Science and Technology Previous Year Questions (PYQs) | UPSC Mains Examination

Science and Technology Previous Year Questions (PYQs) | UPSC Mains Examination

On this page, you will find all the updates related to the previous year’s questions of the subject Science and Technology for the UPSC IAS Mains examination.

Science and technology which is part of the GS III Paper plays a significant part in the mains examination. The majority of Science and Technology questions are about topics that are related to current Affairs.

Topic: Science and Technology-developments and their applications and effects in everyday life:

Q.1) The increase in life expectancy in the country has led to newer health challenges in the community. What are those challenges and what steps need to be taken to meet them? [150 Words] [10 Marks] [2022]

Q.2) Each year a large amount of plant material, cellulose, is deposited on the surface of Planet Earth. What are the natural processes this cellulose undergoes before yielding carbon dioxide, water and other end products?[150 Words] [10 Marks] [2022]

Q.3) The Nobel Prize in Physics of 2014 was jointly awarded to Akasaki, Amano and Nakamura for the invention of Blue LEDs in 1990s. How has this invention impacted the everyday life of human beings?[250 Words] [15 Marks] [2021]

Q.4) How is S-400 air defence system technically superior to any other system presently available in the world? [150 Words] [10 Marks] [2021]

Q.5) How is science interwoven deeply with our lives? What are the striking changes in agriculture triggered off by the science-based technologies? [150 Words] [10 Marks] [2020]

Q.6) COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented devastation worldwide. However, technological advancements are being availed readily to win over the crisis.Give an account of how technology was sought to aid management of the pandemic. [250 Words] [15 Marks] [2020]

Q.7) Describe the benefits of deriving electric energy from sunlight in contrast to the conventional energy generation. What are the initiatives offered by ourgovernment for this purpose? [250Words] [15 Marks] [2021]

Q.8) With growing energy needs should India keep on expanding its nuclear energy programme? Discuss the facts and fears associated with nuclear energy. [250 Words] [15 marks] [2018]

Q.9) Stem cell therapy is gaining popularity in India to treat a wide variety of medical conditions including leukaemia, Thalassemia, damaged cornea and several burns. Describe briefly what stem cell therapy is and what advantages it has over other treatments? [150 Words] [10 Marks] [2017]

Q.10) Give an account of the growth and development of nuclear science and technology in India. What is the advantage of fast breeder reactor programme in India? [250 Words] [15 marks] [2017]

Q.11) India’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) which has a database containing formatted information on more than 2 million medicinal formulations is proving a powerful weapon in country’s fight against erroneous patents. Discuss the pro and cons of making the data base available publicly available under open-source licensing. [200 Words] [12.5 Marks] [2015]

Q.12) Scientific research in Indian universities is declining, because a career in science is not as attractive as are business professions, engineering or administration, and the universities are becoming consumer-oriented. Critically comment. [200 Words] [12.5 Marks] [2014]

Q.13) Can overuse and free availability of antibiotics without Doctor’s prescription, be contributors to the emergence of drug-resistant diseases in India? What are the available mechanisms for monitoring and control? Critically discuss the various issues involved. [200 Words] [12.5 Marks][2014]

Q.14) What do you understand by Fixed Dose drug Combinations (FDCs)? Discuss their merits and demerits. [200 Words] [10 Marks] [2013]

Q.15) What do you understand by Umpire Decision Review System in cricket? Discuss its various components. Explain how silicone tape on the edge of a bat may fool the system? [200 Words] [10 Marks] [2013]

Q.16) What is a digital signature? What does its authentication mean? Give various salient built-in features of a digital signature. [100 Words] [5 Marks] [2013]

Q.17) How does the 3D printing technology work? List out the advantages and disadvantages of the technology. [100 Words] [5 Marks] [2013]

Q.18) What is an FRP composite material? How are they manufactured? Discuss their application in aviation and automobile industries. [100 Words] [5 Marks] [2013]

Q.19) What do you understand by Run-of-river hydroelectricity project? How is it different from any other hydroelectricity project? [100 Words] [5 Marks] [2013]

Topic: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indignation of technology and developing new technology:

Q.1) Discuss several ways in which microorganisms can help in meeting the current fuel shortage. [150 Words] [10 Marks] [2023 ] 

