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UPSC Prelims 2025 Analysis

UPSC Prelims Answer Key

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UPSC Prelims 2025 Analysis

Subject-wise weightage

subjectNumber of questions
Ancient History6
Art & Culture2
Economy18
Environment & Ecology15
Indian Geography1
Indian Polity14
International Relations8
Modern History8
Physical Geography7
Science & Technology13
Social Issues & Schemes3
World Geography5
Grand Total100

Polity: High representation with 14 questions, focusing on constitutional articles, governance, and recent amendments. Analytical abilities were essential to tackle assertion-based and statement-type questions.

Economy: Approximately 18 questions, focusing on conceptual clarity and application based questions and policies. A mix of static concepts from NCERT and dynamic updates was necessary.

Environment & Ecology: 15 questions, with a strong emphasis on climate change, international agreements, international bodies and conservation efforts. Match the following questions played a significant role in this section.

History: 16 questions, balanced between ancient, medieval, and modern. Many questions required a combination of NCERT knowledge and historical maps for better context. Modern history was doable if student is clear with standard resources and timeline.

Geography: 10-13 questions, mostly applied concepts like map-based and environmental geography questions.

Science & Technology: 13 questions, leaning towards application-based knowledge on recent innovations and space technology. Current affairs played vital role.

Current Affairs: 15-18 questions, interwoven with other subjects, often requiring assertion-reasoning skills to connect facts.

Question Count (1).png
Subject-Wise MCQ Distribution in UPSC Prelims 2025

Difficulty-wise breakdown

  • Easy: ~33% of questions were straightforward and could be attempted with basic NCERT knowledge.
  • Moderate: ~35% required analytical abilities, conceptual clarity, and elimination tactics.
  • Difficult: ~32% were tricky, involving multi-layered reasoning or obscure facts.
Difficulty Analysis in UPSC Prelims 2025
Difficulty Analysis in UPSC Prelims 2025

 

Type of questions

Question typeNumber of questions
Direct26
Assertion12
Multi-statement62

 

Youtubz Poster

QUESTION 1

HardInternational RelationsPrelims 2025

Consider the following countries:

I. Austria II. Bulgaria III. Croatia IV. Serbia V. Sweden VI. North Macedonia

How many of the above are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization?

A. Only three

B. Only four

C. Only five

D. All the six

Answer: B

Explanation

❌I. Austria - Not a NATO member (maintains neutrality).

✅ II.Bulgaria - NATO member (joined in 2004).

✅ III. Croatia - NATO member (joined in 2009).

❌IV. Serbia - Not a NATO member (participates in Partnership for Peace, but not a full member).

✅ V. Sweden - NATO member (officially joined in March 2024).

✅ VI. North Macedonia - NATO member (joined in 2020).

So, four of the listed countries are members of NATO: Bulgaria, Croatia, Sweden, and North Macedonia.


QUESTION 2

MediumInternational RelationsPrelims 2025

Consider the following statements in respect of BIMSTEC:

I. It is a regional organization consisting of seven member States till January 2025. II. It came into existence with the signing of the Dhaka Declaration, 1999. III. Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Nepal are founding member States of BIMSTEC. IV. In BIMSTEC, the subsector of tourism is being led by India.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A. I and II

B. II and III

C. I and IV

D. I only

Answer: D

Explanation

Statement I: Correct BIMSTEC currently has seven members: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal, and Bhutan.

Statement II: Incorrect BIMSTEC was established by the Bangkok Declaration in 1997, not the Dhaka Declaration in 1999.

Statement III: Incorrect Founding members were Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Myanmar; Nepal and Bhutan joined later.

Statement IV: Incorrect Nepal leads tourism subsector, not India; India leads sectors like Counter-Terrorism and Energy.

Correct Answer: Only Statement I is correct.


QUESTION 3

HardInternational RelationsPrelims 2025

Consider the following statements in respect of the Kho Kho World Cup:

I. The event was held in Delhi, India. II. Indian men beat Nepal with a score of 78–40 in the final to become the World Champion in men category. III. Indian women beat Nepal with a score of 54–36 in the final to become the World Champion in women category.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A. I only

B. II and III only

C. I and III only

D. I, II and III

Answer: A

Explanation

✅ Statement I: Correct The inaugural Kho Kho World Cup was held in New Delhi, India, from January 13-19, 2025.

❌ Statement II: Incorrect India defeated Nepal 54-36 (not 78-40) to win the men’s final.

❌ Statement III: Incorrect India beat Nepal 78-40 (not 54-36) in the women’s final.

