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Subject pillar · 9 pieces

Case Studies

Case studies carry roughly half of General Studies Paper IV, and they are the part that cannot be prepared by reading. Each presents a situation with conflicting obligations and asks what you would do. A fixed…

9Total pieces
3Study articles
6Current affairs
25 Jul 2026Latest update

About this pillar

What's covered

Case studies carry roughly half of General Studies Paper IV, and they are the part that cannot be prepared by reading. Each presents a situation with conflicting obligations and asks what you would do.
A fixed method matters more than a stock of answers, because the value of a method is that it survives panic. Identify the stakeholders including the voiceless ones, state the actual conflict rather than a label like corruption, list courses a reasonable officer might genuinely take, weigh them, then commit and justify. An answer that surveys options without choosing has not answered.
Solved cases, the method, and the answer structures that work are collected here.

Official UPSC CSE syllabus

UPSC Syllabus for Case Studies

Main Examination — General Studies Paper IV, Section B (Case Studies)

  • Case Studies on the issues covered in the Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude syllabus. Candidates are given situational dilemmas drawn from administration and public life and asked to identify the stakeholders and ethical issues involved, evaluate the available options, and recommend a reasoned course of action.

Source: Official UPSC Civil Services Examination notification — Preliminary & Main Examination syllabus.

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News in Case Studies

Latest current affairs

The 4 newest Why-in-News pieces filed under Case Studies, each with GS mapping and a practice question.

All Case Studies current affairs →
  1. 01
    Aatmanirbharta In Farms : Regenerative AgricultureEnvironment & EcologyGeneral Studies
  2. 02
    Next Generation Reforms in BureaucracyGeneral StudiesGovernance
  3. 03
  4. 04
    Cloud BurstDisaster ManagementGeography

Everything in Case Studies

All Case Studies pieces

The complete index of all 9 pieces filed under Case Studies, newest first. It includes the highlights above.

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