Indian Society PYQs 2013 to 2026: Every UPSC Mains GS1 Question, Theme by Theme

UPSC has asked 92 questions on Indian Society in Mains GS Paper 1 between 2013 and 2026. Read one at a time, they look scattered. Read together, theme by theme, they show a clear pattern: a handful of ideas UPSC never lets go of, a few it has quietly shelved, and a growing interest in how technology and the economy are reshaping everyday social life.

This page puts every one of those Indian Society PYQs in one place, sorted by syllabus head with the latest questions first. It then does the part a plain list cannot: it reads the trend so you know where to spend your preparation hours.

The syllabus, in brief

Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.
Role of women and women’s organizations, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and remedies.
Effects of globalization on Indian society.
Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism and secularism.

What the pattern tells you

Caste never leaves the paper. It was asked in 2018, 2020, 2023, 2024 and again in 2026, each time from a new angle: new identities, relevance, fluidity, inter-caste marriage, and now urban India. Treat caste as a frame you can apply to almost any society question, not as one topic.

Globalization is the most reliable head. It appeared in 10 of the 14 papers, and the questions have moved from culture (homogenization, local identity) to lived outcomes (consumer culture, fast food, youth, migrant women).

Urbanization is the most-asked head, yet 2026 skipped it. It holds 14 questions, more than any other head, but drew none in 2026, and both 2025 questions leaned towards geography and planning. Expect it to return; do not drop it.

Social Empowerment is rising. Four of its 11 questions came in the last three papers, and 2026 added two new angles: disability and digital technology.

The paper is getting more contemporary. Work from home (2022), mobile phones and child socialization (2023), the gig economy (2021), the demographic winter (2024) and digital empowerment (2026) show that UPSC wants you to read current social change through a sociological lens.

Communalism, regionalism and secularism are now merged. These three heads together account for 12 questions, but 2026 tested them inside a single “unity in diversity” question. Prepare them as one connected cluster.

The 2026 paper at a glance

Syllabus head	Question	Marks
Salient Features	Is caste disappearing in urban India? Illustrate your answer with examples.	15
Diversity of India	Unity in diversity remains the defining feature of Indian society despite the challenges from communalism and regionalism. Comment.	10
Population	Critically examine the challenges of demographic transition in contemporary India.	15
Globalization	Evaluate the impact of globalization on Indian youths with reference to social, political, economic and cultural spheres.	15
Social Empowerment	How do you understand disability? Substantiate the need for inclusive policy framework in India in this regard.	10
Social Empowerment	Do you think digital technology promotes social empowerment? Explain with examples.	10

Questions UPSC asked twice

The same idea often returns in new words. Practising these pairs gives you the highest return per hour.

Theme	Years asked
Relevance of caste today	2018, 2020, 2023, 2026
Globalization and cultural diversity	2016, 2018, 2019, 2020
Smart cities and urban equity	2015, 2016, 2025
Tribal identity and development	2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2025
Urban flooding	2016, 2020
IT hubs and urban change	2017, 2021
Groundwater crisis	2018, 2024
Indian vs Western secularism	2014, 2018
Globalization and women	2015, 2024
Demographic change	2024, 2026

Syllabus-wise weightage (2013 to 2026)

#	Syllabus head	2013 to 2025	2026	Total
1	Salient Features of Indian Society	11	1	12
2	Diversity of India	7	1	8
3	Role of Women and Women’s Organization	8	0	8
4	Population and Associated Issues	8	1	9
5	Poverty and Developmental Issues	7	0	7
6	Urbanization, their Problems and their Remedies	14	0	14
7	Effects of Globalization on Indian Society	10	1	11
8	Social Empowerment	9	2	11
9	Communalism	3	0	3
10	Regionalism	5	0	5
11	Secularism	4	0	4
	Total	86	6	92

How to read the theme-wise tables

Questions are listed latest first. Rows marked 2026 are from the latest paper. Marks are shown where the source gives them; for 2025, marks follow the word limit (150 words = 10 marks, 250 words = 15 marks).

1. Salient Features of Indian Society (12 questions)

Caste, family, marriage, kinship, tradition and values.

S.No.	Year	Question	Marks
1	2026	Is caste disappearing in urban India? Illustrate your answer with examples.	15
2	2024	Inter-caste marriages between castes which have socio-economic parity have increased, to some extent, but this is less true of interreligious marriages. Discuss.	10
3	2023	Do you think marriage as a sacrament is losing its value in Modern India?	10
4	2023	Child cuddling is now being replaced by mobile phones. Discuss its impact on the socialization of children.	10
5	2023	Why is caste identity in India both fluid and static?	15
6	2022	Explore and evaluate the impact of ‘Work from Home’ on family relationships.	10
7	2021	How does Indian society maintain continuity in traditional social values? Enumerate the changes taking place in it.
8	2020	Has caste lost its relevance in understanding the multi-cultural Indian Society? Elaborate your answer with illustrations.
9	2020	Customs and traditions suppress reason leading to obscurantism. Do you agree?
10	2019	What makes Indian society unique in sustaining its culture? Discuss.
11	2018	Caste system is assuming new identities and associational forms. Hence, caste system cannot be eradicated in India. Comment.
12	2014	The life cycle of a joint family depends on economic factors rather than social values. Discuss.

