Society
Syllabus
- Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.
- Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.
- Effects of globalization on Indian society.
- Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism.
| Syllabus | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salient features of Indian Society; Diversity of India. | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 15 | ||||
| Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues. | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 23 | ||
| Urbanisation: problems and remedies | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 16 | |
| Globalisation and its effects on Indian society | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||||
| Social empowerment, communal-ism, regionalism & secularism. | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 20 |
1. Salient features of Indian Society; Diversity of India
| Micro topics | UPSC PYQs previous year questions | Year | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diversity and pluralism | What is regional disparity? How does it differ from diversity? How serious is the issue of regional disparity in India? | 2024 | 15 |
| Critically analyse the proposition that there is a high correlation between India’s cultural diversities and socio-economic marginalities. | 2024 | 15 | |
| Analyse the salience of ‘sect’ in Indian society vis-a-vis caste, region and religion. | 2022 | 15 | |
| Do we have cultural pockets of small India all over the nation? Elaborate with examples. | 2019 | 15 | |
| In the context of diversity of India, can it be said that the regions form cultural units rather than the States? Give reasons with examples for your viewpoint. | 2017 | 10 | |
| Describe any four cultural elements of diversity in India and rate their relative significance in building a national identity. | 2015 | 12.5 | |
| Tribes & Related Issues | Does tribal development in India centre around two axes, those of displacement and of rehabilitation? Give your opinion. | 2025 | 15 |
| Given the diversities among tribal communities in India, in which specific contexts should they be considered as a single category? | 2022 | 10 | |
| Examine the uniqueness of tribal knowledge system when compared with main-stream knowledge and cultural systems. | 2021 | 10 | |
| How do you explain the statistics that show that the sex ratio in Tribes in India is more favourable to women than the sex ratio among Scheduled Castes? | 2015 | 12.5 | |
| Family | Intercaste marriages between castes which have socio-economic parity have in-creased, to some extent, but this is less true of interreligious marriages. Discuss. | 2024 | 10 |
| Child cuddling is now being replaced by mobile phones. Discuss its impact on the socialization of children. | 2023 | 10 | |
| Do you think marriage as a sacrament in losing its value in Modern India? | 2023 | 10 | |
| Explore and evaluate the impact of ‘Work from Home’ on family relationships. | 2022 | 10 | |
| The life cycle of a joint family depends on economic factors rather than social values. Discuss. | 2014 | 10 | |
| Uniqueness of Indian society | How does Indian society maintain continuity in traditional social values? Enumerate the changes taking place in it. | 2021 | 15 |
| What makes Indian society unique in sustaining its culture? Discuss. | 2019 | 10 | |
| The spirit tolerance and love is not only an interesting feature of Indian society from very early times, but it is also playing an important part at the present. Elaborate. | 2017 | 15 |
2. Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues.
| Micro topics | UPSC PYQs previous year questions | Year | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population and associated issues | What is the concept of a ‘demographic winter’? Is the world moving towards such a situation? Elaborate. | 2024 | 10 |
| Why did human development fail to keep pace with economic development in India? | 2023 | 15 | |
| Discuss the main objectives of Population Education and point out the measures to achieve them in India in detail. | 2021 | 15 | |
| Critically examine whether growing population is the cause of poverty OR poverty is the main cause of population increase in India. | 2015 | 12.5 | |
| Discuss the changes in the trends of labour migration within and outside India in the last four decades. | 2015 | 12.5 | |
| Poverty and Related issues | COVID-19 pandemic accelerated class inequalities and poverty in India. Comment. | 2020 | 10 |
| Despite implementation of various programmes for eradication of poverty by the government in India, poverty is still existing.’ Explain by giving reasons. | 2018 | 10 | |
| An essential condition to eradicate poverty is to liberate the poor from deprivation. Substantiate this statement with suitable examples | 2016 | 12.5 | |
| Development and Related issues | ‘Achieving sustainable growth with emphasis on environmental protection could come into conflict with poor people’s needs in a country like India – Comment. | 2025 | 15 |
| In dealing with socio-economic issues of development, what kind of collaboration between government, NGO’s and private sector would be most productive? | 2024 | 10 | |
| What is Cryptocurrency? How does it affect global society? Has it been affecting Indian society also? | 2021 | 15 | |
| How have digital initiatives in India contributed to the functioning of the educational system in the country? Elaborate your answer. | 2020 | 15 | |
