By UPSCTREECategories: Mains Test Series
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Questions of the UTM01 Test :-
- The nation can progress only if the Union and State Governments walk shoulder to shoulder. Inter-State Council is one of the most significant platforms for strengthening Centre-State and Inter-State relationship. Discuss. What further steps need to be taken to strengthen the Inter-State Council?
- National Human Rights Commissions (NHRCs) have become prominent actors in the national,regional and international human rights arena. Critically examine the role of NHRC in curbing Human Rights violations in the country.
- Recently the Supreme Court had requested the Central government to consider the possibility of establishing a National Court of Appeal (NCA) which has elicited mixed reactions from the legal community. Do you think an intermediary like NCA will be a solution to reduce judicial backlog or suggest any alternative measures?
- Elections in India have become a continuous process and political parties with stakes in various states are constantly preparing for one election or the other. Discuss the problems associated with frequent elections and suggest a way forward.
- Judiciary, in recent years is increasingly being criticized for actively encroaching upon the powers of legislative and executive authorities. The judiciary must retain a fine balance between Judicial Activism and Judicial Over-reach. Elucidate.
- Recently the Chief Justice of India criticized the actions of the Centre over the matter of appointments of judges in the higher judiciary and for trying to bring the entire judiciary to a grinding halt. The legislature and the Judiciary must work together to formulate the Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of judges to higher judiciary. Discuss.
- Smart Cities Mission aims to improve the quality of life of the average urban citizen. However according to few experts, it is necessary to make cities liveable first before making them smart.Discuss in light of problems associated with urban areas in India.
- What do you understand by ‘Lobbying’? Do you think Lobbying should be legalised in India?
- Even after a quarter of a century of their enactment, the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) are yet to achieve their full potential. Do you agree? Discuss in light of various issues associated with PRIs in India and suggest measures.
- India has too many children but too little childhood. In light of this statement analyze the various legal and policy related loopholes in Indian context and suggest a way forward.
- What do you understand by judicial accountability? Discuss and suggest a way forward to inculcate judiciary accountability in Indian jurisprudence.
- Critically analyse IPC Section – 377 in light of the recent developments with respect to LGBT rights and comment on the judicial judgements pertaining to it.
- The union cabinet has recently cleared draft Surrogacy (Regulation) bill, 2016, which bans commercial surrogacy in India and allows altruistic surrogacy to a qualified set of couples. Critically analyse provisions of the bill and put forth your views on surrogacy.
- Life Exists, therefore it has a right to exist ; Death exist, therefore it has a right to exist too .In light of this statement analyse the legal entanglement surrounding Euthanasia in India.
- Critically comment on right to privacy vis-à-vis various judicial pronouncements surrounding the Aadhaar card and the various provisions of the act pertaining to it?
- What do you understand by rights based approach? Do you think it is helping India better itself to be a more just and inclusive society. Analyse with examples and list out the benefits of this approach, if any.
- What do you understand by pressure group ?Discuss their role in a vibrant democracy?
- Supreme Court had recently upheld criminal defamation. However parties in power in various states are constantly found to be misusing this provision to settle political score or suppress any voice of dissent. In light of this discuss defamation and comment on whether it should be criminal or civil.
- Discuss the role and functions of Medical Council of India and the various issues surrounding it and suggest a way forward.
- Discuss the recommendations of Lodha committee on reforming BCCI. Do you think the similar set of recommendations should be extended to other sports governing bodies to bring transparency and accountability to sports administration in India.
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2025
Section A
1. Truth knows no color.
2. The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.
3. Thought finds a world and creates one also.
4. Best lessons are learnt through bitter experiences.
Section B
5. Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.
6. The years teach much which the days never know.
7. It is best to see life as a journey, not as a destination.
8. Contentment is natural wealth; luxury is artificial poverty.
2024
Section A
1. Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow them.
