UPSC CSE Mains 2026 GS I Paper Analysis

Subject

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2026 marks

Art & Culture

1

3

0

2

2

1

15

Ancient / Medieval History

0

0

3

1

1

1

10

Modern History

3

2

2

2

1

2

20

Post-Independence

1

1

0

0

1

2

30

World History

1

0

1

1

1

0

0

Physical Geography

4

4

1

4

3

4

45

Indian Geography & Resources

2

2

3

1

2

1

15

Human & Economic Geography

3

3

3

1

3

3

40

Indian Society

5

5

7

8

6

6

75

Total

20

20

20

20

20

20

250

Theme

Years asked

Globalization and society

2022 Q20 → 2024 Q19 → 2025 Q10 → 2026 Q20

Caste and urban change

2023 Q18 and Q19 → 2024 Q9 → 2026 Q18

Population and demography

2021 Q18 → 2024 Q7 → 2026 Q19

Water stress and rivers

2023 Q5 → 2024 Q14 → 2025 Q17 → 2026 Q7

Temple and monument architecture

2022 Q12 and Q13 → 2024 Q11 → 2025 Q3 → 2026 Q11

Cyclones and severe weather

2022 Q5 → 2024 Q4 and Q6 → 2026 Q4

Technology and society

2021 Q19 → 2025 Q15 → 2026 Q10 and Q15

States reorganisation

2022 Q11 → 2026 Q12

Land use and urban encroachment

2021 Q6 → 2026 Q17

Tribal issues

2021 Q9 → 2022 Q10 → 2023 Q13 → 2025 Q20

Year

Level

Character

2021

Moderate

Straightforward geography, but a heavy society section. Cryptocurrency was the surprise.

2022

Moderate

Very balanced. Zero world history. Basic geography — rocks, troposphere, ocean currents. Sect and secularism troubled candidates.

2023

Hard

Zero art and culture, zero post-independence. Society jumped to seven, with unusual framings — suicide among young women, child cuddling and mobile phones.

2024

Moderate to hard

Society peaked at eight. Physical geography got technical — auroras, twisters, cloudbursts. Little scope for generic answers.

2025

Moderate

Well spread across all sections. AI and drones in planning was the modern surprise.

2026

Moderate

Balanced and fair. Only the Fujiwhara effect was genuinely unfamiliar. Two post-independence questions rewarded those who did not skip that section.

No.

Question

Subject

Marks

1

Analyze the importance of Ashokan inscriptions for reconstructing Mauryan history.

Ancient / Medieval History

10

2

Discuss the impact of Macaulay's Minute on colonial administration and education in India.

Modern History

10

3

The significance of the Gandhian movements lay in the masses they mobilized. Elucidate.

Modern History

10

4

What is the Fujiwhara effect? Explain its impact on the movement and intensity of tropical cyclones.

Physical Geography

10

5

“Tundra regions are ecologically fragile but economically important.” Examine this statement critically.

Physical Geography

10

6

Discuss the role of aeolian processes in desertification and land degradation.

Physical Geography

10

7

“Water resources are both an asset and a source of conflict in South Asia.” Examine this statement giving examples.

Human & Economic Geography

10

8

Unity in diversity remains the defining feature of Indian society despite the challenges from communalism and regionalism. Comment.

Indian Society

10

9

How do you understand disability? Substantiate the need for inclusive policy framework in India in this regard.

Indian Society

10

10

Do you think digital technology promotes social empowerment? Explain with examples.

Indian Society

10

11

Vijayanagara architecture exemplifies the amalgamation of past traditions with contemporary practices. Elucidate with examples.

Art & Culture

15

12

Linguistic reorganization of Indian States was driven by popular pressure from below. Comment.

Post-Independence

15

13

The model of planned economy was adopted in India to address the regional imbalances left behind by colonial rule. Comment.

Post-Independence

15

14

Compare the Loo, Chinook and Foehn winds with respect to their regions of prevalence, their nature and climatic impacts.

Physical Geography

15

15

Analyze the role of satellite-based technologies in achieving climate-smart agriculture and food security in India.

Human & Economic Geography

15

16

“The centre of global trade is gradually shifting from the Atlantic region to the Indo-Pacific region.” Examine this statement.

Human & Economic Geography

15

17

Analyze the major drivers of human-induced land-use changes in India and their geographical consequences.

Indian Geography & Resources

15

18

Is caste disappearing in urban India? Illustrate your answer with examples.

Indian Society

15

19

Critically examine the challenges of demographic transition in contemporary India.

Indian Society

15

20

Evaluate the impact of globalization on Indian youths with reference to social, political, economic and cultural spheres.

