Section B: Science, Environment and Technology, Economic Sphere, Agriculture, Industry and Trade

What the official syllabus says

Main Examination, Essay:

There will be three sections in the question paper of Essay. Candidates will have to select one topic from each section and they are required to write essay in 700 words on each topic. In the three sections, topics of essay will be based on following sphere:

Section B:

• Science, Environment and Technology.
• Economic Sphere.
• Agriculture, Industry and Trade.

One essay of 700 words is written on a topic chosen from Section B, alongside one from each of the other two sections.

Topics in detail

The themes below are the academy's guide to the ground each sphere covers. They are not the Commission's list, and topics in the paper may be worded quite differently.

Science, environment and technology

• Science and society: scientific temper, science for development
• Technology in daily life: the internet, mobile phones, digital payments
• Artificial intelligence, automation and the future of work
• Space programme and its uses for the common person
• Biotechnology, health research and public health
• Cyber security, data privacy and digital rights
• Climate change: causes, effects and India's response
• Pollution of air, water and soil; waste management
• Forests, wildlife, biodiversity and water conservation
• Renewable energy and sustainable development

Economic sphere

• Economic growth compared with development; inclusive growth
• Poverty, unemployment and inequality
• Liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation: gains and costs
• Public finance: taxes, budgets and welfare spending
• Banking, financial inclusion and digital finance
• Entrepreneurship, start-ups and small enterprises
• Infrastructure and its role in growth
• Skill development and the demographic dividend
• The economy of Uttar Pradesh: its strengths and challenges

Agriculture, industry and trade

• Agriculture as the backbone of the rural economy; farmers' incomes
• Irrigation, water use and crop diversification
• Food security, minimum support prices and public distribution
• Food processing, horticulture, dairy, fisheries and allied activities
• Industrial policy, manufacturing and employment
• Small, cottage and traditional industries; one product per district
• Trade: exports, imports, trade agreements and self-reliance
• Investment, ease of doing business and industrial corridors
• Balance between industry, agriculture and the environment

Building an essay in this section

• Topics here invite facts and figures. Use a few accurate, well-known ones rather than many doubtful ones.
• Look at a topic from the economic, social, environmental and ethical sides, and weigh benefits against costs.
• Examples from Uttar Pradesh's agriculture, industries and schemes make an essay more concrete.

Overlaps

• Economy, agriculture, science and environment: General Studies III.
• Economy, agriculture and environment of Uttar Pradesh: General Studies VI.