| Women and Associated concerns | Distinguish between gender equality, gender equity and women’s empowerment. Why is it important to take gender concerns into account in programme design and implementation? | 2024 | 10 |
| Explain why suicide among young women is increasing in Indian Society. | 2023 | 10 | |
| Examine the role of ‘Gig Economy’ in the process of empowerment of women in India. | 2021 | 10 | |
| “Empowering women is the key to control population growth”. Discuss | 2019 | 10 | |
| What are the continued challenges for women in India against time and space? | 2019 | 15 | |
| Women’s movement in India has not addressed the issues of women of lower social strata. Substantiate your view. | 2018 | 15 | |
| Discuss the various economic and socio-cultural forces that are driving increasing feminization of agriculture in India. | 2014 | 10 | |
| How does patriarchy impact the position of a middle class working woman in India? | 2014 | 10 | |
| Why do some of the most prosperous regions of India have an adverse sex ratio for women? Give your arguments. | 2014 | 10 | |
| Male membership needs to be encouraged in order to make women’s organization free from gender bias. Comment. | 2013 | 10 |
3. Urbanisation: problems and remedies
| Micro topics | UPSC PYQs | Year | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban Water Management | What are the environmental implications of the reclamation of water bodies into urban land use? Explain with examples. | 2021 | 10 |
| Account for the huge flooding of million cities in India including the smart ones like Hyderabad and Pune. Suggest lasting remedial measures. | 2020 | 15 | |
| Major cities of India are becoming more vulnerable to flood conditions. Discuss. | 2016 | 12.5 | |
| Urban Planning | How is efficient and affordable urban mass transport key to the rapid economic development of India? | 2019 | 15 |
| Mention core strategies for the transformation of aspirational districts in India and explain the nature of convergence, collaboration and competition for its success. | 2018 | 15 | |
| With a brief background of quality of urban life in India, introduce the objectives and strategy of the ‘Smart City Programme’. | 2016 | 12.5 | |
| Smart cities in India cannot sustain without smart villages. Discuss this statement in the backdrop of rural urban integration. | 2015 | 12.5 | |
| Urban Poverty and Migration | How does smart city in India, address the issues of urban poverty and distributive justice? | 2025 | 10 |
| Why do large cities tend to attract more migrants than smaller towns? Discuss in the light of conditions in developing countries. | 2024 | 10 | |
| Does urbanization lead to more segregation and/or marginalization of the poor in Indian metropolises? | 2023 | 15 | |
| Environmental Issues | Bring out the causes for the formation of heat islands in the urban habitat of the world. | 2013 | 5 |
4. Globalisation and its effects on Indian society
| Micro topics | UPSC PYQs previous year questions | Year | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Globalisation | Do you think that globalization results in only an aggressive consumer culture? | 2025 | 10 |
| How do you account for the growing fast food industries given that there are increased health concerns in modern society? Illustrate your answer with the Indian experience. | 2025 | 15 | |
| Globalization has increased urban migration by skilled, young, unmarried women from various classes. How has this trend impacted upon their personal freedom and relationship with family? | 2024 | 15 | |
| Elucidate the relationship between globalization and new technology in a world of scarce resources, with special reference to India. | 2022 | 15 | |
| Is diversity and pluralism in India under threat due to globalisation? Justify your answer. | 2020 | 15 | |
| Are we losing our local identity for the global identity? Discuss. (15m,250 words) | 2019 | 15 | |
| Globalization is generally said to promote cultural homogenization but due to this cultural specificities appear to be strengthened in the Indian Society. Elucidate. | 2018 | 15 | |
| To what extent globalization has influenced the core of cultural diversity in India? Explain. | 2016 | 12.5 | |
| Discuss the positive and negative effects of globalization on women in India. | 2015 | 12.5 | |
| Critically examine the effects of globalization on the aged population in India. | 2013 | 10 |
5. Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism
| Micro topics | UPSC PYQs previous year questions | Year | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caste system | Why is caste identity in India both fluid and static? | 2023 | 15 |
| Has caste lost its relevance in understanding the multi-cultural Indian Society? Elaborate your answer with illustrations. | 2020 | 10 | |
| Caste system is assuming new identities and associational forms. Hence, caste system cannot be eradicated in India. Comment. | 2018 | 10 | |
| Communalism | Discuss the impact of post-liberal economy on ethnic identity and communalism. | 2023 | 15 |
| Communalism arises either due to power struggle or relative deprivation. Argue by giving suitable illustrations. | 2018 | 15 | |
| Distinguish between religiousness/religiosity and communalism giving one example of how the former has got transformed into the latter in independent India. | 2017 | 15 |
UPSC - 2027 - Prelims cum Mains - New Batch Starts on 10-08-2026 
