GS Paper II 2022

It asks 3 things — answer each

1. Discuss: how the Supreme Court constitutionalised environmental problems, reading Articles 48A and 51A(g) with Article 21, with relevant case laws
2. Weigh the limits of this judicial route: overreach and uneven compliance
3. Judge the claim that it is the most significant achievement of modern Indian law

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• Right to life: Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (1985, Doon Valley) and Subhash Kumar (1991) read pollution-free air and water into Article 21.
• Directive and duty: Article 48A binds the State and Article 51A(g) every citizen to protect the environment.
• Judge-made principles: absolute liability (M. C. Mehta, 1987), precautionary and polluter-pays (Vellore, 1996), public trust (Kamal Nath, 1997).
• Procedure and community: continuing mandamus in T. N. Godavarman (1996); Niyamgiri gram sabhas in Orissa Mining Corporation (2013).
• Limits: charges of overreach into policy and uneven compliance; enforcement rests on the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and regulators.
• Verdict: Parliament itself endorsed the Court's reading in the NGT Act, 2010 preamble, which also cites the Stockholm (1972) and Rio (1992) conferences.

It asks 2 things — answer each

1. Comment on the freedom: what Article 19(1)(d) and (e) guarantee to citizens and why it matters
2. Comment on the limits: the reasonable restrictions under Article 19(5), with examples, and how courts test them

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• Scope: citizens only, not foreigners; makes India one space for work, migration and settlement, underpinning national unity.
• Travel abroad falls under Article 21's fair procedure: Satwant Singh Sawhney (1967) and Maneka Gandhi (1978).
• Grounds: Article 19(5) permits reasonable restrictions in the general public's interest or to protect Scheduled Tribes.
• Tribal and frontier areas: Inner Line Permits (Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur) and Scheduled Area land laws limit entry and settlement.
• Public order and health: curfews, Section 144 CrPC orders, externment of habitual offenders, quarantine and lockdown rules.
• Judicial check: Anuradha Bhasin (2020) required Section 144 orders to be reasoned, proportionate and reviewable.
• Portability: One Nation One Ration Card, in all 36 States/UTs from June 2022, makes food security move with migrants.

It asks 2 things — answer each

1. Take a position: how far decentralisation under the 73rd and 74th Amendments has changed grassroots governance — the real gains
2. Qualify it: the gaps in functions, funds and functionaries that limit the change, and what would complete it

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• Institutions: over 2.5 lakh panchayats and thousands of urban local bodies hold regular elections under State Election Commissions; gram sabhas give citizens a forum.
• Inclusion: about 14 lakh women, 46 per cent of elected rural representatives, now serve in local bodies.
• Delivery and planning: MGNREGA, sanitation, Gram Panchayat Development Plans and social audits; PESA extends self-rule to Scheduled Areas.
• State models: the Devolution Index 2024 report (released February 2025) ranks Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu highest.
• Limits: Article 243G leaves devolution to State law; weak State Finance Commissions, low own revenue and line-department control of staff.
• Distortions and urban gap: proxy rule, elite capture, and parastatals sidelining elected councils.
• Way forward: the 15th Finance Commission's ₹4,36,361 crore local-body grants (2021–26), activity mapping, capacity building and empowered gram sabhas.

It asks 3 things — answer each

1. Discuss: the constitutional basis of the Vice-President's position as ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
2. Discuss: the functions — presiding, regulating business, casting vote, committees, discipline and Tenth Schedule decisions
3. Discuss: the concerns about impartiality, the safeguards, and the conventions that sustain the office

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• Presiding: maintains order, decides who speaks, and rules on points of order under the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business.
• Regulating business: decides admissibility of notices, motions and questions; refers bills and subjects to committees.
• Casting vote: does not vote in the first instance, but breaks a tie (Article 100).
• Committees and discipline: chairs the Business Advisory and Rules Committees; enforces the rules; decides Tenth Schedule petitions, subject to judicial review.
• Contrast with the Speaker: no Money Bill certificate, which is the Speaker's final call under Article 110(3).
• Safeguards and concerns: removal needs a Rajya Sabha majority of all members and Lok Sabha agreement (Article 67(b)); he cannot preside meanwhile (Article 92).
• Way forward: consensus through the Business Advisory Committee and reasoned, timely anti-defection rulings.

