GS Paper 3 practice questions for UPSC Mains 2026.

Introduction: Indian Railways capex ₹2.65 lakh crore in Budget 2025-26; Amrit Bharat Station Scheme covers 1,309 stations on PPP/EPC mix; HAM widely used in NH but limited in rail.

Body: 1) Station redevelopment — Rail Land Development Authority bids for Nagpur, Gwalior, Ayodhya. 2) Dedicated Freight Corridors mostly EPC; PPP for terminals (PFTs, GCT). 3) Constraints — risk allocation, ridership guarantee, RVNL/IRCON role overlap.

Way forward: Adopt Kelkar Committee 2015 risk-allocation matrix; institutionalise Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC); allow viability gap funding for transformative corridors.

Introduction: NITI Aayog's 'Investment Opportunities in India's Healthcare Sector' (2021) projects $370 billion market by 2025; healthcare PPP underdeveloped vs roads/airports.

Body: 1) Models compared — BOT (full private risk), HAM (40:60 risk-share), Swiss Challenge (unsolicited bid + counter). 2) Healthcare specifics — high public-good content, low IRR, regulatory complexity. 3) Lessons — Karnataka cath lab PPP success; Andhra Aarogyasri; Niti's PMJAY hospital PPP guidelines.

Way forward: Use HAM with Viability Gap Funding under DEA Scheme (₹8,100 crore extended FY25); standard model concession agreements; National Monetisation Pipeline expansion to district hospitals via NITI VGF.

Introduction: DPIIT FDI Statistics show FY24 gross FDI inflows $70.95 billion; FDI policy consolidated under Consolidated FDI Policy 2020 (latest review 2024); FEMA-governed.

Body: 1) Routes — Automatic (most sectors 100%), Government (defence beyond 74%, telecom beyond 49% pre-2024 reform). 2) Capped sectors — insurance 74% (FDI Act 2021), banking private 74%, defence 74%/100% case-by-case, single-brand retail 100% automatic with conditions. 3) Prohibited — lottery, gambling, atomic energy, chit funds.

Way forward: Liberalise space (allowed 100% Apr 2024) and nuclear; PLI-linked FDI promotion; bilateral investment treaty renegotiation under 2016 Model BIT.

Introduction: DPIIT data: FY24 gross FDI inflows $70.95 billion vs $84.83 billion peak in FY22; outward FDI commitments crossed $46 billion in FY24 (RBI Bulletin).

Body: 1) Causes — global rate cycle, China-plus-one slow uptake, US-EU reshoring, BIT vacuum (most BITs terminated post-2016 Model BIT). 2) Sectors — services (39%), computer software, telecom, automobiles attract bulk. 3) Outflows — Indian conglomerates' overseas acquisitions, GIFT IFSC routing. 4) Policy — InvestIndia, NSWS (National Single Window System).

Way forward: Renegotiate BITs (UAE 2024, Australia ongoing); operationalise NSWS as single-window for clearances; sectoral PLI linkage; revisit Model BIT 2016 ISDS clause.

Introduction: Kharif sown with south-west monsoon (June-Oct), harvested Sep-Oct; Rabi sown Oct-Dec, harvested Mar-May; Ministry of Agriculture's 4th Advance Estimates 2023-24 records 332.3 MT foodgrain.

Body: 1) Kharif — rice, jowar, bajra, cotton, soybean; depends on monsoon; supported by Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY). 2) Rabi — wheat, mustard, gram, peas; depends on residual moisture and irrigation; supported by Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

Way forward: Crop diversification under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana; align MSP with sustainability incentives; expand PMKSY 'per drop more crop'.

Introduction: MSP covers 23 crops; Standing Committee on Agriculture report 2024 notes only 6-7% of farmers receive MSP; SC-appointed committee on farm laws (chair Anil Ghanwat) reported July 2022.

Body: 1) Case for — income security, formalise procurement beyond paddy-wheat, climate-resilient diversification. 2) Case against — fiscal cost (₹10 lakh crore estimate by NITI), WTO AMS exposure under Article 6.4, market distortion. 3) Architecture — CACP recommends, CCEA decides; A2+FL vs C2 debate (Swaminathan formula).

Way forward: Strengthen Price Deficiency Payment under PM-AASHA; legal guarantee only for diversification basket; e-procurement via NAFED/e-Samridhi; WTO Peace Clause renegotiation.

Introduction: PMKSY-Per Drop More Crop covers 87.5 lakh hectares (MoAFW Dashboard Mar 2025); potential 70 million hectares; agriculture uses 78% of India's water (NITI Composite Water Management Index 2019).

Body: 1) Modes — drip and sprinkler, subsidies up to 55% for small farmers. 2) Constraints — fragmented holdings (avg 1.08 ha, Agricultural Census), credit access, free power-water nexus. 3) Micro Irrigation Fund under NABARD ₹5,000 crore corpus.

