How many essay topics does UPSC give?

Since 2014 the Essay paper has two sections with four topics each, and candidates write one essay from each section. The 2013 paper had four topics and candidates wrote one essay.

Which themes are most common in the UPSC Essay paper?

Philosophy is the largest group (30 of 108 topics from 2013 to 2026), followed by psychology, economy and governance.

Where can I read model essays on past UPSC topics?

GRADFLIX has a full model essay for every UPSC Essay paper topic from 2013 to 2026 at gradflix.in/upsc-essay-pyq, free to read.

UPSC Essay Topics 2013 to 2026, Grouped by Theme

How to use this list

Reading topics year by year hides the pattern. Grouped by theme, it jumps out: of the 108 topics UPSC has set since 2013, 30 are philosophical, and almost every recent paper leans on an aphorism about life, truth or the self.

Each topic below has a full model essay in the UPSC Essay PYQ vault, free to read. Use the list to spot your weak themes, then practise one essay per theme a week.

Philosophy (30 topics)

2026: Nature Is the Symbol of the Spirit
2026: Shelving Hard Decisions Is the Least Ethical Course
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: The Doubter Is a True Man of Science
2024: Nearly All Men Can Stand Adversity, but to Test Character, Give Him Power
2024: All Ideas Having Large Consequences Are Always Simple
2023: Thinking Is Like a Game, It Does Not Begin Unless There Is an Opposite Team
2023: Not All Who Wander Are Lost
2023: Inspiration for Creativity Springs from the Effort to Look for the Magical in the Mundane
2023: A Society That Has More Justice Is a Society That Needs Less Charity
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: Philosophy of Wantlessness Is Utopian, While Materialism Is a Chimera
2021: The Real Is Rational and the Rational Is Real
2020: Life Is a Long Journey Between Human Being and Being Humane
2020: Simplicity Is the Ultimate Sophistication
2019: Wisdom Finds Truth
2019: Values Are Not What Humanity Is, but What Humanity Ought to Be
2018: A Good Life Is One Inspired by Love and Guided by Knowledge
2018: Customary Morality Cannot Be a Guide to Modern Life
2018: A People That Values Its Privileges Above Its Principles Loses Both
2018: Reality Does Not Conform to the Idea, but Confirms It
2016: Need Brings Greed, If Greed Increases It Spoils Breed
2015: Crisis Faced in India, Moral or Economic
2014: With Greater Power Comes Greater Responsibility
2013: Be the Change You Want to See in Others

Psychology (17 topics)

2026: A Grateful Mind Is Very Beautiful
2026: A Thorn Is a Changed Bud
2025: The Years Teach Much Which the Days Never Know
2024: Social Media Is Triggering Fear of Missing Out Amongst the Youth, Precipitating Depression and Loneliness
2023: Visionary Decision Making Happens at the Intersection of Intuition and Logic
2023: Girls Are Weighed Down by Restrictions, Boys with Demands
2022: A Ship in Harbour Is Safe, but That Is Not What a Ship Is For
2022: A Smile Is the Chosen Vehicle for All Ambiguities
2021: Your Perception of Me Is a Reflection of You, My Reaction to You Is an Awareness of Me
2021: The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Rules the World
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
2019: Courage to Accept and Dedication to Improve Are Two Keys to Success
2017: Joy Is the Simplest Form of Gratitude
2017: Social Media Is Inherently a Selfish Medium
2015: Quick but Steady Wins the Race
2014: Is the Growing Level of Competition Good for the Youth

Economics & Business (15 topics)

2026: A Good Leader Is One Who Follows the Followers
2025: Contentment Is Natural Wealth; Luxury Is Artificial Poverty
2024: The Cost of Being Wrong Is Less Than the Cost of Doing Nothing
2021: There Are Better Practices to Best Practices
2020: There Can Be No Social Justice Without Economic Prosperity but Economic Prosperity Without Social Justice Is Meaningless
2019: Best for an Individual Is Not Necessarily Best for the Society
2019: Neglect of Primary Health Care and Education in India Is a Reason 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 the Majority of Farmers in India
2016: If Development Is Not Engendered, It Is Endangered
2016: Digital Economy, A Leveller or a Source of Economic Inequality
2015: Character of an Institution Is Reflected in Its Leader
2015: Can Capitalism Bring Inclusive Growth
2014: Tourism, Can This Be the Next Big Thing for India
2013: GDP Along with GDH Would Be the Right Indices for Judging the Wellbeing of a Country