It asks 3 things — answer each

1. Discuss: the NCBC's earlier statutory role and what the 102nd Amendment changed
2. Discuss: its present role and powers under Article 338B
3. Discuss: the limits and unresolved issues that constitutional status has not settled, and the way forward

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• Earlier role: created after Indra Sawhney (1992), the statutory NCBC only advised the Union on inclusion in and exclusion from the central list.
• Shifted grievances: the 102nd Amendment removed backward classes from the SC Commission's remit under Article 338(10).
• Listing: Article 342A places the central list with the President and Parliament.
• Mandate (Article 338B(5)): investigate and monitor safeguards, inquire into complaints, advise on and evaluate development, and report annually.
• Powers: civil-court powers while inquiring; the Union and every State must consult it on major policy matters.
• Limits: advisory recommendations; after the 2021 Maratha ruling, the 105th Amendment restored States' lists; sub-categorisation (Rohini Commission, 2017), creamy layer and caste data unresolved.

It asks 4 things — answer each

1. Explain what PM GatiShakti is and its goal of seamless multimodal connectivity
2. Discuss why meticulous coordination within government (ministries, States) is needed
3. Discuss why the private sector must be coordinated in, and the risks when coordination slips
4. Suggest how the coordination can be made to work

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• Aim: seamless multimodal connectivity through seven engines (railways, roads, ports, waterways, airports, mass transport, logistics infrastructure) to cut logistics cost and delay.
• Government coordination: siloed ministries, land, right-of-way and utility clearances; an Empowered Group of Secretaries and a Network Planning Group review projects.
• Private role: investors, concessionaires, logistics operators and industrial developers build and run assets and need reliable data, stable contracts and bankable PPP models.
• Shared data: common GIS layers help private players site parks, terminals and last-mile links and avoid duplicate works.
• Federal issue: land and many clearances are State subjects, so States must align their plans and portals with the national platform.
• Risks: PPP failures, delayed land acquisition, cost overruns, weak dispute resolution and poor data quality.
• Way forward: single-window approvals, standard PPP contracts, quick dispute resolution, links with the National Logistics Policy (2022), and independent monitoring.

It asks 3 things — answer each

1. Comment: what the Act promises: the rights and duties that make it a strong legal document
2. Comment: the gap between statute and practice, and why sensitisation of officials and citizens decides delivery
3. Suggest what sensitisation and accountability should look like

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• Rights: 4 per cent job and 5 per cent higher-education reservation for benchmark disabilities, free schooling for ages 6–18, accessibility duties and penalties.
• Implementation gaps: public buildings, transport and websites remain inaccessible, and deadlines under the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) were extended.
• Attitudes: stigma and the charity view persist; officials are often unaware of duties such as reasonable accommodation and accessible formats.
• Vacancies and certification: reserved posts stay unfilled, and disability certificates and UDID cards are delayed.
• Sensitisation needed: training for police, judiciary, teachers, health workers and employers, inclusive curricula, and public awareness of rights.
• Accountability: Chief and State Commissioners and special courts exist but lack resources; access audits, penalties and budgets are needed.

It asks 3 things — answer each

1. Comment: why DBT is a progressive reform: gains in leakage control, fiscal efficiency, transparency and inclusion
2. Comment: its limitations: exclusion, access, cash-versus-kind and design gaps
3. Suggest how the limitations can be addressed

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• Gains: fewer ghost and duplicate beneficiaries, less leakage and delay, and lower administrative costs, as in PAHAL for LPG and PM-KISAN.
• Transparency: payments are traceable, middlemen are reduced, and Jan Dhan accounts give women and the poor financial access.
• Exclusion: Aadhaar-authentication failures, seeding mismatches and biometric errors have denied rations and pensions in several States.
• Access gaps: weak banking and network access in remote and tribal areas, low digital literacy, and distance to bank branches and business correspondents.
• Cash versus kind: cash may not keep pace with food prices, the choice of in-kind support is lost, and women may not control the money.
• Design: tenant farmers and landless workers are left out of PM-KISAN, and grievance redress is weak.
• Way forward: alternatives to Aadhaar authentication, hybrid cash-and-kind options, stronger business correspondents, and grievance and privacy safeguards.

