Preparing for the UPSC Mains Essay Paper? Analyzing Previous Year Questions (PYQs) is a crucial step in mastering essay writing. This page provides a comprehensive, topic-wise compilation of UPSC Mains Essay PYQs, helping aspirants understand exam patterns and structure their responses effectively.
Why Should You Practice UPSC Mains Essay PYQs?
- Exam-Oriented Approach: Familiarize yourself with recurring themes and question patterns.
- Develop Analytical Thinking: Essays require critical analysis and structured arguments.
- Improve Writing Skills: Regular practice enhances articulation and clarity in writing.
- Topic-Wise Coverage: Covers key areas like History, Society, Development, Economy, Science & Technology, and Ethics.
History, Culture, Past
2022
- History is a series of victorious won by the scientific man over the romantic man
2021
- History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce.
2020
- Culture is what we are, civilisation is what we have.
Society/Diversity/Unity/Equality
2023
- Girls are weighed down by restrictions, boys with demands - two equally harmful disciplines.
- A society that has more justice is a society that needs less charity.
2020
- There can be no social justice without economic prosperity, but economic prosperity without social justice is meaningless.
- Patriarchy is the least noticed yet the most significant structure of social inequality.
2019
- Best for an individual is not necessarily best for society.
2017
- Fulfillment of ‘new woman’ in India is a myth.
2013
- Is the colonial mentality hindering India’s success?
Growth, Development and Welfare
2018
- Poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere
2016
- If development is not engendered, it is endangered.
- Innovation is the key determinant of economic growth and social welfare.
2015
- Dreams which should not let India sleep.
2014
- Is the growing level of competition good for the youth?
- Was it the policy paralysis or the paralysis of implementation which slowed the growth of our country?
Empowerment Sectors and Sections
2014
- Fifty Golds in Olympics: Can this be a reality for India?
- Tourism: Can this be the next big thing for India?
Polity And Constitution Topics Federalism, Election
2019
- Biased media is a real threat to Indian democracy.
2017
- We may brave human laws but cannot resist natural laws.
2016
- Cooperative federalism: Myth or reality
2014
- Is sting operation an invasion on privacy?
Health And Education
2023
- Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school
2021
- What is research, but a blind date with knowledge!
2019
- Neglect of primary health care and education in India are reasons for its backwardness.
2017
- Destiny of a nation is shaped in its classrooms.
2015
- Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make a man more clever devil.
2014
- Are the standardized tests good measure of academic ability or progress?
Security/IR/Agreements/Org/Their Society
2019
- South Asian societies are woven not around the state, but around their plural culture and plural identities.
2018
- Management of Indian border disputes – a complex task. (A)
2017
- Has the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) lost its relevance in a multipolar world?
Agriculture, Resources and Other Activities
2017
- Farming has lost the ability to be a source of subsistence for the majority of farmers in India.
2016
- Water disputes between states in federal India.
Economy +
2024
- Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow them.
2022
- Forests are the best-case studies for economic excellence.
2017
- Impact of the new economic measures on fiscal ties between the union and states in India.
2016
- Near jobless growth in India: An anomaly or an outcome of economic reforms.
- Digital economy: A leveller or a source of economic inequality.
2015
- Crisis faced in India – moral or economic.
- Can capitalism bring inclusive growth?
2013
- GDP (Gross Domestic Product) along with GDH (Gross Domestic Happiness) would be the right indices for judging the well-being of a country.
Science And Technology
2024
- The doubter is a true man of science
2021
- The process of self-discovery has now been technologically outsourced.
2020
- Technology as the silent factor in international relations.
2019
- Rise of Artificial Intelligence: The threat of jobless future or better job opportunities through reskilling and upskilling.
2018
- Alternative technologies for a climate change resilient India.
2017
- Social media is inherently a selfish medium.
2016
- Cyberspace and internet: Blessing or curse to the human civilization in the long run.
2015
- Technology cannot replace manpower.
2013
- Science and Technology is the panacea for the growth and security of the nation.
Philosophy, Values, Quote and Proverbs Based
2025
- Truth knows no color.
- The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.
- Thought finds a world and creates one also.
- The best lessons are learnt through bitter experiences
- Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.
- The years teach much which the days never know.
- It is best to see life as a journey, not as a destination.
- Contentment is natural wealth; luxury is artificial poverty.
2024
- The empires of the future will be the empires of the mind.
- There is no path to happiness; Happiness is the path.
- All ideas having large consequences are always simple.
- Nearly all men can stand adversity, but to test the character, give him power.
- Social media is triggering ‘Fear of Missing Out’ amongst the youth, precipitating depression and loneliness.
- The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing.
2023
- Mathematics is the music of reason.
- Inspiration for creativity springs from the effort to look for the magical in the mundane.
- Not all who wander are lost.
- Visionary decision-making happens at the intersection of intuition and logic.
- Thinking is like a game, it does not begin unless there is an opposite team.
2022
- Just because you have a choice, it does not mean that any of them has to be right.
- A smile is the chosen vehicle for all ambiguities.
- You cannot step twice in the same river.
- The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.
- A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what a ship is for.
- Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.
2021
- There are better practices to “best practices”.
- Hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.
- The real is rational and the rational is real.
- Philosophy of wantlessness is Utopian, while materialism is a chimera.
- Your perception of me is a reflection of you; my reaction to you is an awareness of me.
2020
- Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
- Ships do not sink because of water around them, ships sink because of water that gets into them.
- Mindful manifesto is the catalyst to a tranquil self.
- Life is a long journey between human being and being humane.
2019
- Courage to accept and dedication to improve are two keys to success.
- Values are not what humanity is, but what humanity ought to be.
- Wisdom finds truth.
2018
- Reality does not conform to the ideal, but confirms it.
- A people that values its privileges above its principles loses both.
- ‘The past’ is a permanent dimension of human consciousness and values.
- Customary morality cannot be a guide to modern life.
- A good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.
2017
- Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.
2016
- Need brings greed, if greed increases it spoils breed.
2015
- Character of an institution is reflected in its leader.
- Quick but steady wins the race.
- Lending hands to someone is better than giving a dole.
2014
- Words are sharper than the two-edged sword.
- With greater power comes greater responsibility.
2013
- Be the change you want to see in others – Gandhiji.