Politics & Governance (14 topics)

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
2024: The Empires of the Future Will Be Empires of the Mind
2022: The Time to Repair the Roof Is When the Sun Is Shining
2020: Technology as the Silent Factor in International Relations
2018: Management of Indian Border Disputes, a Complex Task
2017: Impact of the New Economic Measures on Fiscal Ties Between the Union and States in India
2017: Has the Non Alignment Movement Lost Its Relevance in a Multipolar World
2016: Water Disputes Between States in Federal India
2016: Cooperative Federalism, Myth or Reality
2015: Lending Hands to Someone Is Better Than Giving a Dole
2015: Dreams Which Should Not Let India Sleep
2014: Was It the Policy Paralysis or the Paralysis of Implementation Which Slowed the Growth of Our Country
2014: Is Sting Operation an Invasion on Privacy

Education & Knowledge (9 topics)

2026: A Well Educated Mind Will Always Have More Questions Than Answers
2025: Best Lessons Are Learnt Through Bitter Experiences
2023: Education Is What Remains After One Has Forgotten What One Has Learned in School
2022: History Is a Series of Victories Won by the Scientific Man over the Romantic Man
2021: What Is Research but a Blind Date with Knowledge
2017: Destiny of a Nation Is Shaped in Its Classrooms
2017: We May Brave Human Laws but Cannot Resist Natural Laws
2015: Education Without Values, as Useful as It Is, Seems Rather to Make a Man More Clever Devil
2014: Are the Standardized Tests Good Measure of Academic Ability or Progress

Culture & Society (8 topics)

2026: Oxymorons Reflect the Ironies of Life
2020: Culture Is What We Are, Civilization Is What We Have
2020: Patriarchy Is the Least Noticed yet the Most Significant Structure of Social Inequality
2019: South Asian Societies Are Woven Not Around the State but Around Their Plural Cultures and Plural Identities
2019: Biased Media Is a Real Threat to Indian Democracy
2017: Fulfilment of the New Woman in India Is a Myth
2014: Words Are Sharper Than the Two Edged Sword
2014: Fifty Golds in Olympics, Can This Be a Reality for India

Technology & Future (7 topics)

2021: The Process of Self Discovery Has Now Been Technologically Outsourced
2019: Rise of Artificial Intelligence, the Threat of a Jobless Future or Better Job Opportunities Through Reskilling and Upskilling
2016: Innovation Is the Key Determinant of Economic Growth and Social Welfare
2016: Cyberspace and Internet, Blessing or Curse to the Human Civilization in the Long Run
2016: Near Jobless Growth in India, An Anomaly or an Outcome of Economic Reforms
2015: Technology Cannot Replace Manpower
2013: Science and Technology Is the Panacea for the Growth and Security of the Nation

Nature & Environment (3 topics)

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

History & Civilization (3 topics)

2021: History Repeats Itself, First as Tragedy, Second as Farce
2018: The Past Is a Permanent Dimension of Human Consciousness and Values
2013: Is the Colonial Mentality Hindering India's Success

Science (1 topics)

2023: Mathematics Is the Music of Reason

Arts & Literature (1 topics)

2022: Poets Are the Unacknowledged Legislators of the World

What the themes tell you

Philosophy and psychology together now make up the largest share of the paper, and the share has grown since about 2018. Governance and economy topics have not vanished, but they increasingly arrive dressed as quotations, like "The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining" (2022), rather than as direct questions.

The practical lesson: build a stock of examples that work across themes (a policy, a scientist, a historical episode, a personal-scale story) and practise turning an abstract line into a concrete argument.