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UPSC Prelims 2020 Analysis

Subject-Wise MCQ Distribution

The UPSC Prelims 2020 maintained its dynamic nature, demanding strong analytical abilities across subjects.

  • Environment & Ecology: 19 questions, emphasizing its crucial role in both the Civil Services Examination (CSE) and Indian Forest Service (Ifos) prelims.
  • Economy: Emerged as the dominant subject with 21 questions, underscoring its foundational significance.
  • Indian Polity: 15 questions, reinforcing its position as one of the most essential areas for aspirants.
  • History: A well-distributed section with 3 questions from Ancient History, 2 from Medieval History, 9 from Modern History, and 5 from Art & Culture.
  • Geography: 6 questions on Indian Geography, 1 on Physical Geography, and 1 on World Geography. Some questions required maps-based knowledge.
  • Science & Technology: 13 questions, highlighting its increasing significance in the exam.
  • International Relations: 3 questions, marking a decline from previous years but still requiring awareness of global affairs and India's foreign policy.
  • Social Issues & Schemes: 2 questions, demonstrating the need for understanding government programs and their societal impact.
Prelims 2020
Subject-Wise Weightage in UPSC Prelims 2020

Difficulty Analysis

  • Easy: 30 questions, requiring fundamental knowledge.
  • Medium: 43 questions, designed to test deeper understanding and application.
  • Hard: 27 questions, focusing on conceptual depth and critical thinking.
Prelims 2020
Difficulty-Level Distribution in UPSC Prelims 2020

Variations in Question Framing

  • Multi-Statement Based: 63 questions, testing analytical abilities through comparisons and logical deductions.
  • Direct Questions: 37 questions, yielding approximately 74 marks.
  • Assertion & Reasoning: Notably, no assertion and reason-based questions were asked this year.
  • Match the Following: Several match the following type questions were present, assessing conceptual clarity across subjects.
Prelims 2020
Variations of Questions in UPSC Prelims 2020

Static vs Current Affairs Distribution

  • Static Questions: 75% of the paper, reflecting the importance of mastering NCERT fundamentals.
  • Current Affairs: 25 questions, many of which blended static concepts with contemporary relevance. Economics and Science & Technology, in particular, were influenced by recent developments, making it difficult to separate static from dynamic content.

Key Learnings for Future Preparation

The UPSC Prelims 2020 presented several challenges due to its unique question patterns and focus areas:

  • The exam was challenging and unconventional, requiring strong analytical abilities.

  • Heavy focus on Science & Technology, Environment, and Agriculture.

  • Topics like eco-friendly farming, biochar, and MSP were particularly tricky.

  • While current affairs played a role, most questions were static and application-driven, demanding a strong conceptual foundation.

  • Underrepresented areas included:

    • Key government schemes

    • COVID-19-related policies

    • International organizations

  • The unpredictability of the exam reaffirmed the need for:

    • Well-rounded preparation

    • NCERT-based conceptual clarity

    • Interdisciplinary approach was crucial, integrating multiple subjects effectively.

The Prelims 2020 paper was analytical and required strong conceptual clarity. Economy, Environment, and Polity were key focus areas. Multi-statement questions dominated, emphasizing elimination techniques. While static concepts formed the core, current affairs played a supporting role. The exam demanded an interdisciplinary approach and applied knowledge.

QUESTION 1

EasyInternational RelationsPrelims 2020

Consider the following pairs

International agreement - Set-up Subject

  1. Alma-Ata Declaration - Healthcare of the people
  2. Hague Convention - Biological and chemical weapons
  3. Talanoa Dialogue - Global climate change
  4. Under2 Coalition - Child rights

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

A. 1 and 2 only

B. 4 only

C. 1 and 3 only

D. 2, 3 and 4 only

Answer: C

Explanation

Alma Ata Declaration: The Declaration of Alma-Ata was adopted at the International Conference on Primary Health Care, Almaty, Kazakhstan, 612 September 1978. It expressed the need for urgent action by all governments, all health and development workers, and the world community to protect and promote the health of all people. Hence pair 1 is correctly matched.

Hague Convention: The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction or Hague Abduction Convention is a multilateral treaty developed by the Hague Conference on Private International Law that provides an expeditious method to return a child internationally abducted by a parent from one member country to another. Hence pair 2 is not correctly matched.

The Talanoa Dialogue is a process designed to help countries implement and enhance their Nationally Determined Contributions by 2020. The Dialogue was mandated by the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change to take stock of the collective global efforts to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases, in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Hence pair 3 is correctly matched.

The Under2 Coalition is a global community of state and regional governments committed to ambitious climate action in line with the Paris Agreement. The coalition brings together more than 220 governments that represent over 1.3 billion people and 43% of the global economy. Signatories commit to keeping global temperature rises to well below 2C with efforts to reach 1.5C. Hence pair 4 is not correctly matched.


QUESTION 2

EasyInternational RelationsPrelims 2020

In which one of the following groups are all the four countries members of G20?

A. Argentina, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey

B. Australia, Canada, Malaysia and New Zealand

C. Brazil, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam

D. Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.

Answer: A

Explanation

The members of the G20 are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and the European Union.

Hence option A is the correct answer.


QUESTION 3

HardInternational RelationsPrelims 2020

Consider the following statements:

  1. The value of Indo-Sri Lanka trade has consistently increased in the last decade.
  2. “Textile and textile articles” constitute an important item of trade between India and Bangladesh.
  3. In the last five years, Nepal has been the largest trading partner of India in South Asia.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A. 1 and 2 only

B. 2 only

C. 3 only

D. 1, 2 and 3

Answer: B

Explanation

Statement 1 is not correct. Bilateral trade between India and Sri Lanka has increased by around 9 times between 2000-01 and 2018-19. Total trade between the two countries was US$ 6.2 billion in 2018-19, out of which India's exports to Sri Lanka were US$ 4.7 billion and imports were US$ 1.5 billion. Although India has always had a trade surplus with Sri Lanka, the gap has widened since 2008-09. In 2012-13 and 2016-17, the trade slumped, thus disturbing the steady increase in the graph.

Statement 2 is correct. According to the World Bank, India exports $2.25 billion worth of textile and clothing products to Bangladesh. In turn, it imports $336 million worth of textile and clothing products from Dhaka.

Statement 3 is not correct. Bangladesh is India's biggest trade partner in South Asia. Bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh has grown steadily over the last decade. India's exports to Bangladesh in FY 2018-19 stood at $9.21 billion and imports during the same period were at $1.04 billion.

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