The Civil Services Examination conducted by UPSC has three stages – Prelims, Mains and Interview. The UPSC Prelims 2021 was conducted on 10th October 2021 and the results were announced on October 29, 2021. The UPSC Mains 2021 kickstarted from 7th January 2022 onwards.
This article will briefly discuss and analyse all the question papers of UPSC Mains 2021 and present an overview for the aspiring candidates about the difficulty level of questions asked in 2021 IAS Mains.
Question Paper Analysis of IAS Mains 2021
The Main Examination is intended to assess the overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding of candidates, rather than merely the range of their information and memory.
The UPSC Main (Written) exam would be conducted for a period of 5 days – 7th, 8th, 9th, 15th and 16th January 2022. Check the detailed timetable on the UPSC exam dates page.
UPSC Mains 2021 Essay Paper Analysis
The candidates have to write two essays, one from each section. In other words, out of 8 questions, the candidate has to choose and write on two essay topics. The candidates are expected to reach a word limit of about 1000-1200 words for each essay. Three hours is given for the candidates to write a total of 2000-2400 words in the essay paper. The Essay paper was held in the morning session on 7th January 2022 from 9 AM to 12 PM.
The candidates can check the UPSC Mains 2021 Essay Question Paper PDF from the linked article.
Based on the analysis, here are a few opinions and reviews about the essay paper:
- Most of the candidates felt that the essay paper was philosophical.
- Looking at the essay paper of Mains 2021, the candidates felt that the paper was unpredictable.
- Also, the aspirants who are writing the Mains exam, not for the first time, felt that this year paper was different from the previous year trends.
- In general, section A would contain topics related to social issues, policymaking, etc which extensively demand quoting of a lot of factual information. Whereas, section B would have abstract or philosophical topics. But in the 2021 essay paper, both the section have philosophical or abstract topics.
- According to UPSC experts, this year essay paper tests whether the candidates have their own thinking process which is deep, analytical and philosophical.
- UPSC Essay paper 2021 is set definitely not to test the information collecting and retaining capability of the candidates.
- A few candidates felt that this paper is set to study and assess the personality of the candidate, which cannot be learnt or gained overnight by studying facts from books, magazines or other sources.
A few important links useful for the essay paper preparation are as follows:
- Important Points to Note for Essay Preparation
- 7 Easy Steps on Essay Writing for UPSC Mains Exam
- Last 25 Years Topic-wise Essay Questions From UPSC Mains (1994 – 2018)
UPSC Mains 2021 GS 1 Paper Analysis
The UPSC Mains 2021 General Studies Paper 1 was held on 8th January 2022 in the morning session. The subjects/topics in the GS Paper I are Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society. The paper has a total weightage of 250 marks and the time duration given is 3 hours. 20 questions were asked in the paper. A word limit of 150 marks or 250 marks is given based on whether the question is a 10 marker or 15 marker.
To download the UPSC Mains 2021 General Studies Paper I PDF, click on the linked article.
Based on the analysis of General Studies Paper I, here are a few opinions and reviews about the paper:
- After the essay paper came as a shocker, the GS Paper I was a bit soothing and relieving to the UPSC candidates because the questions asked in the paper were on the expected lines. In other words, unusual questions were not asked.
- The number of questions asked in geography this year is a little more when compared to other years.
- Surprisingly, only one simple question was asked about art and culture.
- This year, the number of questions asked from modern India topic is slightly higher than in previous years.
- The UPSC experts have analysed that one question has been asked from post Independence topic approximately after 8 years.
- Over the years, the marks weightage of different subjects keep varying and there is no such constant pattern observed in the number of questions asked in any subject.
- In general, UPSC IAS GS Paper 1 was a scoring paper.
Check the table below to find out the subject-wise weightage of questions and marks in GS Paper 1:
| UPSC CSE 2021 GS Paper 1 – Analysis | ||
| Subjects/Topics | Percentage & Marks Weightage | Number of Questions asked |
| Geography | 44% [110 marks] | 9
(5 – 10 marks; 4 – 15 marks) |
| Society | 26% [65 marks] | 5
(2 – 10 marks; 3 – 15 marks) |
| Modern India | 16% [40 marks] | 3
(1 – 10 marks; 2 – 15 marks) |
| World History | 6% [15 marks] | 1
(1 – 15 marks) |
| Post Independence` | 4% [10 marks] | 1
(1 – 10 marks) |
| Art & Culture | 4% [10 marks] | 1
(1 – 10 marks) |
To understand more about the syllabus and questions asked in General Studies Paper I, check the following links:
UPSC Mains 2021 GS 2 Paper Analysis
The General Studies Paper II was conducted on 8th January 2022 in the second shift (2 PM to 5 PM). 20 questions were asked in this paper covering topics such as Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations. The marks’ weightage to this paper is 250 marks, and the time duration allotted is 3 hours.
