Mains
Detailed syllabus · Main examination · Paper I
UPSC Essay Paper Syllabus 2026: UPSC's Brief and Every Topic Set
250 marks, two essays, no topic list — so here is UPSC's own brief and all 88 topics it has set since 2016.
हिन्दी में पढ़ेंUPSC's brief for the Essay paper
“Essay: Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics. They will be expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression.”
There is no topic list — the themes below are how UPSC's 88 topics since 2016 group together.
Philosophy, values & abstract ideas · 33
Theme page →- 2026 “Oxymorons reflect the ironies of life.”
- 2026 “A grateful mind is very beautiful.”
- 2026 “A thorn is a changed bud.”
- 2025 “Truth knows no color.”
- 2025 “Thought finds a world and creates one also.”
- 2025 “Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.”
- 2025 “It is best to see life as a journey, not as a destination.”
- 2024 “There is no path to happiness; Happiness is the path.”
- 2024 “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but to test the character, give him power.”
- 2024 “All ideas having large consequences are always simple.”
- 2024 “The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing.”
- 2023 “Thinking is like a game, it does not begin unless there is an opposite team.”
- 2023 “Visionary decision-making happens at the intersection of intuition and logic.”
- 2023 “Not all who wander are lost.”
- 2023 “Inspiration for creativity springs from the effort to look for the magical in the mundane.”
- 2022 “A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ship is for”
- 2022 “You cannot step twice in the same river”
- 2022 “Just because you have a choice, it does not mean that any of them has to be right”
- 2021 “Your perception of me is a reflection of you; my reaction to you is an awareness of me.”
- 2021 “Philosophy of wantlessness is Utopian, while materialism is a chimera.”
- 2021 “The real is rational and the rational is real.”
- 2020 “Life is long journey between human being and being humane”
- 2020 “Mindful manifesto is the catalyst to a tranquil self”
- 2020 “Ships do not sink because of water around them, ships sink because of water that gets into them”
- 2020 “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”
- 2019 “Wisdom finds truth”
- 2019 “Values are not what humanity is, but what humanity ought to be”
- 2019 “Courage to accept and dedication to improve are two keys to success”
- 2018 “A good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge”
- 2018 “Customary morality cannot be a guide to modern life”
- 2018 “Reality does not conform to the ideal, but confirms it”
- 2017 “Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.”
- 2016 “Need brings greed, if greed increases it spoils breed”
Economy, development & work · 9
Theme page →- 2025 “Contentment is natural wealth; luxury is artificial poverty.”
- 2022 “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining”
- 2020 “There can be no social justice without economic prosperity but economic prosperity without social justice is meaningless”
- 2019 “Neglect of primary health care and education in India are reasons for its backwardness”
- 2018 “Poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere”
- 2017 “Farming has lost the ability to be a source of subsistence for majority of farmers in India.”
- 2016 “Innovation is the key determinant of economic growth and social welfare”
- 2016 “Near jobless growth in India : An anomaly or an outcome of economic reforms”
- 2016 “Digital economy : A leveller or a source of economic inequality”
Democracy, polity & governance · 8
Theme page →- 2026 “Shelving hard decisions is the least ethical course.”
- 2026 “A good leader is one who follows the followers.”
- 2021 “There are better practices to "best practices".”
- 2019 “Biased media is a real threat to Indian democracy”
- 2018 “A people that values its privileges above its principles loses both”
- 2017 “Impact of the new economic measures on fiscal ties between the union and states in India.”
- 2016 “Water disputes between States in federal India”
- 2016 “Cooperative federalism : Myth or reality”
Science, technology & the future · 7
Theme page →- 2024 “The doubter is a true man of science.”
- 2023 “Mathematics is the music of reason.”
- 2022 “History is a series of victories won by the scientific man over the romantic man”
- 2021 “The process of self-discovery has now been technologically outsourced.”
- 2019 “Rise of Artificial Intelligence : the threat of jobless future or better job opportunities through reskilling and upskilling”
- 2017 “Social media’ is inherently a selfish medium.”
- 2016 “Cyberspace and Internet : Blessing or curse to the human civilization in the long run”
Society, culture & human relationships · 6
Theme page →- 2024 “Social media is triggering ‘Fear of Missing Out’ amongst the youth, precipitating depression and loneliness.”
- 2023 “A society that has more justice is a society that needs less charity.”
- 2022 “Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world”
- 2022 “A smile is the chosen vehicle for all ambiguities”
- 2019 “Best for an individual is not necessarily best for the society”
- 2019 “South Asian societies are woven not around the state, but around their plural cultures and plural identities”
Education & knowledge · 6
Theme page →- 2026 “A well-educated mind will always have more questions than answers.”
- 2025 “Best lessons are learnt through bitter experiences.”
- 2024 “The empires of the future will be the empires of the mind.”
- 2023 “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.”
- 2021 “What is research, but a blind date with knowledge!”
- 2017 “Destiny of a nation is shaped in its classrooms.”
Environment & sustainability · 5
Theme page →- 2026 “Nature is the symbol of the spirit.”
- 2024 “Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow them.”
- 2022 “Forests are the best case studies for economic excellence”
- 2018 “Alternative technologies for a climate change resilient India”
- 2017 “We may brave human laws but cannot resist natural laws.”
Women, gender & equality · 5
Theme page →- 2023 “Girls are weighed down by restrictions, boys with demands — two equally harmful disciplines.”
- 2021 “Hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.”
- 2020 “Patriarchy is the least noticed yet the most significant structure of social inequality”
- 2017 “Fulfilment of ‘new woman’ in India is a myth.”
- 2016 “If development is not engendered, it is endangered”
The world, peace & international order · 5
Theme page →- 2026 “When two elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled.”
- 2025 “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
- 2020 “Technology as the silent factor in international relations”
- 2018 “Management of Indian border disputes—a complex task”
- 2017 “Has the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) lost its relevance in a multipolar world?”
History, civilisation & heritage · 4
Theme page →FAQ
Essay paper: questions, answered
What is the syllabus for the UPSC Essay paper?
UPSC does not list topics. Its syllabus says: "Essay: Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics. They will be expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression."
How many essays are written in UPSC Mains?
Two. In recent papers UPSC has set eight topics in two sections of four; candidates write one essay from each section — 125 marks each, in about 1,000–1,200 words — for 250 marks in three hours.
What kinds of essay topics does UPSC set?
From 2016 to 2026, the most frequent themes were philosophy, values & abstract ideas (33), economy, development & work (9), democracy, polity & governance (8). Recent papers lean on philosophical quotations as well as issue-based topics.