UPSC Mains 2015 GS III previous year questions

Q1 · UPSC 2015 · GS III · 12 marks · Solution

The nature of economic growth in India in recent times is often described as a jobless growth. Do you agree with this view? Give arguments in favour of your answer.

Indian Economy

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Q2 · UPSC 2015 · GS III · 12 marks · Solution

Livestock rearing has a big potential for providing non- farm employment and income in rural areas. Discuss suggesting suitable measures to promote this sector in India.

Indian Economy

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Q3 · UPSC 2015 · GS III · 12 marks · Solution

In the view of the declining average size of land holdings in India which has made agriculture non - viable for a majority of farmers should contract farming and land leasing be promoted in agriculture? critically evaluate the pros and cons.

Crops, Irrigation and Marketing

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Q4 · UPSC 2015 · GS III · 12 marks · Solution

How can the Digital India program help farmers to improve farm productivity and income? What step has the government taken in this regard?

Crops, Irrigation and Marketing

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Q5 · UPSC 2015 · GS III · 12 marks · Solution

In what way could replacement of price subsidy with direct benefit Transfer (DBT) change the scenario of subsidies in India? Discuss.

Farm Subsidies and PDS

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Q6 · UPSC 2015 · GS III · 12 marks · Solution

What are the impediments in marketing and supply chain management in developing the food processing industry in India? Can e-commerce help in overcoming this bottleneck?

Food Processing

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Q7 · UPSC 2015 · GS III · 12 marks · Solution

Craze for gold in Indian has led to surge in import of gold in recent years and put pressure on balance of payments and external value of rupee. In view of this, examine the merits of Gold Monetization scheme.

Indian Economy

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Q8 · UPSC 2015 · GS III · 12 marks · Solution

"Success of make in India program depends on the success of Skill India programme and radical labour reforms." Discuss with logical arguments.

Indian Economy

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Q9 · UPSC 2015 · GS III · 12 marks · Solution

To what factors can be the recent dramatic fall in equipment cost and tariff of solar energy be attributed? What implications does the trend have for thermal power producers and related industry?

Infrastructure

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Q10 · UPSC 2015 · GS III · 12 marks · Solution

There is a clear acknowledgement that Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are a tool of industrial development, manufacturing and exports. Recognising this potential, the whole instrumentality of SEZs require augmentation. Discuss the issue plaguing the success of SEZs with respect to taxation, governing laws and administration.

Indian Economy

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Q11 · UPSC 2015 · GS III · 12 marks · Solution

What do you understand by "Standard Positioning System" and "Precision positioning system" in the GPS era? Discuss the advantage India perceives from its ambitious IRNSS programme employing just seven satellites.

Indian Economy

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Q12 · UPSC 2015 · GS III · 12 marks · Solution

What are the areas of prohibitive labour that can be sustainably managed by robots? Discuss the initiatives that can propel the research in premier research institutes for substantive and gainful innovation.

Indian Economy

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Q13 · UPSC 2015 · GS III · 12 marks · Solution

Discuss the advantage and security implication of cloud hosting of servers vis-a-vis in house machine based hosting for government business.

Indian Economy

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Q14 · UPSC 2015 · GS III · 12 marks · Solution

India's Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) which has a database containing formatted information on more than 2 million medicinal formulations is proving a powerful weapon in country's fight against erroneous patents. Discuss the pro and cons of making the database available publicly available under open source licensing.

Indian Economy

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Q15 · UPSC 2015 · GS III · 12 marks · Solution

Discuss the Namami Gange and National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) programmes and causes of mixed results from the previous schemes. What quantum leaps can help preserve the river Ganga better than incremental inputs?

Indian Economy

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Q16 · UPSC 2015 · GS III · 12 marks · Solution

The frequency of earthquakes appears to have increased in the Indian subcontinent. However, India's preparedness for mitigating their impact has significant gaps. Discuss various aspects.

Indian Economy

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Q17 · UPSC 2015 · GS III · 12 marks · Solution

Human right activists constantly highlight the fact that the Armed forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) is a draconian act leading to cases of human right abuses by security forces. What sections of AFSPA are opposed by the activists. Critically evaluate the requirement with reference to the view held by Apex Court.

Indian Economy

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Q18 · UPSC 2015 · GS III · 12 marks · Solution

Religious indoctrination via social media has resulted in Indian youth joining the ISIS. What is ISIS and its mission? How can ISIS be dangerous to the internal security of our country.

Cyber Security and Money Laundering

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Q19 · UPSC 2015 · GS III · 12 marks · Solution

The persisting drives of the government for development of large industries in backward areas have resulted in isolating the tribal population and the farmers who face multiple displacements. With Malkangiri and Naxalbari foci, discuss the corrective strategies needed to win the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) doctrine affected citizens back into mainstream of social and economic growth.

Internal Security and Extremism

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Q20 · UPSC 2015 · GS III · 12 marks · Solution

Considering the threats cyberspace poses for the country, India needs a "Digital Armed Forces" to prevent crimes. Critically evaluate the National Cyber Security Policy, 2013 outlining the challenges perceived in its effective implementation.

Cyber Security and Money Laundering

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