2. Diversity of India (8 questions)

S.No.	Year	Question	Marks
1	2026	Unity in diversity remains the defining feature of Indian society despite the challenges from communalism and regionalism. Comment.	10
2	2024	Critically analyse the proposition that there is a high correlation between India’s cultural diversities and socio-economic marginalities.	15
3	2022	Analyze the salience of ‘sect’ in Indian society vis-a-vis caste, region and religion.	15
4	2019	Do we have cultural pockets of small India all over the nation? Elaborate with examples.
5	2017	The spirit of 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.
6	2017	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.
7	2016	Has the formation of linguistic States strengthened the cause of Indian Unity?
8	2015	Describe any four cultural elements of diversity in India and rate their relative significance in building a national identity.

3. Role of Women and Women’s Organization (8 questions)

S.No.	Year	Question	Marks
1	2024	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?	10
2	2023	Explain why suicide among young women is increasing in Indian Society.	10
3	2021	Examine the role of ‘Gig Economy’ in the process of empowerment of women in India.
4	2019	What are the continued challenges for women in India against time and space?
5	2018	Women’s movement in India has not addressed the issues of women of lower social strata. Substantiate your view.
6	2014	How does patriarchy impact the position of a middle-class working woman in India?
7	2014	Discuss the various economic and socio-cultural forces that are driving the increasing feminization of agriculture in India.
8	2013	Male membership needs to be encouraged in order to make women’s organization free from gender bias. Comment.

4. Population and Associated Issues (9 questions)

Demography, sex ratio and migration.

S.No.	Year	Question	Marks
1	2026	Critically examine the challenges of demographic transition in contemporary India.	15
2	2024	Why do large cities tend to attract more migrants than smaller towns? Discuss in the light of conditions in developing countries.	10
3	2024	What is the concept of a ‘demographic winter’? Is the world moving towards such a situation? Elaborate.	10
4	2021	Discuss the main objectives of Population Education and point out the measures to achieve them in India in detail.
5	2019	“Empowering women is the key to control population growth.” Discuss.
6	2015	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?
7	2015	Critically examine whether growing population is the cause of poverty OR poverty is the main cause of population increase in India.
8	2015	Discuss the changes in the trends of labour migration within and outside India in the last four decades.
9	2014	Why do some of the most prosperous regions of India have an adverse sex ratio for women? Give your arguments.

5. Poverty and Developmental Issues (7 questions)

S.No.	Year	Question	Marks
1	2024	The groundwater potential of the Gangetic valley is on a serious decline. How may it affect the food security of India?	15
2	2024	In dealing with socio-economic issues of development, what kind of collaboration between government, NGOs and private sector would be most productive?	10
3	2023	Why did human development fail to keep pace with economic development in India?	15
4	2020	COVID-19 pandemic accelerated class inequalities and poverty in India. Comment.
5	2018	Despite implementation of various programmes for eradication of poverty by the government in India, poverty is still existing. Explain by giving reasons.
6	2018	Mention core strategies for the transformation of aspirational districts in India and explain the nature of convergence, collaboration and competition for its success.
7	2016	“An essential condition to eradicate poverty is to liberate the poor from deprivation.” Substantiate this statement with suitable examples.

6. Urbanization, their Problems and their Remedies (14 questions)

S.No.	Year	Question	Marks
1	2025	How does smart city in India address the issues of urban poverty and distributive justice?	10
2	2025	How can Artificial Intelligence (AI) and drones be effectively used along with GIS and RS techniques in locational and areal planning?	15
3	2023	Does urbanization lead to more segregation and/or marginalization of the poor in Indian metropolises?	15
4	2022	How is the growth of Tier 2 cities related to the rise of a new middle class with an emphasis on the culture of consumption?	10
5	2021	What are the main socio-economic implications arising out of the development of IT industries in major cities of India?
6	2020	Account for the huge flooding of million cities in India including the smart ones like Hyderabad and Pune. Suggest lasting remedial measures.
7	2019	How is efficient and affordable urban mass transport key to the rapid economic development of India?
8	2018	“The ideal solution of depleting ground water resources in India is water harvesting system.” How can it be made effective in urban areas?
9	2017	The growth of cities as I.T. hubs has opened up new avenues of employment but has also created new problems. Substantiate this statement with examples.
10	2016	With a brief background of quality of urban life in India, introduce the objectives and strategy of the ‘Smart City Programme’.
11	2016	Major cities of India are becoming more vulnerable to flood conditions. Discuss.
12	2015	Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata are the three mega cities of the country but the air pollution is much more serious problem in Delhi as compared to the other two. Why is this so?
13	2015	Smart cities in India cannot sustain without smart villages. Discuss this statement in the backdrop of rural urban integration.
14	2013	Discuss the various social problems which originated out of the speedy process of urbanization in India.

