operating statute.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) constitutional architecture — appointed for six years or up to 65; removable like a Supreme Court judge; salary charged on the Consolidated Fund (Article 148(3)); (ii) institutional gaps — appointment process not collegial (criticised in Common Cause v. Union of India, 2019 petition), shrinking post-audit Special Audit Reports (down from 81 in 2015–16 to 26 in 2023–24 per CAG annual reports), under-utilisation of PAC scrutiny; (iii) emerging mandate — performance audits, audit of PPPs, and the right to audit private bodies receiving substantial government funds (Section 14 CAG Act, 1971).

Way forward / Conclusion: Multi-member CAG (2nd ARC recommendation), open appointment collegium, statutory backing for follow-up by Action Taken Notes — the Vinod Rai prescription — would restore the office's deterrent value.

Introduction: The Union Public Service Commission traces back to the Public Service Commission set up in October 1926 under the Government of India Act 1919; Article 315 of the Constitution gave it constitutional status from 26 January 1950.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) constitutional architecture — Article 315 (UPSC and State PSCs), Article 316 (appointment), Article 320 (functions: recruitment, advice on disciplinary matters), Article 322 (expenses on Consolidated Fund); (ii) functional concerns — exam-paper leaks at the State level, lateral entry (UPSC advertisement July 2024 for joint secretaries withdrawn), and faceless interview reform proposals; (iii) reform agenda — Baswan Committee 2016 on CSE pattern, 2nd ARC's Tenth Report on personnel administration, and the case for moving from selection-only to a strategic HR function for the Union.

Way forward / Conclusion: Operationalise the National Recruitment Agency, codify lateral-entry safeguards through legislation, and a public-facing performance audit of UPSC processes would modernise Article 315.

Introduction: NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission on 1 January 2015 by a Union Cabinet resolution — a non-statutory, non-constitutional think-tank with the Prime Minister as Chair and Chief Ministers as Governing Council members.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) governance architecture — Governing Council (apex), CEO, sectoral verticals, Three Year Action Agenda (2017), Strategy for New India @ 75; (ii) cooperative federalism instruments — Aspirational Districts Programme launched 5 January 2018 covering 112 districts, Aspirational Blocks Programme (500 blocks, January 2023), SDG India Index, Health Index and Composite Water Management Index; (iii) gaps — no resource-allocation power (transferred to the Finance Ministry), declining attendance at Governing Council meetings (some CMs boycotted the 9th meeting on 27 July 2024), and absence of a statutory base under Article 263.

Way forward / Conclusion: A statutory NITI Aayog under Article 263 with binding minimum standards for index data, a clear resource-coordination role with Finance Commission and concurrent-list mandate areas would consolidate the cooperative-federalism gains of the first decade.

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: Anaemia Mukt Bharat was launched in 2018 within the POSHAN Abhiyaan to address anaemia across six target beneficiary groups using six interventions and six institutional mechanisms.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) the 6×6×6 design — six beneficiary groups (under-5 children, school-age 5–9, adolescents 10–19, pregnant women, lactating mothers, women of reproductive age 20–49), six interventions (IFA prophylaxis and treatment, deworming, behaviour-change communication, fortified foods, malaria and haemoglobinopathy management); (ii) outcomes — NFHS-5 (2019-21) anaemia in 6–59 month children at 67% (up from 58.6% in NFHS-4); among non-pregnant women 15–49 at 57%; (iii) institutional gaps — supply-chain stockouts, low compliance with weekly IFA, sickle-cell exemption from rice fortification flagged by ICMR.

Way forward / Conclusion: Convergence with the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission (Budget 2023-24), dietary diversification via the National Mission on Edible Oils — Oilseeds, and proactive disclosure of district-level anaemia data are the next steps.

Introduction: The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 replaced the 1995 Act to give effect to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) which India ratified on 1 October 2007; the Act covers 21 disabilities (up from 7) and reads Article 14, 19 and 21 expansively.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) statutory architecture — Section 3 (non-discrimination), Section 24 (social security), Section 32 (reservation in higher education at 5 per cent), Section 34 (4 per cent reservation in government jobs), Chief Commissioner and State Commissioners as enforcement bodies; (ii) implementation gap — Census 2011 enumerated 2.21 per cent PwDs but NSSO 76th round (2018) estimated 2.2 crore living with disabilities; only 36 per cent of public buildings audited under the Accessible India Campaign 2015 met basic accessibility norms by 2024; (iii) judicial corrective — Vikash Kumar v. UPSC (2021) on scribe rights, Avni Prakash v. NTA (2023) on PwD test concessions, and Pragya Prasun v. Union of India (2025) extending Article 21 to inclusive digital access.

Way forward / Conclusion: Disability-disaggregated data through Census 2026, full notification of Disability Commissioners, and accessibility audits in DigiLocker and UPI infrastructure under Section 40 RPwD Act 2016 will operationalise the inclusion the law promises.