Additional Context: 24 countries participated, and the event was organized by the Kho Kho Federation of India with the International Kho Kho Federation.

Therefore, only Statement I is correct.


QUESTION 4

HardInternational RelationsPrelims 2025

Consider the following statements regarding AI Action Summit held in Grand Palais, Paris in February 2025:

I. Co-chaired with India, the event builds on the advances made at the Bletchley Park Summit held in 2023 and the Seoul Summit held in 2024. II. Along with other countries, US and UK also signed the declaration on inclusive and sustainable AI.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A. I only

B. II only

C. Both I and II

D. Neither I nor II

Answer: A

Explanation

Statement I: Correct India co-chaired the AI Action Summit in Paris (Feb 2025), continuing efforts from the Bletchley Park (UK, 2023) and Seoul (South Korea, 2024) Summits on AI governance.

Statement II: Incorrect The joint statement on ‘Inclusive and Sustainable AI’ was signed by 58 countries including India and China, but the US and UK did not sign due to concerns about overregulation.

Correct Answer: Only Statement I is correct.


QUESTION 5

MediumInternational RelationsPrelims 2025

Consider the following statements:

I. In the finals of the 45th Chess Olympiad held in 2024, Gukesh Dommaraju became the world's youngest winner after defeating the Russian player Ian Nepomniachtchi. II. Abhimanyu Mishra, an American chess player, holds the record of becoming world's youngest ever Grandmaster.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A. I only

B. II only

C. Both I and II

D. Neither I nor II

Answer: B

Explanation

❌ Statement I: Incorrect Gukesh Dommaraju did not become the youngest world chess champion by defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi; the final was against Ding Liren (of China).

✅ Statement II: Correct Abhimanyu Mishra is the youngest chess Grandmaster ever, achieving the title at 12 years, 4 months, and 25 days.

Therefore, only Statement II is correct.


QUESTION 6

MediumInternational RelationsPrelims 2025

Consider the following statements with regard to BRICS:

I. 16th BRICS Summit was held under the Chairship of Russia in Kazan. II. Indonesia has become a full member of BRICS. III. The theme of the 16th BRICS Summit was Strengthening Multiculturalism for Just Global Development and Security.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A. I and II

B. II and III

C. I and III

D. I only

Answer: A

Explanation

Statement I: Correct The 16th BRICS Summit was held in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024 under Russia’s chairship. Russia held the rotating presidency in 2024, and the summit took place from October 22-24 in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan.

Statement II: Correct Indonesia became a full member of BRICS in January 2025, becoming the first Southeast Asian nation and the 10th member of the bloc.

Statement III: Incorrect The theme of the 16th BRICS Summit is "Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security." The statement used "Multiculturalism" instead of "Multilateralism," making it incorrect for this question.

Therefore, only statements I and II are correct.


QUESTION 7

HardInternational RelationsPrelims 2025

Consider the following pairs:

I. International Year of the Woman Farmer : 2026 II. International Year of Sustainable and Resilient Tourism : 2027 III. International Year of Peace and Trust : 2025 IV. International Year of Asteroid Awareness and Planetary Defence : 2029

How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

A. Only one

B. Only two

C. Only three

D. All the four

Answer: D

Explanation

Pair I: International Year of the Woman Farmer : 2026 — Correct The UN designated 2026 to honor the vital role of women in agriculture and to address gender inequalities in farming globally.

Pair II: International Year of Sustainable and Resilient Tourism : 2027 — Correct 2027 is proclaimed to promote tourism that supports sustainable development and resilience against climate and health challenges.

Pair III: International Year of Peace and Trust : 2025 — Correct The year 2025 focuses on fostering global peace, trust, and cooperation among nations and communities.

Pair IV: International Year of Asteroid Awareness and Planetary Defence : 2029 — Correct 2029 marks the UN’s focus on asteroid awareness and planetary defense, coinciding with asteroid Apophis’s close approach.

Therefore, all four pairs are correctly matched.


QUESTION 8

EasyInternational RelationsPrelims 2025

India is one of the founding members of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a multimodal transportation corridor, which will connect

A. India to Central Asia to Europe via Iran

B. India to Central Asia via China

C. India to South-East Asia through Bangladesh and Myanmar

D. India to Europe through Azerbaijan

Answer: A

Explanation

The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a multimodal transport network aimed at boosting trade between India, Central Asia, Russia, and Europe, using a combination of sea, rail, and road routes via Iran.

The corridor connects Mumbai → Bandar Abbas (Iran) → Azerbaijan → Russia → Europe, with access to Central Asia.

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