Way forward: Scale MIF Phase-II (₹5,000 cr top-up); link drip subsidy to crop diversification; integrate with PM-KUSUM solar pumps; expand Atal Bhujal Yojana behavioural piece.

Introduction: Central Ground Water Board Assessment 2024 reports 14.21% of blocks 'over-exploited'; Punjab, Haryana, Western UP and Rajasthan worst; agriculture consumes ~85% of groundwater.

Body: 1) Drivers — flat power tariff (free in 11 states), MSP-paddy lock-in, weak metering. 2) Schemes — Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain (2021), Atal Bhujal Yojana (₹6,000 crore, World Bank co-financed). 3) Behavioural — Crop diversification, DSR (direct-seeded rice).

Way forward: Implement Mihir Shah Committee recommendations; expand Paani Bachao Paise Kamao (Punjab pilot); link MSP to water-use efficiency; mandatory metering under Atal Bhujal Phase-II.

Introduction: Ramesh Chand-NITI study: post-harvest losses 4.6%-15.9% across crops; Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (AIF) ₹1 lakh crore sanctioned through FY33 (MoAFW dashboard).

Body: 1) Storage deficit — 145 MT capacity vs 311 MT foodgrain production; cold storage skewed to potato. 2) AIF disbursals — over ₹50,000 crore sanctioned to 80,000+ projects (Apr 2025). 3) FCI silos — modern steel silos 11.50 LMT (replacing CAP). 4) Cooperative push — World's Largest Grain Storage Plan via PACS approved May 2023, ₹1 lakh crore.

Way forward: Operationalise PACS-led storage in 5,000 villages; expand WDRA-registered warehouses for e-NWR pledge loans; CIPHET-led cold chain training.

Introduction: e-NAM launched 14 April 2016; SFAC dashboard records 1,389 mandis across 23 states/UTs and 1.78 crore registered farmers (Mar 2025); cumulative trade ₹3.43 lakh crore.

Body: 1) Architecture — Platform of Platforms (since 2022) with private mandi software integration. 2) Bottlenecks — APMC reform reversal in states, weak assaying labs, logistics, inter-state trade <1%. 3) Standing Committee on Agriculture 2023 noted lab-to-payment lag.

Way forward: Push Model APMC Act 2017 and Model Contract Farming Act 2018 to states; expand BHIM-UPI integration; FPO onboarding under 10,000 FPO mission.

Introduction: Central Sector Scheme '10,000 FPOs' launched Feb 2020 with ₹6,865 crore outlay; SFAC dashboard records 9,500+ FPOs registered (Mar 2025); 22,000 gramin haats targeted for upgradation under GrAMs (Gramin Agri Markets) since 2018.

Body: 1) FPOs aggregate produce, access institutional credit (NABARD equity grant), bargain with retailers. 2) Gramin haats upgrade weighed under MGNREGA convergence to last-mile markets. 3) Constraints — leadership capacity, credit linkages, low e-NAM onboarding (~3,500 FPOs).

Way forward: Equity Grant Fund expansion via SFAC; FPO-led custom hiring centres; integration with e-NAM and ONDC agri pilots.

Introduction: Open-ended procurement — government commits to buy all marketed surplus offered at MSP; FCI rice/wheat stocks (Apr 2025) at ~57 MT vs strategic buffer norm 21.04 MT.

Body: 1) Distortions — paddy-wheat lock-in in Punjab-Haryana; groundwater stress, ecological damage. 2) Fiscal — Food subsidy ₹2.03 lakh crore Budget 2025-26. 3) Storage — open-CAP storage losses (CAG 2023 noted ₹6,000+ crore wastage estimates).

Way forward: Cap procurement at buffer norms with Decentralised Procurement; price-deficiency payment for excluded crops; nutrition-sensitive PDS with millets.

Introduction: PDS launched 1960s for urban areas; TPDS 1997 introduced; National Food Security Act 2013 entitles 81.35 crore beneficiaries; ONORC operational across all 36 states/UTs since June 2022.

Body: 1) Evolution — TPDS, Antyodaya Anna Yojana (1.5 crore households), PMGKAY extended five years from Jan 2024 (₹11.8 lakh crore). 2) ONORC — Integrated Management of PDS (IMPDS) on Annavitran portal; over 145 crore portability transactions. 3) Gaps — exclusion errors (Census 2011 base), 35 kg vs PMGKAY 5 kg per person per month difference, FPS leakage.

Way forward: Use SECC 2021 once finalised; e-PoS Aadhaar authentication penetration; cash transfer pilots in surplus states; biometric exemption for elderly.

Introduction: Food Corporation of India Act 1964; Section 17 mandates price stability via procurement and buffer; current buffer norms — wheat 21 LMT (Jan 1) to 275 LMT (Apr 1), rice scaling similarly.

