The UPSC Essay Paper (Question) Stack

UPSC Essay Paper – 2025

Section A

  1. Truth knows no colour.
  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

  1. Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.
  2. The years teach much which the days never know.
  3. It is best to see life as a journey not as a destination.
  4. Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty.

UPSC Essay Paper – 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

  1. Social media is triggering ‘Fear of Missing Out’ amongst the youth, precipitating depression and loneliness.
  2. Nearly all men can stand adversity, but to test the character, give him power.
  3. All ideas having large consequences are always simple.
  4. The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing.

UPSC Essay Paper – 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. Inspiration for creativity springs from the effort to look for the magical in the mundane.

Section B

  1. Girls are weighed down by restrictions, boys with demands — two equally harmful disciplines.
  2. Mathematics is the music of reason.
  3. A society that has more justice is a society that needs less charity.
  4. Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.

UPSC Essay Paper – 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 a ship is for.

Section B

  1. The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.
  2. You cannot step twice in the same river.
  3. A smile is the chosen vehicle for all ambiguities.
  4. Just because you have a choice, it does not mean that any of them has to be right.

UPSC Essay Paper – 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 want lessness is Utopian, while materialism is a chimera.
  4. The real is rational and the rational is real.

Section B

  1. Hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.
  2. What is research, but a blind date with knowledge!
  3. History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce.
  4. There are better practices to “best practices”.

UPSC Essay Paper – 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

  1. Culture is what we are, civilization is what we have.
  2. There can be no social justice without economic prosperity but economic prosperity without social justice is meaningless.
  3. Patriarchy is the least noticed yet the most significant structure of social inequality.
  4. Technology as the silent factor in international relations.

UPSC Essay Paper – 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 the society.
  4. Courage to accept and dedication to improve are two keys to success.

Section B

  1. South-Asian societies are woven not around the state, but around their plural cultures and plural identities.
  2. Neglect of primary health care and education in India are reasons for its backwardness.
  3. Biased media is a real threat to Indian democracy.
  4. Rise of Artificial Intelligence: the threat of jobless future or better job opportunities through reskilling and upskilling.

UPSC Essay Paper – 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 disputes — a complex task.

Section B

  1. Customary morality cannot be a guide to modern life.
  2. “The past” is a permanent dimension of human consciousness and values.
  3. A people that values its privileges above its principles loses both.
  4. Reality does not conform to the ideal, but confirms it.

UPSC Essay Paper – 2017

Section A

  1. Farming has lost the ability to be a source of subsistence for the majority of farmers in India.
  2. Impact of 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 lost its relevance in a multi-polar world?

Section B

  1. Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.
  2. Fulfilment of the new woman in India is a myth.
  3. We may brave human laws but cannot resist natural laws.
  4. Social media is inherently a selfish medium.

UPSC Essay Paper – 2016

Section A

  1. If development is not engendered, it is endangered.
  2. Need brings greed, if greed increases it spoils bread.
  3. Water disputes between states in federal India.
  4. Innovation is the key determinant of economic growth and social welfare.

Section B

  1. Cooperative federalism: Myth or reality.
  2. Cyberspace and Internet: Blessing or curse to human civilization in the long run.
  3. Near jobless growth in India: An anomaly or an outcome of economic reforms.
  4. Digital Economy: A leveller or a source of economic inequality.

UPSC Essay Paper – 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 a more clever devil.

Section B

  1. Technology cannot replace manpower.
  2. Crisis faced in India — moral or economic.
  3. Dreams which should not let India sleep.
  4. Can capitalism bring inclusive growth?

UPSC Essay Paper – 2014

Section A

  1. With greater power comes greater responsibility.
  2. Is the growing level of competition good for the youth?
  3. Are standardized tests a good measure of academic ability or progress?
  4. Words are sharper than the two-edged sword.

Section B

  1. Was it the policy paralysis or the paralysis of implementation which slowed the growth of our country?
  2. Is sting operation an invasion of privacy?
  3. Fifty Golds in Olympics: Can this be a reality for India?
  4. Tourism: Can this be the next big thing for India?

UPSC Essay Paper – 2013

  1. Be the change you want to see in others — Gandhi ji.
  2. Is the Colonial mentality hindering India’s success?
  3. GDP (Gross Domestic Product) along with GDH (Gross Domestic Happiness) would be the right indices for judging the well-being of a country.
  4. Science and Technology are the panaceas for the growth and security of the nation.

UPSC Essay Paper – 2012

  1. Indian women in international sports.
  2. Cultivation of organic foods.
  3. Foreign Direct Investment in retail — boon or bane?
  4. How effective are our systems and institutions in dealing with disasters?
  5. Food security — legislation and implementation.

UPSC Essay Paper – 2011

  1. Creation of smaller states and the consequent administrative, economic, and developmental implications.
  2. Does Indian cinema shape our popular culture or merely reflect it?
  3. Credit-based higher education system — status, opportunities, and challenges.
  4. In the Indian context, both human intelligence and technical intelligence are crucial in combating terrorism.

