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Polity & governance

Prelims · Polity & governance · 23 questions

Elections, rights issues & governance

Every UPSC Prelims question on this topic, 2016–2026, newest first. Tap an option to check yourself; the answer and explanation open below it.

Elections, rights issues & governance questions per year: 2016: 0, 2017: 4, 2018: 0, 2019: 0, 2020: 3, 2021: 1, 2022: 0, 2023: 1, 2024: 1, 2025: 0, 2026: 4 Asked in 6 of 11 years · most in 2026 (4)

UPSC syllabus: “Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.” See the full syllabus →

Prelims 2026 · Q51

Easy Provisional key

Mr. X, a senior officer, was overseeing a critical vaccination programme during a pandemic. He found that a private service provider responsible for vaccine distribution was compromising on quality to make profits. Despite immense pressure to manage the issue due to vested interests, he raised his voice based on the principles of public administration which he learnt during various training programmes attended across his career. He reported the issue to the appropriate vigilance authority and halted the contract to ensure citizen welfare.

Which one among the following principles of public administration was most strongly demonstrated by Mr. X’s actions?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (c) Accountability

Mr. X answered for the quality of a public programme he oversaw. He escalated the provider's lapse to the vigilance authority and stopped the contract despite pressure, which is accountability: officials being answerable to citizens and acting on failures in the services they run.

  • ✓ (c) He took responsibility for the programme's outcome, held the private provider answerable by reporting it and halting the contract, and put citizens' interest above vested interests.
  • ✗ (b) Equity concerns fair and impartial treatment of people or groups. The case is not about how vaccines were shared among citizens but about an officer answering for a failure.
  • ✗ (d) Delegation means passing authority or tasks down to subordinates. Nothing in Mr. X's actions involves handing over authority.

Remember · Accountability: public officials answer to citizens for how public duties are carried out, and they act on lapses, including by contractors, rather than overlook them.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 4 (practise this chapter) · Class 10 Democratic Politics – II, Ch 5 (practise this chapter)

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2026 · Q52

Medium Provisional key

In a multi-ethnic district where both economic competition and historical grievances frequently led to community tensions, a flashpoint has arisen with a Government decision to allocate land for a waste management facility near a tribal hamlet, sparking protests by the tribal community, which claimed that the land was sacred and critical to their cultural identity. At the same time, urban residents and local industries supported the project, citing severe solid waste challenges and health concerns due to lack of a proper disposal site. The conflict has escalated with road blockades, social media campaigns, and allegations of police excesses.

As a responsible Government official, you are tasked with resolving the situation through mediation, ensuring a sustainable outcome that balances environmental needs, tribal rights, and urban public health.

Consider the following statements with reference to the above:

  1. 1.A successful conflict resolution process must begin with acknowledging the cultural concerns of the protesting tribal community before discussing technical alternatives.
  2. 2.The Government should move ahead with the project without delay to address urban health concerns, which outweigh the sentiments of a small group.
  3. 3.Creating a multi-stakeholder dialogue platform — including tribal leaders, environmental experts, and municipal representatives — to build mutual understanding and help de-escalate tensions.
  4. 4.Conducting an independent Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and sharing findings transparently with both sides to facilitate evidence-based decision-making.

Which of the statements given above would contribute to the resolution process?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) 1, 3 and 4 only

The task is to mediate and balance three legitimate interests, so steps that listen, bring all sides together and put shared evidence on the table help, while a decision that dismisses one side does not. Statements 1, 3 and 4 do this; statement 2 overrides the tribal community's concerns and is likely to deepen the conflict.

  • ✓ 1. Starting with the tribal community's cultural and religious concerns shows respect, lowers tension and makes it possible to discuss technical alternatives afterwards.
  • ✗ 2. Public health is among the State's primary duties (Article 47), but the State must equally protect the environment (Article 48A) and look to the welfare of Scheduled Tribes (Fifth Schedule); treating one group's view as automatically outweighing another's ignores the balance the task asks for.
  • ✓ 3. A platform with tribal leaders, environmental experts and municipal representatives brings all interests to one table and helps reduce tension.
  • ✓ 4. An independent impact assessment shared openly with both sides gives them common facts, so the decision can rest on evidence rather than on rival claims.