It asks 3 things — answer each

1. Set the context: the age-old friendship and the 2022 crisis
2. Discuss India's role in the crisis: financial, humanitarian and diplomatic help
3. Assess the role in the light of the friendship: strategic stakes and the limits of India's approach

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• Roots of the crisis: heavy foreign borrowing, tax cuts, the pandemic's blow to tourism and remittances, and the 2021 ban on fertiliser imports.
• Ties: the relationship is over 2,500 years old, through Buddhism and Ashoka's son Mahinda, and is now framed by Neighbourhood First and SAGAR.
• Aid in 2022: close to USD 4 billion: a fuel credit line, currency swap, food-and-medicine credit facility and deferred Asian Clearing Union payments.
• Humanitarian help: shipments of medicines, rice, milk powder and fuel, and a line of credit for urea fertiliser.
• Diplomacy: India backed coordinated action among creditors for Sri Lanka's debt relief.
• Strategic stakes: Indian Ocean security, China's presence at Hambantota and Colombo, refugee flows to Tamil Nadu, Tamil aspirations under the 13th Amendment, and fishermen disputes.
• Assessment: India earned goodwill as first responder, but must respect Sri Lankan sovereignty and public opinion and avoid appearing interventionist.

It asks 3 things — answer each

1. Do you think: whether BIMSTEC is a parallel organisation to SAARC; take a position
2. What: the similarities and dissimilarities between the two
3. How: the Indian foreign-policy objectives realised through BIMSTEC

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• Parallel or complement? BIMSTEC complements SAARC, though its rise after SAARC's stalling (last summit 2014) makes it look like a substitute.
• Similarities: regional groupings of developing states, run by summits and secretariats (Dhaka and Kathmandu), seeking trade, connectivity and poverty reduction.
• Membership: BIMSTEC excludes Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Maldives and adds Myanmar and Thailand, bridging South and Southeast Asia.
• Approach: BIMSTEC is sector-driven (transport, energy, security, trade, disaster management) and adopted a Charter in 2022; SAARC's charter bars bilateral disputes, yet they stalled it.
• India's objectives: Neighbourhood First and Act East, a bridge to Southeast Asia, Northeast development through Kaladan and the Trilateral Highway, and a forum without Pakistan.
• Also: Bay of Bengal maritime and energy security, counter-terrorism, disaster response, and balance against China's regional presence.
• Challenges: slow free-trade talks, thin intra-regional trade, funding gaps, Myanmar's political crisis, and bilateral frictions.

It asks 4 things — answer each

1. Discuss: the procedure for deciding election disputes under the Representation of the People Act, 1951 — forum, who may file, time limit and trial
2. What: the grounds on which a returned candidate's election may be declared void (Section 100)
3. What: the remedy available against the High Court's decision (Section 116A)
4. Refer to case laws

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• Forum: Article 329(b) bars challenge except by election petition; under Part VI of the 1951 Act it goes to the High Court, not by writ (Ponnuswami, 1952).
• Procedure: a candidate or elector files within 45 days of the result (Section 81); civil-suit procedure, aiming at trial within six months.
• Grounds, Section 100(1)(a)–(c): winner not qualified or disqualified; corrupt practice by him or with his consent; improper rejection of a nomination.
• Section 100(1)(d): result materially affected by improper acceptance of a nomination, others' corrupt practice, wrongful reception or rejection of votes, or non-compliance with law.
• Corrupt practices (Section 123): bribery, undue influence, appeals on religion, caste, community or language, promoting enmity, booth capturing.
• Relief and remedy: void the election or declare another elected (Sections 98, 101); appeal to the Supreme Court within 30 days (Section 116A).
• Case laws: Ponnuswami (1952), Indira Gandhi v. Raj Narain (1975), Abhiram Singh (2017).

It asks 2 things — answer each

1. Discuss: the essential conditions for the Governor's legislative powers, especially the ordinance power under Article 213
2. Discuss: the legality of re-promulgating ordinances without placing them before the Legislature, with case law

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• Conditions: the Assembly (or both Houses) is not in session, and the Governor is satisfied, on ministers' advice, that immediate action is needed.
• Scope: State subjects only; President's instructions where needed (Article 213(1) provisos); an ordinance invalid as a State Act is void (Article 213(3)).
• Duty: laid before the Legislature; lapses six weeks after reassembly, or earlier if disapproved (Article 213(2)(a)).
• Other legislative powers: summoning, proroguing and dissolving (Article 174), addressing the House (Article 176), assent to or reservation of bills (Article 200).
• D. C. Wadhwa (1987): Bihar promulgated 256 ordinances in 1967–81, kept alive for one to 14 years; re-promulgation held a fraud on the Constitution.
• Krishna Kumar Singh (2017): seven judges held laying mandatory, re-promulgation a fraud on the Constitution, and the Governor's satisfaction open to judicial review.

