GPSC Mains 2020: previous year questions

General Studies

1. Modernization and Westernization – Are they identical concepts?Write your answer →
2. Water shortage in India – Its impact on agricultural production, productivity, and the life of the common man.Write your answer →
3. Do the factors of backwardness in an area change quickly? – Illustrate with examples.Write your answer →
4. Can the tourism industry bring revolutionary changes in India with reference to socio-economic development and environmental protection?Syllabus: Economic Development since Independence, major features of Indian…Write your answer →
5. Is education a meaningful vehicle of reason and change or merely a tool for acquiring employability skills?Write your answer →
6. Towards cleaner cities in India.Write your answer →
7. The film and theatre reflect the popular culture in societies – Discuss.Write your answer →
8. The scope and limitations of online shopping.Write your answer →
9. Which is more important – Heredity or upbringing? Why?Write your answer →
10. Highlight the salient features of the Dholavira site of the Harappan civilization.Syllabus: Indus Valley Civilization in India and important excavated sites - It’s salient featuresWrite your answer →
11. Examine the importance of Nalanda and Vallabhi as centers of learning in the ancient period.Write your answer →
12. The Solanki dynasty is considered the Golden Period in the history of Gujarat – Discuss.Write your answer →
13. Analyze the revolutionary activities of Indians in Europe and other nations.Write your answer →
14. Review the role played by Western education in the rise of nationalism in India.Write your answer →
15. “The creativity and artistry in the handicraft and craft of Gujarat have made it world-class.” Estimate the appropriateness of the statement by describing any three handicrafts of Gujarat.Write your answer →
16. Discuss in detail, with full illustrations, “The Gujarati traditional theatre and subsequent changes.”Write your answer →
17. "The culture of the original trio – Vedvani, Buddhavani, and Vaishnavvani has been percolated in the folk language and devotional songs" – Examine the appropriateness of the statement.Write your answer →
18. State how and to what extent modern ideology has influenced the rituals of traditional Indian culture.Write your answer →
19. "The Bhakti Movement of medieval India has prepared the extensive role of the Reformist Movement" – Discuss.Write your answer →
20. Highlight the salient features of the Indus Valley Civilization.Syllabus: Indus Valley Civilization in India and important excavated sites - It’s salient featuresWrite your answer →
21. Analyze the major causes of low literacy rates in India and suggest some reasonable and feasible measures to raise literacy levels.Write your answer →
22. Gujarat’s long seacoast and fishing industry can prosper the Gujarat economy – Discuss.Write your answer →
23. Highlight the state of organic farming in India and government policy regarding it.Syllabus: Indian’s energy needs, efficiency and resourcesWrite your answer →
24. Write a critical note on the need and significance of the Smart Cities Mission in India.Write your answer →
25. Evaluate the functioning of the Supreme Court of India as a guardian of the Constitution.Write your answer →
26. Though legislative control over administration is well-defined, its effectiveness is neither felt nor observed – Critically evaluate.Write your answer →
27. Has the 10th Schedule of the Indian Constitution been a harmless provision? – Examine.Write your answer →
28. Fiscal Federalism is one of the important features of the Indian Constitution, and the GST Council is the focal point to foster federalism and democracy – Discuss.Write your answer →
29. Is the Election Commission hampered in performing its role because the Model Code of Conduct does not have statutory backing? – Evaluate.Write your answer →
30. The Right to Information Act has empowered citizens, and at the same time, indirectly redefined the concept of accountability – Discuss with examples.Write your answer →
31. Have civil service organizations and NGOs, as sources of grassroots mobilization and arenas for democratic participation, become elitist-driven? Critically examine in the Indian context with examples.Write your answer →
32. Define statutory bodies and quasi-judicial bodies. Examine the purpose of establishing such bodies and bring out the key differences between them.Syllabus: Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial authoritiesWrite your answer →
33. Examine the advantages and disadvantages of lateral entry into the Indian Civil Services.Write your answer →
34. E-governance epitomizes debureaucratization, though in reality, it negates debureaucratization – Discuss.Write your answer →
35. "Being indifferent to moral values is necessarily not immorality" – Comment.Write your answer →
36. It is argued that ‘Politics’ and ‘Ethics’ cannot be practiced simultaneously – Give your opinion.Write your answer →
37. Differentiate between tolerance and prejudice. What is the way forward to be tolerant without being prejudiced?Write your answer →
38. Describe human values as (i) subjective and (ii) objective. How are values different from ethics?Write your answer →
39. "A man is a hero not because he is braver than anyone else, but because he is brave for ten minutes longer." (Ralph W. Emerson) – Elucidate the above statement.Write your answer →
40. The NITI Aayog has given a new dimension to the process of development planning in the country – Discuss.Write your answer →
41. Give a brief description of the "Make in India" and "Startup India" initiatives of the Government of India.Write your answer →
42. To achieve sufficiency in the energy sector, non-conventional sources are very important – Discuss.Write your answer →
43. "It is not the size of the population, but the quality of human resources that matters in promoting economic development." Analyze this statement with reference to India's population vis-à-vis its level of economic development.Syllabus: Economic Development since Independence, major features of Indian…Write your answer →
44. State the main features of the Sustainable Development Vision Document – 2030 of Gujarat State.Write your answer →
45. The role of food processing technology and dairy technology is very important in our nation-building – Discuss.Syllabus: Role and Scope of Science and Technology in nation buildingWrite your answer →
46. Critically evaluate the current status of cybercrime-related policies in our nation.Write your answer →
47. Is groundwater continuously depleting because "Groundwater is everybody’s property and nobody’s responsibility?" – Elaborate.Write your answer →
48. "Space Science," once dubbed as a luxury, has now become a crucial platform for growth – Explain with examples.Write your answer →
49. Should we focus on "Mitigating Climate Change" or "Adapting to the Changing Climate"?Write your answer →
50. The Higher Education Commission of India is to be created under the National Education Policy 2020. How will the Higher Education Commission of India contribute towards re-energizing higher education?Write your answer →
51. What are the bottlenecks in India’s mission to become the world's semiconductor hub? What measures should be undertaken to overcome bottlenecks?Write your answer →
52. How will Gujarat’s Sports Policy 2022-2027 contribute towards promoting sports culture in Gujarat?Write your answer →
53. Explain the Government of Gujarat’s "Mission School of Excellence Project."Write your answer →
54. "The Modernization of Prisons (MoP) Project is a very important project for the nation." – Evaluate the same.Write your answer →