After experiencing one of the toughest Prelims GS paper last year, UPSC prelims returned back to normal levels to a great extent. 2024 Prelims GS was more conventional and predictable than last couple of years. Yet the toughness level was reasonably high, especially in the high pressure exam hall scenario. Prelims is now over and most of the aspirants have already moved on to next step of preparation. But it is important to analyse this Prelims paper for three reasons:
- To understand the exact nature of questions and the source.
- To get a guessing about how UPSC is changing the pattern of questions in view of coming Mains and next Prelims.
- To demystify Prelims to the extent possible and to understand that except a few, all questions come for a reason.
It is right time to analyze what went wrong for candidates getting low scores, and to understand where UPSC is moving with its questions for candidates getting the opportunity to write Mains. So here is my attempt to dissect the pattern of Prelims 2024 Question paper. Friends keep in mind THIS IS NOT AN ANSWER KEY. Also the categorization of the questions is a subjective matter and can vary person to person.
Distribution of Questions Pre 2024
I have followed A set. The pattern of analysis will be
No. Keyword/ Subject/ Topic/ Type
Comment.
- Atmosphere/Geog/Climate/Conceptual
Basic question from Environment but with demanding depth of knowledge.
2. Equator/Geog/Climate/Conceptual
Another conceptual question checking the depth of knowledge.
3. Volcano/Geog/Physical/Factual
Classic textbook Physical Geography bit.
4. Isotherm/Geog/Physical/Conceptual
Multiple concepts checked in a single question. Tricky one.
5. Cocoa/Geog/Agriculture/Current
World Cocoa Conference was hosted by Belgium in April 2024 was in news because of renewed focus on Cocoa and its products for the African Economy. Otherwise also an important bit in Agriculture.
6. Ganga/Geog/Map/Factual
Atlas based straightforward question.
7. Rainfall/Geog/Physical/Conceptual
Again multiple textbook concepts brought together in a single question.
8. North sea/ Geog/Map/Current
Current based because of the ongoing debate about decarbonization of North Sea and the conference. Otherwise a regular mapping based question.
9. Waterfalls/ Geog/Map/Factual
Atlas based straightforward question.
10. Type of mountains/Geog/Physical/Factual
Typical GC Leong type factual question.
11. Airports/Pol/Governance/Current
Factual current affairs based question.
12. Water vapour/ Geog/Climate/Conceptual
Yet another conceptual question from Climate.
13. Climatic type/Geog/Climate/Conceptual
Another GC Leong brand textbook question.
14. Coriolis force/Geog/Climate/Conceptual
Conceptual question from Climatology.
15. June 21/Geog/Physical/Conceptual
Basic concept based bit.
16. Peatland/Env/Biodiversity/Current
Congo peatland was in news due to two reasons- UNFAO’s new initiative for Congo peatlands and Meeting of Parties to CBFP arranged in June in Congo. Global Environment related studies and meets are invariably found in Prelims every year.
17. PFAS/Env/Pollution/Factual
Question about pollutants and their hazards.
18. Parasitoid species/Env/Biodiversity/Factual
Very tricky question from Biodiversity.
19. Pea family/Env/Biodiversity/Factual
Taxonomy based question about plant kingdom.
20. Flying fox/Env/Wildlife/Factual
Factual question about wildlife protection.
21. Cicada/Env/Biodiversity/Factual
Factual bit about Animal kingdom.
22. Chewing gum/Env/Pollution/Factual
Another one about pollutants.
23. Natural Habitat/Env/Wildlife/Factual
Typical wildlife based match the pairs question about habitats.
24. World Toilet Organization/Env/Pollution/Factual
Basic question about global ODF movement.
25. Lions, Cheetahs, Leopards/Env/Wildlife/Current
Can be categorized as current because all these Big Cats were in news for translocation projects.
26. 100 Million Farmers/Env/Climate Change/Current
Important initiative by WEF to tackle climate change.
27. Distributed energy resources/Env/Energy/Conceptual
Straightforward question about basic concept from Clean Energy sector.