Body: 1) Functions — price support, market stabilisation, PDS supply, strategic reserve. 2) Operations — MSP procurement from Punjab-Haryana, intra-state transport, storage at 1,800+ depots. 3) Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) for price moderation.

Way forward: Cost optimisation under Shanta Kumar Committee 2015; outsource procurement to states (DCP expansion); modernise depots via steel silos.

Introduction: MoFPI Annual Report 2023-24: food processing 7.7% of manufacturing GVA, 12.2% of agri GVA; PMKSY (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana, formerly SAMPADA) operational since 2017; perishable processing only ~10%.

Body: 1) Constraints — backward linkages, cold chain (only 8.4 lakh MT vs 31 lakh MT demand), credit, MSME formalisation. 2) PMKSY components — Mega Food Parks (24 operational), cold chain (320), integrated cold chains. 3) Operation Greens for TOP (tomato-onion-potato) → All Fruits & Vegetables since 2021.

Way forward: Converge with PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME, ₹10,000 crore); align with ONE District ONE Product (ODOP); CIPHET R&D for shelf-life extension.

Introduction: National Food Security Act 2013 covers 67% of population; POSHAN Abhiyaan launched 2018; POSHAN 2.0 (Mission Saksham Anganwadi) merged ICDS, POSHAN, Scheme for Adolescent Girls in 2021.

Body: 1) Pillars — entitlement (5 kg/person), AAY 35 kg/household, Mid-Day Meal/PM POSHAN. 2) POSHAN 2.0 — Saksham Anganwadis (2 lakh upgraded), Take Home Ration, IT-Poshan Tracker (10+ crore beneficiaries). 3) NFHS-5 stunting 35.5%, wasting 19.3%.

Way forward: Millet inclusion in PDS under International Year of Millets 2023 follow-through; fortify wheat-rice; convergence with Jal Jeevan Mission for nutrition outcomes.

Introduction: Land is a State subject (Entry 18, List II); Five-Year Plans emphasised land reforms from 1951; average operational holding shrunk to 1.08 ha (10th Agricultural Census 2015-16, refresh underway).

Body: 1) Phases — abolition of intermediaries (Zamindari), tenancy reform, ceiling laws, consolidation, Bhoodan. 2) Successes — West Bengal Operation Barga, Kerala 1969 Act, Karnataka tenancy. 3) Failures — Bihar, UP — political economy of landlordism; cooperatives stalled. 4) Modern issues — digitisation (SVAMITVA, DILRMP), Land Pooling for urbanisation.

Way forward: Accelerate Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP); SVAMITVA full coverage by 2026; Model Land Leasing Act 2016 (NITI Aayog) adoption.

Introduction: NPCI reported 18.4 billion UPI transactions in March 2025, worth ₹24.77 lakh crore — the world's largest real-time retail payments rail.

Body: 1) Global rollout — UPI live in UAE, Singapore PayNow link, France (Eiffel Tower), Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Bhutan. 2) Concentration risk — PhonePe and Google Pay together ~85% market share against NPCI's 30% cap (deferred to Dec 2026). 3) Zero-MDR sustainability vs incentive scheme of ₹1,500 crore (Budget 2025-26).

Way forward: Operationalise the 30% market-share cap; expand UPI-PayNow style linkages; price small-merchant MDR transparently.

Introduction: MeitY notified the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules 2026 on 10 February 2026 (effective 20 February 2026); over 50 million AI voice-clone calls were estimated during the 2024 Lok Sabha campaign.

Body: 1) Rules framework — definition of "synthetically generated information," visible labels, embedded provenance, takedown clocks of 3 hours (court/government orders) and 2 hours (intimate-image and impersonation deepfakes). 2) Criminal gaps — BNS 2023 covers identity impersonation under Section 319 but no dedicated deepfake offence; lack of victim restitution. 3) Institutional gap — no statutory AI regulator; reliance on Section 79 safe-harbour conditionality.

Way forward: Standalone Digital India Act with risk-tiered AI liability; statutory AI Safety Institute; mandatory C2PA-style content provenance; victim-compensation fund.

Introduction: Fragmented holdings — 86% small/marginal (Agri Census 2015-16); leasing legally restricted in many states; NITI Aayog Model Agricultural Land Leasing Act 2016 adopted by only a handful (UP, Uttarakhand, MP, AP).

Body: 1) Constraints — informal tenancy hides 25-30% leased area, locks credit, insurance access. 2) Existing consolidation — Punjab, Haryana, Western UP successes; eastern stagnation. 3) Land records — digitisation via DILRMP, geo-referencing under SVAMITVA, Bhulekh portals.

Way forward: Adoption of Model Land Leasing Act by states; recognise tenant rights without adversarial possession; integrate with KCC and PMFBY portability; National Spatial Data Infrastructure expansion.