UPSC GS Paper 2: what it asks
- Time
- Three hours
- Marks
- 250
Governance, the Constitution, polity, social justice and international relations.
The paper
| Questions | 20, all compulsory |
| Time | 3 hours, about 9 minutes a question |
| Marks | 250 |
| Questions 1 to 10 | 150 words, 10 marks each |
| Questions 11 to 20 | 250 words, 15 marks each |
How to approach this paper
Name the institution or provision the question is about.
Most GS Paper 2 questions turn on something specific: a body, an article, a scheme or a procedure. The question often does not name it.
Before you write, decide which one it is. An answer that names it and explains how it works scores better than one that talks around it.
Example questions, by area
Written by us in the shape the paper sets. For real papers, see the official question papers.
| Area | A 10-mark question | A 15-mark question |
|---|---|---|
| Constitution and polity | What does the basic structure doctrine put beyond Parliament's amending power? | "Fiscal power has centralised without any change to the Constitution." Discuss. |
| Governance | Why do citizen charters rarely change how a service behaves? | Examine why grievance redressal works in some departments and not in others. |
| Social justice | What prevents an entitled household from claiming a benefit it qualifies for? | "Targeting improves efficiency and reduces reach." Discuss with reference to welfare delivery. |
| International relations | What does India want from a connectivity agreement that its neighbour does not? | Examine how membership of multiple groupings constrains India's room to act. |
The same answer, written twice
Question. "Cooperative federalism has weakened as fiscal power has centralised." Discuss. (250 words, 15 marks)
| What an average answer says | What a strong answer says |
|---|---|
| India has a federal structure with a strong centre. | Fiscal centralisation happened mostly outside the Finance Commission, which is why it is easy to miss. |
| Cooperative federalism means the centre and states working together. | The divisible pool is shared on the Commission's formula. Cesses and surcharges are not in that pool. |
| Institutions exist for this, such as the GST Council, the Inter-State Council and NITI Aayog. | As cesses grew as a share of central collections, the states' real take fell while the headline devolution figure held. |
| In recent years there have been concerns about centralisation. | In the GST Council, decisions need three quarters and the centre holds a third of the vote weight. It cannot impose an outcome, but it can block one. |
| There is a need for greater trust and dialogue. | Through cesses, the centre gained leverage without amending the Constitution, which is harder for states to contest than a formal change. |
The average answer is accurate, but every line is general. The strong answer uses the same facts and names them: the divisible pool, cesses, the GST Council's voting rule.
What to do in each area
| Area | Do this | Not this |
|---|---|---|
| Constitution and polity | Say what the provision allows or forbids | Cite the article number and stop there |
| Governance | Say why delivery failed | Say what the scheme intended |
| Social justice | Name the barrier: the document, the exclusion error, the last mile | Name the group and the scheme |
| International relations | Say what each side wants | Narrate the relationship |
Mistakes that cost most
| What candidates write | Why it costs | What to write instead |
|---|---|---|
| A list of institutions in one sentence | Shows recall, not understanding | One institution, and what it does to the problem |
| A description, when the question says discuss | Answers a question that was not asked | Two views, weighed, with a verdict |
| "A spirit of cooperation is needed" | Fits any question, so it earns nothing | A named change and who would make it |
| "Article 246 governs this" | A number is not an argument | What the provision allows, and the consequence |
| Both halves of a two-part question in one paragraph | The second part carries marks too | Count the parts, split the words |
Where to start
- The shape of a 15-mark answer
- Using evidence
- Today's question, and write one
How to answer it
A General Studies paper sets twenty compulsory questions in three hours.