UPSC Essay Paper – 2010

  1. Geography may remain the same; history need not.
  2. Should a moratorium be imposed on all fresh mining in tribal areas of the country?
  3. Preparedness of our society for India’s global leadership role.
  4. From traditional Indian philanthropy to the Gates-Buffett model — a natural progression or a paradigm shift?

UPSC Essay Paper – 2009

  1. Are our traditional handicrafts doomed to a slow death?
  2. Are we a ‘Soft’ state?
  3. “The focus of health care is increasingly getting skewed towards the ‘haves’ of our society.”
  4. “Good fences make good neighbours.”
  5. ‘Globalisation’ vs. ‘Nationalism.’

UPSC Essay Paper – 2008

  1. Role of the media in good governance.
  2. National identity and patriotism.
  3. Special Economic Zones: Boon or Bane.
  4. Discipline means success, anarchy means ruins.
  5. Urbanization and its hazards.
  6. Is an egalitarian society possible by educating the masses?

UPSC Essay Paper – 2007

  1. Independent thinking should be encouraged right from childhood.
  2. Evaluation of the Panchayati Raj System in India from the point of view of eradication of power to people.
  3. Attitude makes habit, habit makes character, and character makes a man.
  4. Is Autonomy the best answer to combat balkanization?
  5. How has satellite television brought about cultural change in Indian mindsets?
  6. BPO boom in India.

UPSC Essay Paper – 2006

  1. Increasing computerization would lead to the creation of a dehumanized society. 
  2. Importance of Indo-US nuclear agreement.
  3. Women’s reservation bill would usher in empowerment for women in India. 
  4. “Education for all” campaign in India: myth or reality.
  5. Protection of ecology and environment is essential for sustained economic development.
  6. Globalization would finish small-scale industries in India.

UPSC Essay Paper – 2005

  1. Food security for sustainable national development.
  2. Justice must reach the poor.
  3. Terrorism and world peace. 
  4. If women ruled the world.
  5. The hand that rocks the cradle.
  6. What is real education?

UPSC Essay Paper – 2004

  1. Water resources should be under the control of the central government.
  2. Judicial activism and Indian democracy.
  3. Globalizations and its impact on Indian culture.
  4. The lure of space.
  5. India’s role in promoting ASEAN cooperation.
  6. Whither women’s emancipation?

UPSC Essay Paper – 2003

  1. How far has democracy in India delivered the goods?
  2. How should a civil servant conduct himself? 
  3. As civilization advances culture declines.
  4. The masks of new imperialism.
  5. Spirituality and scientific temper. 
  6. There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so. 

UPSC Essay Paper – 2002

  1. Search for truth can only be a spiritual problem.
  2. The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
  3. If youth knew, if age could.
  4. Privatization of higher education in India.
  5. Modern technological education and human values.
  6. Responsibility of media in a democracy. 

UPSC Essay Paper – 2001

  1. What have we gained from our democratic set-up? 
  2. My vision of an ideal world order. 
  3. The march of science and the erosion of human values. 
  4. The pursuit of excellence.
  5. Empowerment alone cannot help our women.
  6. Irrelevance of the classroom.

UPSC Essay Paper – 2000

  1. Why should we be proud of being Indians?
  2. The country’s need for a better disaster management system. 
  3. Modernism and our traditional socio-ethical values.
  4. The implications of globalization for India.
  5. Indian culture today: a myth or a reality?
  6. The cyberworld: its charms and challenges.

UPSC Essay Paper – 1999

  1. Resource management in the Indian context.
  2. Youth culture today.
  3. Reservation, politics and empowerment.
  4. Value-based science and education.
  5. Women empowerment: challenges and prospects. 
  6. Mass media and cultural invasion.

UPSC Essay Paper – 1998

  1. The language problem in India: its past, present and prospects.
  2. The world of the twenty-first century.
  3. India’s contribution to world wisdom.
  4. Woman is god’s best creation. 
  5. Misinterpretation and misuse of freedom in India. 

UPSC Essay Paper – 1997

  1. What we have not learnt during fifty years of independence.
  2. Judicial activism.
  3. The modern doctor and his patients.
  4. True religion cannot be misused.
  5. Greater political power alone will not improve women’s plight. 
  6. Urbanization is a blessing in disguise.

UPSC Essay Paper – 1996

  1. The VIP cult is a bane of Indian democracy.
  2. Need for transparency in public administration.
  3. New cults and godmen: a threat to traditional religion.
  4. The composite culture of India.
  5. Restructuring of UNO reflect present realities. 
  6. Truth is lived, not taught.
  7. Literacy is growing very fast, but there is no corresponding growth in education. 

UPSC Essay Paper – 1995

  1. Politics without ethics is a disaster.
  2. Whither Indian democracy?
  3. Disinterested intellectual curiosity is the lifeblood of civilisation.
  4. When money speaks, the truth is silent.
  5. Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.
  6. The new emerging women power: the ground realities.
  7. Restructuring of Indian education system.

UPSC Essay Paper – 1994

  1. Multinational corporations – saviours or saboteurs.
  2. Youth is a blunder, manhood a struggle, old age a regret. 
  3. Modernisation and westernisation are not identical concepts. 
  4. The Indian society at the crossroads. 
  5. Politics, bureaucracy and business – fatal triangle.
  6. Useless life is an early death.

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