Introduction: The National Food Security Act 2013 covers 81.35 crore beneficiaries with subsidised foodgrains; the Global Hunger Index 2024 ranked India 105 out of 127 countries, a ranking contested by the Government of India for methodology.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) statutory base — NFSA 2013 entitles 75% rural and 50% urban households to 5 kg per person per month at Rs 3 (rice), Rs 2 (wheat), Re 1 (millets); PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana extended free foodgrains to December 2028; (ii) GHI methodology — 4 indicators (undernourishment, child wasting, child stunting, child mortality); MoWCD critique that wasting (NFHS-5 19.3% under-5) and stunting (35.5%) reflect long-term and not current hunger; (iii) gaps — One Nation One Ration Card portability scaled to all 36 States/UTs, but ration access for migrants remains uneven; PDS leakages, Aadhaar authentication failures.

Way forward / Conclusion: Diversify the PDS basket to millets and pulses, integrate the Anganwadi-supplied take-home rations, and publish district-level GHI-style data to convert NFSA from a calorie scheme to a nutrition entitlement.

Introduction: The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013 was passed after the India Against Corruption movement and the 2nd ARC Fourth Report (Ethics in Governance, 2007); the Lokpal Chairman was first appointed only on 19 March 2019 after Common Cause v. Union of India (2017) directions.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) statutory base — Lokpal is a multi-member body of Chairperson and up to 8 members (50% judicial, 50% from SC/ST/OBC/minorities/women); jurisdiction covers PM (with safeguards under Section 14), MPs, Group A–D officers; Section 19 inquiry directions, Section 20 preliminary inquiry; (ii) operational gaps — only 24 complaints disposed in 2023-24 (Lokpal Annual Report); States have been slow to constitute Lokayuktas; the Lokpal building, regulations and prosecution wing remain incomplete; (iii) parallel anti-corruption framework — CVC under CVC Act 2003, CBI under Delhi Special Police Establishment Act 1946, and the Prevention of Corruption Act (Amendment) 2018 raising the threshold for prosecuting public servants.

Way forward / Conclusion: A statutory selection committee with Leader of Opposition (currently 'Leader of largest opposition party'), an independent investigation wing under Section 11, and a public dashboard of complaints disposed will operationalise the 2013 Act.

Introduction: Mission Karmayogi — National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building — was approved by the Union Cabinet on 2 September 2020 and is anchored in the Capacity Building Commission set up in April 2021.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) design — Frameworks of Roles, Activities and Competencies (FRACs) approach, iGOT Karmayogi digital platform with over 1,000 courses, Annual Capacity Building Plans for ministries; (ii) institutional architecture — Prime Minister's Public Human Resource Council at the apex, Capacity Building Commission, Karmayogi Bharat as the operating SPV; (iii) risks — voluntary nature of learning, capture by training-content vendors, displacement of LBSNAA and SVPNPA institutional roles.

Way forward / Conclusion: Tie iGOT performance to APAR and promotions, evaluate against the 2nd ARC's Refurbishing of Personnel Administration benchmarks, and codify a competency-based posting policy.

Introduction: Lateral entry refers to direct recruitment of mid-career specialists to Joint Secretary and Director positions outside the All India Services cadre; it was first recommended by the 2nd ARC's Tenth Report (2008) and the Baswan Committee 2016, and operationalised through UPSC advertisements from 2018.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) constitutional and institutional base — Article 311 procedural protections extend to lateral entrants on contract; UPSC conducted recruitment in 2018, 2021 and a 45-post advertisement in August 2024 (later withdrawn after opposition concerns on reservation); (ii) the case for — closing skill deficits in infrastructure, finance, IT, climate; international precedent (US Senior Executive Service, Singapore's Administrative Service); (iii) concerns — bypass of reservation under Articles 16(4) and 16(4A), erosion of generalist morale, conflict of interest where entrants come from regulated sectors, and absence of an independent evaluation since 2018.

Way forward / Conclusion: Bring lateral entry inside the reservation framework under DoPT OM, cap roles to specialist verticals, publish independent performance evaluations of the 2018-25 cohort, and codify post-employment cooling-off norms.

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: 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 e-Courts Mission Mode Project was launched in 2007 by the Department of Justice with Supreme Court e-Committee oversight; Phase III was approved on 13 September 2023 with an outlay of Rs 7,210 crore for 2023-27.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) digital backbone — Case Information System (CIS) deployed in over 19,000 court complexes, the National Judicial Data Grid as the public dashboard, e-Filing 3.0, virtual hearings under guidelines issued by Supreme Court e-Committee; (ii) impact — about 5.2 crore pending cases visible on NJDG (2025), over 3.34 crore virtual hearings between 2020 and 2025; (iii) gaps — digital divide for litigants, paper Vakalatnama still required in many courts, last-mile connectivity in subordinate courts.

Way forward / Conclusion: Mandatory e-Filing, integration with DigiLocker and the Online Dispute Resolution framework recommended by the Kovind Committee (NITI Aayog 2021) will deepen e-governance in justice delivery.

