Section C: National and International Events, Natural Calamities, Development Programmes

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 C:

• National and International Events.
• Natural Calamities, Land slide, Earthquake, Deluge, Drought etc.
• National Development programmes and projects.

One essay of 700 words is written on a topic chosen from Section C, 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.

National and international events

• Major national events of the recent past and their significance
• India's foreign relations: neighbours, major powers and regional groupings
• Global issues: conflict and peace, terrorism, migration and refugees
• International organisations and India's role in them
• Global health, food and energy security
• Sporting and cultural events of national and international importance
• Events in Uttar Pradesh of national importance

Natural calamities

• Kinds of disasters: floods, droughts, earthquakes, landslides, cyclones, heatwaves, cold waves
• Why disasters strike harder on the poor: vulnerability and risk
• Disaster management cycle: prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery
• The institutional framework: national, state and district disaster management authorities
• Climate change and the rise in extreme weather
• Early warning systems, community preparedness and the role of technology
• Floods and drought in Uttar Pradesh: rivers, the plains and Bundelkhand
• Rehabilitation and rebuilding better after a disaster

National development programmes and projects

• Programmes for rural development, housing, drinking water and sanitation
• Programmes for health, nutrition and education
• Financial inclusion and direct benefit transfer
• Infrastructure projects: roads, railways, airports, power, digital networks
• Skill development, employment and self-employment programmes
• Programmes for women, children, farmers and weaker sections
• Implementation: planning, funding, monitoring, people's participation and social audit
• How national programmes are carried out in Uttar Pradesh

Building an essay in this section

• Event-based topics need context, causes, consequences and lessons, not a news summary.
• On disasters, move from description to the way forward: preparedness, policy and community action.
• On programmes, judge aims against results fairly, using evidence, and suggest improvements.

Overlaps

• International relations and government programmes: General Studies II.
• Disaster management and infrastructure: General Studies III.
• Physical geography of earthquakes, cyclones and other hazards: General Studies I.
• Schemes and development in Uttar Pradesh: General Studies V and General Studies VI.