Indian Society

15

Point

2026

Society weightage

6 questions, 75 marks — in line with the five-year average of 6.2

Geography weightage

8 questions, 100 marks — the largest single subject block

History and culture weightage

6 questions, 75 marks — spread across ancient, modern, post-independence and culture

World History

Zero — only the second time in six years

Post-Independence

2 questions, 30 marks — highest in the window

Unfamiliar or surprise question

Q4 on the Fujiwhara effect — the only genuinely new term

Wind-related cluster

Q4, Q6 and Q14 all involve air movement — an unusual concentration

Opinion-type questions

Q10, Q18, and to an extent Q8 and Q20 — a stated position was required

Current-affairs linkage

Q9 disability, Q10 digital empowerment, Q15 satellite agriculture, Q16 Indo-Pacific

Diagram or map opportunities

Q4 Fujiwhara diagram, Q14 mountain cross-section, Q16 chokepoint map, Q6 dune landforms

Overall difficulty

Moderate — fair and attemptable, but rewarding specificity over general writing

No.

What is being asked

Key value addition

Q1

Analyze — weigh what inscriptions do and do not tell us.

Name specific edicts — Rock Edict XIII on Kalinga, Pillar Edict VII on dhamma, Minor Rock Edict I on Ashoka's Buddhist affiliation. A small map of edict sites earns marks.

Q2

Discuss — both administration and education, and both positive and negative effects.

Wood's Despatch of 1854 as the real blueprint of modern Indian education; Hunter Commission 1882. Mention that Gandhi's Nai Talim was a direct response to this model.

Q3

Elucidate — accept the proposition and prove it, but note it was mobilization plus method.

Numbers help — Congress membership growth after 1920, arrest figures in Civil Disobedience. Quote Nehru on Gandhi turning the Congress from a debating body into a movement.

Q4

Define plus explain effects — a pure concept question.

A diagram is almost mandatory here. Cite examples such as cyclones Ockhi-era interactions or documented Pacific twin-typhoon cases. Link to IMD forecasting and NDMA cyclone guidelines.

Q5

Examine critically — both halves of the statement, plus the tension between them.

India's Arctic Policy 2022 and observer status in the Arctic Council make this an Indian-relevance question, not just a world geography one.

Q6

Discuss the role — process to consequence.

The ISRO Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas figure and India's UNCCD pledge to restore 26 million hectares by 2030 are the two data anchors.

Q7

Examine with examples — must genuinely cover both asset and conflict.

Distinguish transboundary disputes from inter-state disputes inside India — most candidates will write only the first. Mention the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act amendment.

Q8

Comment — a balanced verdict, not a patriotic essay.

Nehru's phrase on unity in diversity and Ambedkar's caution in his final Constituent Assembly speech that India must place the country above creed. Note that regionalism accommodated through states reorganisation actually strengthened unity.

Q9

Two parts — conceptual understanding of disability, then the policy argument.

The phrase ‘nothing about us without us’ and the principle of reasonable accommodation. Note the shift from welfare to rights as the core argument.

Q10

‘Do you think’ — an opinion question. Take a position, but show both sides first.

Cite specific schemes and one or two data points on the gender gap in internet use. The Puttaswamy judgment and the DPDP Act give a rights dimension most answers will miss.

Q11

Elucidate with examples — prove the amalgamation claim through named structures.

Name at least four structures. Mention that the use of arches and domes in secular but not religious buildings was a deliberate distinction. Foreign travellers' accounts add authority.

Q12

Comment — test the claim that it was bottom-up, and note the state's reluctance.

Dates and named bodies carry this answer: Dar Commission 1948, JVP Committee 1948, Andhra 1953, SRC 1953, SRA 1956. Note that reorganisation is often credited with defusing rather than fuelling separatism.

Q13

Comment — the stated reason is one reason among several; assess whether it worked.

Freight equalisation is the sharpest example — a policy meant to reduce disparity that is widely argued to have deepened it for Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha. Very few candidates will use it.

Q14

Compare on three stated parameters — a table is the natural format.

The adiabatic lapse rate contrast — wet ascent at about 6 degrees per km versus dry descent at about 10 degrees per km — explains why these winds are warm. A simple cross-section diagram of a mountain barrier scores well.

Q15

Analyze the role — link the technology to the two stated outcomes.

Name the specific ISRO programmes — FASAL, NADAMS, CHAMAN, Bhuvan. Linking to PMFBY claim settlement is the strongest concrete example.

Q16

Examine — test the claim, and consider whether the Atlantic still matters.

Chokepoint geography is what makes this a GS-1 geography answer rather than a GS-2 IR answer — keep Malacca, Hormuz and Bab-el-Mandeb central and draw a sketch map.

Q17

Analyze drivers and consequences — two clear halves.

Use named case studies rather than general statements — Bengaluru's lost lakes, Chennai's Pallikaranai marsh, Aravalli mining, Joshimath subsidence.

Q18

‘Is it disappearing’ — answer no with nuance: form changes, salience persists.

The distinction between caste as hierarchy and caste as identity is the argument that separates a good script from an average one. Cite Ambedkar, Srinivas, Beteille and Gupta by name.

Q19

Critically examine — challenges, but also note the opportunity being missed.

The delimitation and fiscal devolution angle of north-south demographic divergence is the sharpest and least commonly written point. NFHS-5 TFR of 2.0 is the essential data anchor.

Q20

Evaluate across four named spheres — the structure is given in the question, so use it.

Follow the four spheres as four subheadings — examiners reward visible correspondence with the question. The idea of glocalisation is the analytical hook.