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UPSC Mains 2014 GS 1 Question Paper (General Studies I)

All 25 questions from the UPSC Civil Services Mains 2014 General Studies I paper, transcribed from the official question paper and tagged by syllabus topic. Format: 150 words each · 10 marks each · 25 questions. Download the original question paper PDF.

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Q1 Indian Culture & Heritage · 10 marks

To what extent has the urban planning and culture of the Indus Valley Civilization provided inputs to the present day urbanization? Discuss.

Q2 Indian Culture & Heritage · 10 marks

Gandhara sculpture owed as much to the Romans as to the Greeks. Explain.

Q3 Indian Culture & Heritage · 10 marks

Taxila university was one of the oldest universities of the world with which were associated a number of renowned learned personalities of different disciplines. Its strategic location caused its fame to flourish, but unlike Nalanda, it is not considered as a university in the modern sense. Discuss.

Q4 Modern Indian History · 10 marks

The third battle of Panipat was fought in 1761. Why were so many empire-shaking battles fought at Panipat?

Q5 Indian Culture & Heritage · 10 marks

Sufis and medieval mystic saints failed to modify either the religious ideas and practices or the outward structure of Hindu/Muslim societies to any appreciable extent. Comment.

Q6 Modern Indian History · 10 marks

Examine critically the various facets of economic policies of the British in India from mid-eighteenth century till independence.

Q7 Freedom Struggle · 10 marks

In what ways did the naval mutiny prove to be the last nail in the coffin of British colonial aspirations in India?

Q8 World History · 10 marks

What were the major political, economic and social developments in the world which motivated the anti-colonial struggle in India?

Q9 World History · 10 marks

What were the events that led to the Suez Crisis in 1956? How did it deal a final blow to Britain's self-image as a world power?

Q10 World History · 10 marks

The New Economic Policy — 1921 of Lenin had influenced the policies adopted by India soon after independence. Evaluate.

Q11 Women, Population & Urbanization · 10 marks

How does patriarchy impact the position of a middle class working woman in India?

Q12 Women, Population & Urbanization · 10 marks

Why do some of the most prosperous regions of India have an adverse sex ratio for women? Give your arguments.

Q13 Indian Society · 10 marks

The life cycle of a joint family depends on economic factors rather than social values. Discuss.

Q14 Women, Population & Urbanization · 10 marks

Discuss the various economic and socio-cultural forces that are driving increasing feminization of agriculture in India.

Q15 Communalism, Secularism & Regionalism · 10 marks

How do the Indian debates on secularism differ from the debates in the West?

Q16 Geography (Physical, Resources & Phenomena) · 10 marks

Most of the unusual climatic happenings are explained as an outcome of the El-Nino effect. Do you agree?

Q17 Geography (Physical, Resources & Phenomena) · 10 marks

Why are the world's fold mountain systems located along the margins of continents? Bring out the association between the global distribution of fold mountains and the earthquakes and volcanoes.

Q18 Geography (Physical, Resources & Phenomena) · 10 marks

Explain the formation of thousands of islands in Indonesian and Philippines archipelagos.

Q19 Geography (Physical, Resources & Phenomena) · 10 marks

Tropical cyclones are largely confined to South China Sea, Bay of Bengal and Gulf of Mexico. Why?

Q20 Geography (Physical, Resources & Phenomena) · 10 marks

Bring out the relationship between the shrinking Himalayan glaciers and the symptoms of climate change in the Indian sub-continent.

Q21 Geography (Physical, Resources & Phenomena) · 10 marks

Whereas the British planters had developed tea gardens all along the Shivaliks and Lesser Himalayas from Assam to Himachal Pradesh, in effect they did not succeed beyond the Darjeeling area. Explain.

Q22 Geography (Physical, Resources & Phenomena) · 10 marks

Why did the Green Revolution in India virtually by-pass the eastern region despite fertile soil and good availability of water?

Q23 Geography (Physical, Resources & Phenomena) · 10 marks

Account for the change in the spatial pattern of the Iron and Steel industry in the world.

Q24 Geography (Physical, Resources & Phenomena) · 10 marks

Critically evaluate the various resources of the oceans which can be harnessed to meet the resource crisis in the world.

Q25 Geography (Physical, Resources & Phenomena) · 10 marks

How does India see its place in the economic space of rising natural resource rich Africa?

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