2. The empires of the future will be the empires of the mind.
3. There is no path to happiness; happiness is the path.
4. The doubter is a true man of science.
Section B
5. Social media is triggering ‘Fear of Missing Out’ amongst the youth, precipitating depression and loneliness.
6. Nearly all men can stand adversity, but to test the character, give him power.
7. All ideas having large consequences are always simple.
8. The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing.
2023
Section A
1. Thinking is like a game, it does not begin unless there is an opposite team.
2. Visionary decision-making happens at the intersection of intuition and logic.
3. Not all who wander are lost.
4. Mathematics is the music of reason.
Section B
5. Girls are weighed down by restrictions, boys with demands—two equally harmful disciplines.
6. A society that has more justice is a society that needs less charity.
7. Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.
8. There can be no social justice without economic prosperity, but economic prosperity without social justice is meaningless.
2022
Section A
1. Forests are the best case studies for economic excellence.
2. Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.
3. History is a series of victories won by the scientific man over the romantic man.
4. A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ship is for.
Section B
5. The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.
6. You cannot step twice in the same river.
7. A smile is the chosen vehicle for all ambiguities.
8. Just because you have a choice, it does not mean that any of them has to be right.
2021
Section A
1. The process of self-discovery has now been technologically outsourced.
2. Your perception of me is a reflection of you; my reaction to you is an awareness of me.
3. Philosophy of wantlessness is Utopian, while materialism is a chimera.
4. The real is rational and the rational is real.
Section B
5. Hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.
6. What is research, but a blind date with knowledge!
7. History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce.
8. There are better practices to “best practices”.
2020
Section A
1. Life is a long journey between human being and being humane.
2. Mindful manifesto is the catalyst to a tranquil self.
3. Ships do not sink because of water around them, ships sink because of water that gets into them.
4. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
Section B
5. Culture is what we are, civilization is what we have.
6. There can be no social justice without economic prosperity but economic prosperity without social justice is meaningless.
7. Patriarchy is the least noticed yet the most significant structure of social inequality.
8. Technology as the silent factor in international relations.
2019
Section A
1. Wisdom finds truth.
2. Values are not what humanity is, but what humanity ought to be.
3. Best for an individual is not necessarily best for society.
4. Courage to accept and dedication to improve are two keys to success.
Section B
5. South Asian societies are woven not around the state, but around their plural culture and plural identities.
6. Neglect of primary health care and education in India are reasons for its backwardness.
7. Biased media is a real threat to Indian democracy.
8. Rise of Artificial Intelligence: the threat of jobless future or better job opportunities through reskilling and upskilling.
2018
Section A
1. Alternative technologies for a climate change resilient India.
2. A good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.
3. Poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere.
4. Management of Indian border dispute is a complex task.
Section B
5. Customary morality cannot be a guide to modern life.
6. ‘The past’ is a permanent dimension of human consciousness and values.
7. A people that values its privileges above its principles loses both.
8. Reality does not conform to the ideal, but confirms it.
2017
Section A
1. Farming has lost the ability to be a source of subsistence for majority of farmers in India.
2. Impact of the new economic measures on fiscal ties between the Union and States in India.
3. Destiny of a nation is shaped in its classrooms.
4. Has the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) lost its relevance in a multipolar world?
Section B
5. Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.
6. Fulfilment of 'new woman' in India is a myth.
7. We may brave human laws but cannot resist natural laws.
8. ‘Social media’ is inherently a selfish medium.
2016
Section A
1. If development is not engendered, it is endangered.
2. Need brings greed, if greed increases it spoils breed.
3. Water disputes between states in federal India.
4. Innovation is the key determinant of economic growth and social welfare.
Section B
5. Cooperative federalism: Myth or reality.
6. Cyberspace and internet: Blessing or curse to the human civilization in the long run.
7. Near jobless growth in India: An anomaly or an outcome of economic reforms.
8. Digital economy: A leveller or a source of economic inequality.
2015
Section A
1. Lending hands to someone is better than giving a dole.
2. Quick but steady wins the race.
3. Character of an institution is reflected in its leader.
4. Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make a man more clever devil.
Section B
5. Technology cannot replace manpower.
6. Crisis faced in India – moral or economic.
7. Dreams which should not let India sleep.
8. Can capitalism bring inclusive growth?