Q.2) Launched on 25th December, 2021, James Webb Space Telescope has been much in the news since then. What are its unique features which make it superior to its predecessor Space Telescopes? What are the key goals of this mission? What potential benefits does it hold for the human race? [250 words][15Marks][2022]

Q.3) How was India benefited from the contributions of Sir M. Visvesvaraya and Dr. M. S. Swaminathanin the fields of water engineering and agricultural science respectively?[150 Words] [10 Marks][2019]

Q.4) Discuss the work of ‘Bose-Einstein Statistics’ done by Prof. Satyendra Nath Bose and show how it revolutionized the field of Physics. [150 Words] [10 Marks] [2018]

Q.5) Discuss India’s achievements in the field of Space Science and Technology. How the application of this technology has helped India inits socio-economic development? [200 Words] [12.5 Marks][2016]

Topic: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, biotechnology and issues relating to intellectual property rights:

Q.1) What is the main task of India’s third moon mission which could not be achieved in its earlier mission? List the countries that have achieved this task. Introduce the subsystems in the spacecraft launched and explain the role of the Virtual Launch Control Centre’ at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre which contributed to the successful launch from Sriharikota. [250 Words] [15 Marks] [2023 ] 

Q.2) Introduce the concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI). How does AI help clinical diagnosis? Do you perceive any threat to privacy of the individual in the use of Al in healthcare? [150 Words] [10 Marks] [2023 ] 

Q.3) What is the basic principle behind vaccine development? How do vaccines work? What approaches were adopted by the Indian vaccine manufacturers to produce COVID-19 vaccines? [250 words][15 Marks][2022]

Q.4) What are the research and developmental achievements in applied biotechnology? How will these achievements help to uplift the poorer sections of the society? [250 Words] [15 Marks] [2021]

Q.5) What do you understand by nanotechnology and how is it helping in health sector?[150 Words] [10 Marks] [2020]

Q.6) What is India’s plan to have its own space station and how will it benefit our space programme? [150 Words] [10 Marks] [2019]

Q.7) How is the Government of India protecting traditional knowledge of medicine from patenting by pharmaceutical companies? [250 Words] [15 marks] [2019]

Q.8) How can biotechnology help to improve the living standards of farmers? [250 Words] [15 marks][2019]

Q.9) Why is there so much activity in the field of biotechnology in our country? How has this activity benefited the field of bio pharma? [250 Words] [15 marks] [2018]

Q.10) India has achieved remarkable successes in unmanned space missions including the Chandrayaan and Mars Orbiter Mission, but has not ventured into manned space mission, both in terms of technology and logistics? Explain critically. [150 Words] [10 Marks] [2017]

Q.11) Why is nanotechnology one of the key technologies of the 21st century? Describe the salient features of India Government’s Mission on Nan science and Technology and the scope of its application in the development process of the country. [200 Words] [12.5 Marks] [2016]

Q.12) What do you understand by “Standard Positioning System” and “Precision positioning system” in the GPS era? Discuss the advantage India perceives from its ambitious IRNSS programme employing just seven satellites. [200 Words] [12.5 Marks] [2015]

Q.13) What are the areas of prohibitive labour that can be sustainably managed by robots? Discuss the initiatives that can propel the research in premier research institutes for substantive and gainful innovation. [200 Words] [12.5 Marks] [2015]

Q.14)  Discuss the advantage and security implication of cloud hosting of servers vis-a-vis in house machine-based hosting for government business. [200 Words] [12.5 Marks] [2015]

Q.15) In a globalized world, Intellectual Property Rights assume significance and are a source of litigation. Broadly distinguish between the terms—Copyrights, Patents and Trade Secrets. [200Words] [12.5 Marks] [2014]

Q.16) Bringing out the circumstances in 2005 which forced amendment to the section 3(d) in Indian Patent Law, 1970, discuss how it has been utilized by the Supreme Court in its judgement in rejecting Novartis’ patent application for ‘Glivec’. Discuss briefly the pros and cons of the decision. [200 Words] [10 Marks] [2013]

Trends of Science and technology PYQs For UPSC Mains

In recent years, the examination trend has shown that questions related to science and technology typically carry a weightage of 10 to 15 marks. However, number of questions asked vary every year.

Although there are not many questions asked on science and technology, if candidates have a clear understanding of basics and knowledge of recent developments in science and technology, he can easily score marks in this paper. By analyzing and practicing the previous year’s questions (PYQs), one can get idea what kind of questions are asked in examination.