7. Effects of Globalization on Indian Society (11 questions)

S.No.	Year	Question	Marks
1	2026	Evaluate the impact of globalization on Indian youths with reference to social, political, economic and cultural spheres.	15
2	2025	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.	15
3	2025	Do you think that globalization results in only an aggressive consumer culture? Justify your answer.	10
4	2024	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?	15
5	2021	What is Cryptocurrency? How does it affect global society? Has it been affecting Indian society also?
6	2020	Is diversity and pluralism in India under threat due to globalisation? Justify your answer.
7	2019	Are we losing our local identity for the global identity? Discuss.
8	2018	Globalization is generally said to promote cultural homogenization but due to this cultural specificity appear to be strengthened in the Indian Society. Elucidate.
9	2016	To what extent globalization has influenced the core of cultural diversity in India? Explain.
10	2015	Discuss the positive and negative effects of globalization on women in India.
11	2013	Critically examine the effects of globalization on the aged population in India.

8. Social Empowerment (11 questions)

Tribes, SCs, Dalit assertion, disability, affirmative action and digital inclusion.

S.No.	Year	Question	Marks
1	2026	How do you understand disability? Substantiate the need for inclusive policy framework in India in this regard.	10
2	2026	Do you think digital technology promotes social empowerment? Explain with examples.	10
3	2025	Does tribal development in India centre around two axes, those of displacement and of rehabilitation? Give your opinion.	15
4	2024	Despite comprehensive policies for equity and social justice, underprivileged sections are not yet getting the full benefits of affirmative action envisaged by the Constitution. Comment.	15
5	2022	Given the diversities among the tribal communities in India, in which specific contexts should they be considered as a single category?	10
6	2021	Examine the uniqueness of the tribal knowledge system when compared with mainstream knowledge and cultural systems.
7	2020	How have digital initiatives in India contributed to the functioning of the education system in the country? Elaborate your answer.
8	2017	What are the two major legal initiatives by the State since Independence, addressing discrimination against Scheduled Tribes (STs)?
9	2016	Why are the tribals in India referred to as the Scheduled Tribes? Indicate the major provisions enshrined in the Constitution of India for their upliftment.
10	2015	Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, despite having divergent approaches and strategies, had a common goal of amelioration of the downtrodden. Elucidate.
11	2015	Debate the issue of whether and how contemporary movements for assertion of Dalit identity work towards annihilation of caste.

9. Communalism (3 questions)

S.No.	Year	Question	Marks
1	2023	Discuss the impact of post-liberal economy on ethnic identity and communalism.	15
2	2018	Communalism arises either due to power struggle or relative deprivation. Argue by giving suitable illustrations.
3	2017*	Distinguish between religiousness/religiosity and communalism giving one example of how the former has got transformed into the latter in independent India.

10. Regionalism (5 questions)

S.No.	Year	Question	Marks
1	2024	What is regional disparity? How does it differ from diversity? How serious is the issue of regional disparity in India?	15
2	2020	Do you agree that regionalism in India appears to be a consequence of rising cultural assertiveness? Argue.
3	2018	Discuss whether formation of new states in recent times is beneficial or not for the economy of India.
4	2016	What is the basis of regionalism? Is it that unequal distribution of benefits of development on regional basis eventually promotes regionalism? Substantiate your answer.
5	2013	Growing feeling of regionalism is an important factor in the generation of demand for a separate state. Discuss.

11. Secularism (4 questions)

S.No.	Year	Question	Marks
1	2022	Are tolerance, assimilation and pluralism the key elements in the making of an Indian form of secularism? Justify your answer.	15
2	2019	What are the challenges to our cultural practices in the name of secularism?
3	2018	How is the Indian concept of secularism different from the western model of secularism? Discuss.
4	2014	How do the Indian debates on secularism differ from the debates in the West?

How to prepare from these PYQs

Build one core note per syllabus head. Each note should hold two or three thinkers, one recent data point (NFHS, PLFS or Census) and two contemporary examples. That covers most questions in the head.
Practise the repeat pairs first. Answer the older question, then the newer one, and notice how the framing changed. That shift is what UPSC is testing.
Keep caste and globalization as evergreen lenses. Almost any question on family, urbanization, women or youth can be enriched with one of the two.
Track technology and society. Digital platforms, gig work, AI and social media have entered the paper. Collect two or three Indian examples for each.
Write to the word limit. A 10-mark answer is 150 words and a 15-mark answer is 250 words. Practise a fixed structure: context, three to four dimensions, one way forward.

Frequently asked questions

How many Indian Society questions are asked in UPSC Mains GS Paper 1?
Between 2013 and 2026, UPSC asked 92 Indian Society questions, an average of about six to seven per paper. The 2026 paper had six.

Which topics in Indian Society are most important for UPSC Mains?
Urbanization (14 questions), Salient Features including caste and family (12), Globalization (11) and Social Empowerment (11) together account for more than half of all questions.

What Indian Society questions were asked in UPSC Mains 2026?
Six questions, on caste in urban India, unity in diversity, demographic transition, globalization and youth, disability, and digital technology as a tool of empowerment.

How should I use Indian Society PYQs in my preparation?

Use them to find recurring themes, then practise those themes in timed answers. Solving repeat pairs side by side is the fastest way to understand how UPSC frames a topic.

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