28. Pollination/Env/Biodiversity/Factual
Textbook type factual question.
29. Poisonous species/Env/Wildlife/Factual
Another one in the sequence of Wildlife related factual bits.
30. Native trees/Env/Biodiversity/Factual.
One more habitat related question.
31. RTG/SciTech/Modern/Factual
Factual bit from Nuclear Science. One can always expect one or two questions every year from this sector.
32. Stars/SciTech/Space/Conceptual
Astronomy related direct question.
33. Blood flow/SciTech/Medicine/Factual
Another direct question regarding vascular system.
34. Radar/SciTech/Applied/Factual
Question about utility of Radars from Applied Science.
35. Fighter aircrafts/SciTech/Defence/Current
Fighter aircrafts occur in news quite often. Basic question.
36. Hydrogels/SciTech/Applied/Factual
Direct question about an important bit from Polymer science.
37. Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles/SciTech/Applied/Current
Hydrogen cars are in news in context of fuel prices. Also talks about ECEVs by Toyota and Hyundai are in news.
38. Pumped storage hydropower/SciTech/Applied/Current
PSH was in news as MoEFCC approved 12GW PSH projects recently.
39. Membrane Bioreactors/SciTech/Biotech/Factual
Question from UPSC’s favourite Biotechnology sector.
40. CBLO/Econ/Monetary Policy/Conceptual
Conceptual question about Money market.
41. TFR/Econ/Macro/Conceptual
Basic concept from Macroeconomics.
42. NBFCs FIIs/Econ/Monetary Policy/Conceptual
Multiple concepts tested together.
43. Corporate bonds G-Secs/Econ/Monetary Policy/Factual
Straightforward bit.
44. Financial Instruments/Econ/Monetary Policy/Conceptual
Another basic concept is tested using examples.
45. Sectors/Econ/Macroeconomics/Conceptual
You cannot get a question testing concept more basic than this.
46. Aviation Fuel/Env/Pollution/Current
World’s first in-flight study of commercial aircraft using 100% sustainable aviation fuel was conducted recently by Airbus. It is relevant as the study affirmed the claim of significant emission reduction.
47. Working or Fixed Capital/Econ/Macro/Conceptual
Yet another basic textbook concept tested using examples.
48. Interoperable network/SciTech/ICT/Current
Metaverse is in vogue these days. ICT related new terminologies regularly feature in Prelims.
49. Foreign banks/Econ/Monetary Policy/Current
Question based on the RBI rules testing the depth of knowledge.
50. CSR rules/Econ/Legislation/Conceptual
Basic concept of CSR tested.
51. USA Debt/Econ/World Economy/Current
The USA Federal Debt crisis issue has recently led to concerns in World Economy. Again depth of knowledge about current issues is tested here.
52. Syndicated loans/Econ/Monetary Policy/Conceptual
Conceptual bit from Money market.
53. Digital Rupee/Econ/Monetary Policy/Current
The tokenised digital version of the Indian Rupee was in news after its launch in December 2022.
54. Epithets/Culture/Religion/Factual
Straightforward question. As always, religion and specially Jainism and Buddhism are important topics.
55. Archaeological sites/Culture/Heritage/Factual
Archaeological sites are a regular source of factual questions.
56. Bhatkal fort/His/Medieval/Factual
Typically factual bit about the advent of European powers.
57. Cornwallis settlement/His/Modern/Factual
1707-1857 is an often neglected part of Modern history. Textbook question.
58. Upanishad/Culture/Religion/Factual
Textbook factual question.
59. International Grains Council/Econ/Foreign Trade/Factual
Factual bit from foreign trade sector.
60. UNESCO list/Culture/Heritage/Current
Garba was listed in 2023 in the list.
61. Constituent Assembly/His/Modern/Factual
Basic factual question.
62. 1935 act/His/Modern/Factual
Another factual question from an important topic- British era governance system.
63. Bhasa/Culture/Art Literature/Factual
Direct factual question.