It asks 3 things — answer each

1. Comment: the evidence that national parties favour centralisation
2. Comment: the evidence that regional parties favour State autonomy
3. Comment: the exceptions and the deeper pattern — positions follow power — with a verdict on the statement

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• National tendency: Article 356 used 12 times up to 1967 and 62 times in the next eighteen years (Sarkaria); centrally sponsored schemes and cesses enlarge the Centre.
• Regional demands: the Rajamannar Committee (1969, reported 1971), the Anandpur Sahib Resolution (1973) and the October 1983 Srinagar conclave sought State autonomy.
• Exceptions: the West Bengal Left Front's December 1977 memorandum, prepared by the CPI(M), shows a national party seeking autonomy; parties in opposition defend it.
• Regional parties also centralise: many run States top-down, weaken panchayats and municipalities, and back the Centre when it suits them.
• Coalition era (1989–2014) raised regional bargaining power; the 14th Finance Commission raised the States' share of the divisible pool from 32 to 42 per cent.
• Institutions: Sarkaria and Punchhi Commissions, the Inter-State Council (Article 263), the GST Council; S. R. Bommai (1994) treated federalism as a basic feature.
• Verdict: the alignment is real but circumstantial; positions follow power and electoral interest.

It asks 3 things — answer each

1. Examine: how the President of India is elected — electoral college, method, nomination and disputes
2. Examine: how the President of France is elected — direct two-round vote, term and sponsorship rules
3. Critically: the strengths and weaknesses of each procedure, and whether each fits its constitutional role

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• India: an electoral college of elected MPs and elected MLAs, including Delhi and Puducherry (Article 54); nominated members and Legislative Councils do not vote.
• Method: proportional representation by single transferable vote, secret ballot; weighted votes for uniformity among States and parity with the Union (Article 55).
• Entry and disputes: 50 proposers, 50 seconders, Rs 15,000 deposit; disputes go only to the Supreme Court (Article 71).
• France: five-year term by direct universal suffrage, at most two consecutive terms (Article 6); absolute majority, else a run-off between the top two (Article 7).
• France's filter: 500 sponsorships from elected officials across at least 30 departments; the Constitutional Council oversees the election (Article 58).
• Critique, India: suits a constitutional head and avoids a rival mandate, but party arithmetic decides and citizens have no direct voice.
• Critique, France: direct legitimacy and a majority winner, but concentrated, personalised power and polarised run-offs.

It asks 3 things — answer each

1. Discuss: the Election Commission's constitutional role under Article 324
2. Discuss: how the Model Code of Conduct evolved
3. Discuss: how the Commission enforces the Code — its strengths, limits and the way forward

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• Constitutional role: Article 324 vests superintendence, direction and control of elections in the Commission, a multi-member body since 1993.
• Mohinder Singh Gill (1978): Article 324 lets the Commission act where the law is silent, while it is bound where the law speaks.
• Evolution: Kerala (1960); all recognised parties (1962); 'Minimum Code of Conduct' (1968); party-in-power rules (1979); consolidated (1991); manifesto guidelines (2013).
• Enforcement: observers, expenditure monitoring, the 48-hour silence (Section 126), cVIGIL (2018); advisories, censure, campaign bans, referrals for prosecution.
• Limits: no statutory force, charges of delay and uneven action against senior leaders, and the debate on legal backing.
• Way forward: time-bound decisions and disclosure; independent appointments, an issue since Anoop Baranwal (2023) and the 2023 Act.

It asks 4 things — answer each

1. Discuss: why welfare schemes alone cannot protect the poor
2. Discuss: how inflation hurts the poor and what deft management of it involves
3. Discuss: how unemployment hurts the poor and what job creation needs
4. Bring the three together: welfare, price stability and jobs as one strategy

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• Welfare alone falls short: PMGKAY cost about ₹3.45 lakh crore up to Phase VI, yet free grain cannot replace lost wages; fixed transfers lose real value.
• Inflation is a regressive tax: the poor spend more on food and fuel; rural CPI inflation (8.38%) outpaced urban (7.09%) in April 2022.
• Monetary anchor: RBI's 4 per cent CPI target within a 2–6 per cent band, with rate hikes from May 2022 when inflation breached it.
• Supply-side management: buffer stocks, open-market sales, PDS, calibrated trade curbs and cold chains stop food shocks becoming lasting inflation.
• Unemployment: informality, underemployment, youth joblessness and low female participation keep household incomes thin and fragile.
• Job creation: labour-intensive manufacturing, MSME credit, infrastructure spending, demand-led skilling, with MGNREGA as the fallback.
• One strategy: coordinate fiscal and monetary policy; use PLFS data and DBT for targeting; free fiscal room for job-creating investment.