Remember · In conflict cases, choose steps that listen to every side, share facts openly and balance rights and needs. Reject options that override one party or rush ahead.

Sources

  • Constitution of India (Legislative Department, Government of India), Fifth Schedule, para 4(2) (Tribes Advisory Council) ↗ “It shall be the duty of the Tribes Advisory Council to advise on such matters pertaining to the welfare and advancement of the Scheduled Tribes in the State as may be referred to them by the Governor … The State shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties … The State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wild life of the country.”

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2026 · Q53

Medium Provisional key

Ms. X is a mid-level civil service official working in the urban development department of a major city. Recently, she was involved in approving a contract for a public infrastructure project — a new community park. During the approval process, she received a piece of confidential information indicating that one of the shortlisted contractors had a history of poor workmanship and allegations of corruption in other cities, though nothing had been legally proven. The Head of the Department, Mr. Y, advised her not to disclose this information to the project committee or the public because it could delay the project and damage the city’s reputation. However, Ms. X believed that withholding such information compromised transparency and public trust.

What amongst the following should Ms. X do now?

  1. 1.Immediately disclose the information to the project committee and the public
  2. 2.Recommend removing the contractor from the shortlist to protect the project’s integrity
  3. 3.Propose a ‘limited disclosure’ to an oversight committee, while keeping the information confidential from the public for the time being

Select the answer using the code given below:

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) 3 only

The information is confidential and unproven. Ms. X should not bury it, as Mr. Y suggests, but she should also not act on it in public. Passing it to an oversight committee keeps the process transparent to an accountable body and lets the allegations be checked before anyone is named or removed.

  • ✗ 1. Telling the public at once about allegations that have not been proven can damage the contractor unfairly and may expose the confidential source, before anyone has checked the facts.
  • ✗ 2. Removing a contractor from the shortlist on unproven allegations, without an inquiry or a chance to respond, would be arbitrary and could be challenged.
  • ✓ 3. A limited disclosure to an oversight committee avoids concealment, lets the claims be verified and the tender decision be taken on facts, and holds back public disclosure until there is something to disclose.

Remember · With confidential, unproven allegations: do not suppress them and do not act on them alone. Refer them to the proper oversight body for verification, then decide.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 10 Democratic Politics – II, Ch 5 (practise this chapter)

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2026 · Q62

Medium Provisional key

Which of the following statements about a Zero First Information Report (Zero FIR) under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 is/are correct?

  1. 1.A Zero FIR can be lodged at a police station, even though the place of commission of a cognizable/non-cognizable offence is outside the territorial jurisdiction of that police station.
  2. 2.The Officer-in-Charge of the police station where a Zero FIR has been lodged may, with the permission of the competent authority, initiate a preliminary enquiry.
  3. 3.Under Zero FIR, it is obligatory for the informant to furnish information electronically.

Select the answer using the code given below:

Answer & explanation

Answer: (d) 2 only

Section 173 of the BNSS allows information about a cognizable offence to be given at any police station, whatever the place of the offence, orally or electronically. A preliminary enquiry is possible only with prior permission of an officer of at least Deputy Superintendent rank. Statement 1 goes wrong by adding non-cognizable offences, and statement 3 wrongly makes electronic filing compulsory.

  • ✗ 1. Section 173(1) speaks of information relating to a cognizable offence, given irrespective of the area where the offence was committed. It does not extend this to non-cognizable offences, so the statement's wording is incorrect.
  • ✓ 2. Under section 173(3), for a cognizable offence punishable with three years or more but less than seven, the officer in charge may, with prior permission of an officer not below Deputy Superintendent of Police, conduct a preliminary enquiry.
  • ✗ 3. Information may be given orally or by electronic communication; the informant is not obliged to file electronically.

Remember · BNSS s.173: information on a cognizable offence can be given at any police station (Zero FIR), orally or electronically; preliminary enquiry only for 3–7 year offences, with DSP-level permission.

Sources

  • PIB: CrPC and BNSS, A Comparative Analysis (text of BNSS section 173(1)) ↗ “Every information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence, irrespective of the area where the offence is committed, may be given orally or by electronic communication to an officer in charge of a police station … the officer in charge of the police station may with the prior permission from an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, considering the nature and gravity of the offence,— (i) proceed to conduct preliminary enquiry”

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

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