Introduction: The Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act 1996 was enacted on 24 December 1996 to extend Part IX of the Constitution to the Fifth Schedule areas across 10 States, following the Bhuria Committee Report 1995.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) statutory architecture — Gram Sabha as primary unit of self-government, mandatory consultation on land acquisition and minor minerals, ownership of minor forest produce, control over money-lenders and intoxicants; (ii) implementation gap — only six of the ten Fifth Schedule States have notified PESA Rules (Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Odisha); (iii) judicial corrective — Samatha v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1997) on tribal land alienation, and Niyamgiri case (Orissa Mining Corporation v. Union of India, 2013) on Gram Sabha consent for forest diversion.

Way forward / Conclusion: Notify PESA Rules in all Fifth Schedule States, statutory enforcement of Gram Sabha consent under Section 4(d) PESA read with Section 6 Forest Rights Act 2006, and convergence with PM-JANMAN are the steps to operationalise tribal self-rule.

Introduction: The Ministry of Cooperation was carved out of the Ministry of Agriculture on 6 July 2021; the National Cooperative Policy 2025 succeeds the 2002 Vaidyanathan Committee architecture with the 'Sahkar se Samriddhi' vision.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) constitutional and statutory base — Article 19(1)(c) right to form cooperatives, 97th Constitutional Amendment Act 2011 (Part IXB struck down for State cooperatives in Rajendra N. Shah, 2021); Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act 2002 amended in 2023 to create a Cooperative Election Authority; (ii) policy — National Cooperative Policy 2025 targets 3 lakh new Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) by 2027, 2 lakh new Dairy and Fishery cooperatives; (iii) institutional architecture — NCDC under NCDC Act 1962, NABARD, computerisation of all 63,000 PACS with Rs 2,516 crore Cabinet approval (2022).

Way forward / Conclusion: Reconcile concurrent Union-State jurisdiction post-Rajendra Shah through Inter-State Council convergence, statutorily protect cooperative autonomy, and link PACS digitisation with public-service delivery under the JAM trinity.

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: States' fiscal space depends on three constitutionally distinct flows — Finance Commission devolution (Articles 270, 275), Centrally Sponsored Schemes funded under Article 282, and own-tax revenue including SGST.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) statutory and constitutional architecture — Article 280 devolution, Article 282 grants 'for public purpose', Article 275 grants-in-aid; 15th FC devolved 41 per cent of divisible pool; (ii) CSS expansion — over 60 CSS schemes consume nearly 10 per cent of Union expenditure, with matching ratios shifting from 90:10 to 60:40 in many cases under Niti Aayog rationalisation 2015 and 2021; State Finance Ministers' Empowered Committee on CSS Rationalisation 2021; (iii) constitutional concern — Article 282's narrow original purpose has been used to direct State action, encroaching on State List subjects; Bhargava Commission 1967 had cautioned against this.

Way forward / Conclusion: A constitutional cap on Article 282 use to State List subjects, sunset clauses on CSS, untied grants doubled, and a Finance Commission-anchored CSS framework would restore the federal balance.

Introduction: Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code 1860, the original sedition offence, was upheld in Kedar Nath Singh v. State of Bihar (1962) but with a narrow construction requiring incitement to violence; the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 has replaced it with Section 152.

Body: Three dimensions — (i) statutory base — IPC Section 124A defined sedition; BNS Section 152 penalises 'acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India' with imprisonment up to life; (ii) constitutional test — Article 19(1)(a) and Article 19(2) reasonable restrictions on 'security of the State'; S.G. Vombatkere v. Union of India (11 May 2022) suspended Section 124A IPC pending re-examination, ordering no new FIRs; (iii) reform options — 22nd Law Commission Report (2023) recommended retaining but redrafting sedition; BNS Section 152 is criticised as broader and vaguer than the suspended Section 124A.

Way forward / Conclusion: Read BNS Section 152 down to the Kedar Nath line — incitement to violence or public disorder — through judicial review, and Parliament should add a procedural safeguard requiring prior sanction by a senior officer.

Introduction: The Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 (DPDP Act), notified on 11 August 2023, is India's first comprehensive data-protection statute; it gives effect to the right to informational privacy recognised in K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017).

Body: Three dimensions — (i) statutory architecture — Section 4 (lawful processing), Section 6 (notice and consent), Sections 8-10 (Data Fiduciary duties), Section 11 (rights of Data Principal), and a Data Protection Board of India under Sections 18-26; broad Section 7 exemptions for State processing in 'public interest'; (ii) impact on transparency — Section 44(3) amends Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act 2005, removing the proviso that disclosed personal information that would have been disclosed to Parliament, narrowing the third-party exception; (iii) constitutional concern — Puttaswamy's three-fold test (legality, necessity, proportionality) requires narrow tailoring; the Act's blanket State exemptions and the absence of an independent regulator (Board members appointed by the Central Government) have been challenged in Internet Freedom Foundation v. Union of India (pending).

Way forward / Conclusion: Restore Section 8(1)(j) RTI proviso, make the Data Protection Board statutorily independent on the SEBI-CCI model, and codify a proportionality test for Section 7 exemptions to reconcile the DPDP Act with Puttaswamy.