It asks 4 things — answer each

1. Take a position on the view: agree in part
2. Justify the case for the view: how donor dependence sidelines communities
3. Justify the case against: where donor-funded work has built participation, and what actually decides
4. Way forward: keeping communities at the centre of donor-funded development

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• Case for the view: donor themes, log-frames and deadlines fix projects before communities are consulted; accountability runs upward to the funder.
• Contractor NGOs chase grant cycles, consultants displace local knowledge, and parallel project units bypass panchayats meant as institutions of self-government (Article 243G).
• Sustainability risk: assets built without community ownership decay, such as unused toilets and unmaintained handpumps.
• Case against: donor-backed SHG programmes such as Velugu in Andhra Pradesh and community-managed watersheds put communities in charge.
• Domestic money is no cure: CSR funds (Section 135, Companies Act, 2013) can be top-down; FCRA, 2010 regulates foreign funds, not design.
• Kerala's People's Plan Campaign devolved 35–40 per cent of plan funds to local governments in 1996, with gram sabhas articulating needs.
• Way forward: route funds through gram sabha plans, community contribution, social audits, published fund flows and aligned timelines.

It asks 4 things — answer each

1. Analyse the Act's design: a rights-and-norms law that is largely supply-side
2. Analyse the incentive gap: what the Act offers and what other schemes fill
3. Analyse the awareness gap: why families do not use entitlements, and the drop-out and learning consequences
4. What would make the right real: incentives, awareness and quality together

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• Design: school norms, teacher standards and a 25 per cent private-school quota (Section 12(1)(c)); it obliges the State to provide but does little to pull families in.
• Incentive gap: the Act offers none; mid-day meals, free books and uniforms, and girls' scholarships fill it, and delays raise the opportunity cost of schooling.
• Exclusion: poverty, child labour, migration, early marriage and disability keep children out; the Act leaves out children below 6 and above 14.
• Awareness gap: parents rarely know the private-school quota or grievance channels; CAG (Report 23 of 2017) found SMCs not formed in many schools, 41 per cent in Karnataka.
• Learning deficit: ASER surveys show weak reading and arithmetic, so parents see little return from schooling.
• Reform: incentives tied to attendance, awareness drives via SMCs and panchayats, drop-out tracking; NEP 2020 (ages 3–18), NIPUN Bharat, Samagra Shiksha.

It asks 3 things — answer each

1. Explain what I2U2 is and its focus
2. How it can transform India's position: economic, technological, strategic and diplomatic gains
3. Qualify: the limits of the grouping, the balancing India must do, and the way forward

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• Food security: the UAE will invest US$2 billion in integrated food parks across India; India provides land and links farmers.
• Clean energy: a 300 MW wind–solar hybrid project with battery storage in Gujarat.
• Technology and capital: the grouping mobilises private capital and expertise, joining US and Israeli technology, Gulf capital and Indian scale.
• Strategic reach: links India's Indo-Pacific role (Quad) to West Asia, building on the India–UAE CEPA (2022) and close ties with Israel.
• Balancing China and diplomacy: a partner-led alternative to Chinese investment; India sits as an equal with the US and key regional partners.
• Limits: informal and economic-first; India's ties with Iran, Palestine and Arab states and strategic autonomy need careful balancing.
• Way forward: time-bound delivery of flagship projects, and a wider agenda in water, space and health with private capital.

It asks 3 things — answer each

1. Describe: India's early stance — equity, common but differentiated responsibilities, resistance to binding cuts
2. Describe: the shift to voluntary and then ambitious clean-energy commitments — Copenhagen, Paris, Glasgow and the 2022 NDC update
3. Describe: how geopolitics shapes the policy — finance, carbon border taxes, coal, energy security and coalitions

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• Early stance (Rio, Kyoto): CBDR-RC under the UNFCCC; India resisted binding cuts, citing developed countries' historical emissions and its development needs.
• Copenhagen (2009): voluntary goal to cut emissions intensity of GDP by 20–25 per cent by 2020 over 2005 levels.
• Paris (2015): first NDC; India and France launched the International Solar Alliance on 30 November 2015 at COP21.
• Glasgow (2021): Panchamrit, 500 GW non-fossil capacity by 2030 and net zero by 2070.
• 2022 update: NDC raised targets to a 45 per cent emissions-intensity cut and about 50 per cent non-fossil installed power capacity by 2030; LiFE as a mass movement.
• Geopolitics: climate finance and technology transfer, opposition to the EU's CBAM, 'phase down' of coal at COP26, energy security after the Ukraine war, ISA leadership.