The candidates can check the UPSC Mains 2021 GS Paper II PDF from the linked article.
Here are a few points or reviews based on the analysis of UPSC Mains 2021 GS Paper 2:
- Compared to previous years, the questions asked in the polity and constitution section were straightforward and not that difficult in nature. Current affairs based questions were asked in the paper.
- Also, in the last three to four years, the number of questions asked in polity & constitution is almost similar and next year also, the same pattern can be expected.
- The number of questions in Governance has slightly decreased from the previous years.
- The questions from social justice contained a healthy mix of both static and current affairs based topics.
- Overall, the difficulty level of GS Paper II was moderate to difficult.
Check the table below to find out the subject-wise weightage of questions and marks in GS Paper 2:
| UPSC CSE 2021 GS Paper 2 – Analysis | ||
| Subjects/Topics | Percentage & Marks Weightage | Number of Questions asked |
| Polity & Constitution | 50% [125 marks] | 10
(5 – 10 marks; 5 – 15 marks) |
| Social Justice | 24% [55 marks] | 4
(1 – 10 marks; 3 – 15 marks) |
| International Relations | 20% [50 marks] | 4
(2 – 10 marks; 2 – 15 marks) |
| Governance | 6% [20 marks] | 2
(2 – 10 marks) |
The candidates can check the below-mentioned links to know more about the General studies paper II syllabus and trends:
UPSC Mains 2021 GS 3 Paper Analysis
The General Studies Paper 3 was conducted on 9th January 2022 in the first shift (9 AM to 12 PM). The topics or subjects covered in this paper are Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management. A total of 20 questions from these topics are asked in this paper. The marks’ weightage to this paper is 250 marks, and time duration of 3 hours is allotted for this paper.
The aspirants can check the UPSC Mains 2021 GS Paper III PDF from the linked article.
After analysis of GS Paper III, here are a few opinions and reviews about the paper:
- The weightage of Economy and Internal security questions are unchanged compared to the previous year – 2020.
- More focus has been given to the environment section this year. 3 questions have been asked in the environment and 2 questions in disaster management.
- The difficulty level of GS Paper 3 is moderate, except for the fact that a few questions from the economy were technical.
- A question from defence technology was asked this year, which is not a usual topic in the UPSC Mains paper.
- The questions in GS Paper 3 were a mix of concepts such as GDP, Budget, Land Reforms and also contained questions related to important events of national and international importance.
- This year, GS paper 3 had 4 questions from the Agriculture section.
Check the table below to find out the subject-wise weightage of questions and marks in GS Paper 3:
| UPSC CSE 2021 GS Paper 3 – Analysis | ||
| Subjects/Topics | Percentage & Marks Weightage | Number of Questions asked |
| Indian Economy & Agriculture | 40% [100 marks] | 8
(4 – 10 marks; 4 – 15 marks |
| Environment & Disaster Management | 24% [60 marks] | 5
(3 – 10 marks; 2 – 15 marks) |
| Internal Security | 20% [50 marks] | 4
(2 – 10 marks; 2 – 15 marks) |
| Science and Technology | 16% [40 marks] | 3
(1 – 10 marks; 2 – 15 marks) |
To know more about General Studies Paper 3, the candidates can check the links provided below:
UPSC Mains 2021 GS 4 Paper Analysis
The UPSC Mains 2021 GS paper 4 was conducted on 9th January 2022 in the afternoon shift.
The questions asked in this paper covers topics such as Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude. 12 questions were asked in this paper. A total of 250 marks is allocated for this paper and the time duration is 3 hours.
To download the UPSC Mains 2021 GS Paper 4 PDF, check the linked article.
After analysing the GS Paper IV, a few opinions and reviews are drawn, which are as follows:
- Based on the previous years’ question papers and this year paper, questions based on basic theories have not been asked.
- The questions sought the candidates to answer with examples and not just finish it with theory.
- The paper tests the analytical skills and decision-making capability of the candidates.
- A question from emotional intelligence was asked this year also similar to the previous year.
- This paper can also turn out to be a scoring paper if the candidates had adopted a different strategy to prepare for this paper.
- This paper is set out to evaluate the ethical traits and qualities which are to be possessed by a civil service aspirant.
- The questions based on quotes were found easy to interpret this year by the candidates.
- The case studies in section B were situation-based, and 4 questions were to be answered based on that.
- Section A had a moderate difficulty level in the view of UPSC candidates.
- The previous year, section A had questions based on current affairs, but this year, the paper had questions based on the static part.
To know more about the General Studies Paper 4, check the links given below:
To check 2020, 2019, 2018 UPSC Previous Year Question Papers, candidates can click the linked article.
UPSC Preparation Links:
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