64. Sanghabhuti/ Culture/Art Literature/Factual
Another direct factual question.
65. Heritage list 2023/Culture/Heritage/Current
Based on the newest inclusions in the Heritage site list.
66. Article 368/Pol/Constitution/Factual
Articles from Constitution is a very important topic which features in at least 2-3 questions.
67. Ageing Population/Geog/Human/Current
Current based question from Human Geography.
68. Money Bill/Pol/ Parliament/Conceptual
Basic concept from Legislature explored.
69. Defence ranks/Pol/Defence/Factual
Basic question about Defence forces hierarchy.
70. NEC/Pol/ Parliament/Factual
Direct factual question exploring multiple bits.
71. Delimitation Commission/Pol/Governance/Current
Classified as current due to the talks about next Delimitation Commission are in news in context of elections.
72. 71st amendment/Pol/Constitution/Factual
Direct factual question from Schedules of the Constitution.
73. Party leaders/Pol/ Parliament/Factual
Factual pairing question from Political party system of Legislature.
74. Parts of Constitution/Pol/Constitution/Factual
Very basic question from Constitution.
75. Lists/Pol/Constitution/Factual
Yet another basic question from Constitution.
76. Right to privacy/Pol/Constitution/Factual
Very basic question from Fundamental Rights section.
77. CDS/Pol/Defence/Factual
Another question related to Defence services.
78. Army Operation/Pol/Defence/Current
Operation Sadbhavana was launched last year in Ladakh.
79. Border/Geog/Map/Factual
Typical old pattern factual Atlas question.
80. Ethics Committee/Pol/Parliament/Current
Ethics Committee was in news in MP expulsion case.
81. Nari Shakti Vandan/Pol/Parliament/Current
One of the most discussed bills in recent times.
82. Exercise Mitra Shakti/Pol/Defence/Current
Organized in November 2023. Important event in context of SAARC region dynamics.
83. Prohibition Writ/Pol/Constitution/Conceptual
Again an old pattern type direct question.
84. ST declaration/Pol/Governance/Current
Declaring a particular community as Scheduled Tribe was at the heart of Manipur issue.
85. Budget/Pol/Parliament/Factual
Basic question about Public Finance.
86. Author/Culture/Art Literature/Current
Bit picked from news.
87. Countries in news/IR/World Order/Current
Three bits from Current affairs checked here.
88. Sumed Pipeline/IR/Geopolitics/Current
The Suez-Mediterranean Pipeline was in news in context of chokepoints and talks of extension.
89. Red Sea/Geog/Oceanography/Factual
Actually a mix of Oceanography and Atlas based question.
90. EPA/Env/Pollution/Factual
Basic Pollution related question.
91. Sahel region/IR/Geopolitics/Current
The humanitarian crisis in Sahel region has been in news since last year.
92. India US trade/SciTech/Biotechnology/Current
India US food trade is in news because of GMO certificate issue.
93. Speaker/Pol/Parliament/Factual
Important factual bit from Parliament.
94. Lapse of bill/Pol/Parliament/Factual
Again a very basic bit from Polity- Old pattern like question.
95. Prorogation Dissolution/Pol/Parliament/Factual
Factual bits about the working of Parliament.
96. European Parliament/Env/Pollution/Current
Important bit from Current affairs regarding Pollution.
97. Venezuela/IR/World Order/Current
Straight from the news.
98. DILRMP/Pol/Governance/Factual
Year Book type question based on an important scheme.
99. PMSMA/Pol/Governance/Current
Another question based on recently launched Government scheme.
100. PMSYM/ Pol/Governance/Current
Yet another question based on recently launched Government scheme.
Subject wise distribution
Analysis
Distribution of questions shows that Polity and Governance had a major share of a quarter of the Question paper whereas History and International Relations was having less representation than usual. Let’s see the pattern of questions subject-wise.
Polity: Polity had the largest share of 25 questions- most of them (14) being factual. Polity largely had questions picked from Textbook based on the basics. There were 9 questions from Parliament part while 7 questions came from Governance part which includes developmental policies and schemes. Constitution is a very important topic from Polity which had good representation with 6 questions. Surprise this year was 3 questions about Defence forces which otherwise has one question occasionally. Overall Polity was less than average in toughness for someone who has in depth understanding and an eye on the current happenings.
Environment: A subject with growing importance in UPSC CSE, Environment had 18 questions with 12 being factual. UPSC tested knowledge about Pollution and Biodiversity in depth with 6 questions each. There were 4 questions regarding Wildlife and one each from Energy and Climate Change. Factual questions from Environment are not from some defined source and this makes Environment a challenging proposition. This year it was moderately tough.
Geography: Another classic subject with good share of questions- 17. Physical Geography and Climatology had 5 questions each with a sizeable number of concept based questions. There were 4 questions from Atlas underlining how Map reading is still relevant. Important topic like Agriculture and Human Geography had surprisingly a single question each. There was one question from a not so favourite topic of Oceanography. Â Geography was moderate but current based questions were challenging.
Economics: Economics has a heavy load of conceptual questions (8/13). Monetary Policy and Money market was the highlight this year with 7 questions. On the contrary the regular favourite Macroeconomics had just 3 questions. World Economy, Economy related legislations and surprisingly Foreign trade had just a single question each. Conceptual questions and challenging current based questions made Economics tough this year.
Science Technology: Science and Technology is always a tricky portion, more so when you have 5 factual and 5 current oriented questions. Like Environment, factual questions are not from some defined source. Regular favourites Applied Science and Biotechnology had 4 and 2 questions respectively. There was one question each from Space, Defence, Medicine, Modern Science and the otherwise important ICT. Science section was moderately tough.
Culture: Another subject with growing importance, Culture had 8 questions. While Art and Literature and Heritage sections had 3 questions each, Religion had 2. Culture was more than average on the toughness scale because of some peculiar factual bits.
History: history was under-represented this year. There were just 4 factual questions of which 3 were from Modern India and one from Medieval India. There was no question about India’s freedom struggle. Less History question always helps to tone down the toughness level of Prelims GS paper. However History was on the easier side this year.
International Relations: IR had only 4 questions- all based on current affairs. There were 2 questions each on World order and Geopolitics. Talking of difficulty level, IR was moderate.
Key points
Well, 49 factual questions! 19 questions were conceptual while 32 were based on current affairs. The most in recent years. However not all factual questions were UPSC level tough. Some of the questions reminded of the old pattern prior to 2011- being directly picked from textbooks. But some questions were very specific and elimination was not possible in them. This adds to the challenge in front of aspirants.
Questions from current affairs aimed to test one’s conceptual understanding. This highlights the fact that current affairs part is not merely about reading the newspapers/magazines/digests but it should include clearing all the concepts appearing in the news.
Basic concepts are evergreen. UPSC tests concepts through various means viz. direct questions, example based questions, multiple statement questions. Especially in Economy and Polity, one needs to be very clear with each and every concept.
Important schemes and bills are gaining more and more importance in CSE. Especially for Mains it is very important to deeply study all the happenings in New Delhi. Especially for Mains Essay, keep a watch on this area.
Overall the Prelims GS paper was moderate, considering the exam hall pressure. Many candidates fumbled in an attempt to be cautious in the first round as everyone was expecting a tough paper like 2023. However the paper was good enough to be covered in time. I always advise to stop lingering on tough questions in first round. Attempt the easier ones and save time for second round where we are more settled and less anxious.
Looking ahead, it is clear that this year cut-off will go up. My guess would be 95-97. So, anyone having score above 90 by any key should positively start for Mains because any key you check has an error margin of 2-3 questions. While studying for Mains, focus on basics and trending issues. Study news thoroughly and dig deep in topics appearing in news. More importantly write answers as much as you can. Prepare hard enough to be ready to face any surprise that UPSC throws and perform like a champion. All the best!!
Expressions and Impressions 
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