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UPSC Essay Previous Year Papers (2013–2026): All Topics with Model Essays
Every topic, written out.
Every UPSC Civil Services Mains Essay paper topic, year by year, each with a full model essay by Abhishek Leela Pandey, plus its structure as a mind map and the key vocabulary. Free for everyone.
108 essays so far.
UPSC Essay topics 2026
Section A · 1Oxymorons Reflect the Ironies of LifeSection A · 2A Grateful Mind Is Very BeautifulSection A · 3A Thorn Is a Changed BudSection A · 4When Two Elephants Fight, It Is the Grass That Gets TrampledSection B · 1Nature Is the Symbol of the SpiritSection B · 2A Well Educated Mind Will Always Have More Questions Than AnswersSection B · 3Shelving Hard Decisions Is the Least Ethical CourseSection B · 4A Good Leader Is One Who Follows the FollowersUPSC Essay topics 2025
Section A · 1Truth Knows No ColorSection A · 2The Supreme Art of War Is to Subdue the Enemy Without FightingSection A · 3Thought Finds a World and Creates One AlsoSection A · 4Best Lessons Are Learnt Through Bitter ExperiencesSection B · 1Muddy Water Is Best Cleared by Leaving It AloneSection B · 2The Years Teach Much Which the Days Never KnowSection B · 3It Is Best to See Life as a Journey, Not as a DestinationSection B · 4Contentment Is Natural Wealth; Luxury Is Artificial PovertyUPSC Essay topics 2024
Section A · 1Forests Precede Civilizations and Deserts Follow ThemSection A · 2The Empires of the Future Will Be Empires of the MindSection A · 3There Is No Path to Happiness, Happiness Is the PathSection A · 4The Doubter Is a True Man of ScienceSection B · 1Social Media Is Triggering Fear of Missing Out Amongst the Youth, Precipitating Depression and LonelinessSection B · 2Nearly All Men Can Stand Adversity, but to Test Character, Give Him PowerSection B · 3All Ideas Having Large Consequences Are Always SimpleSection B · 4The Cost of Being Wrong Is Less Than the Cost of Doing NothingUPSC Essay topics 2023
Section A · 1Thinking Is Like a Game, It Does Not Begin Unless There Is an Opposite TeamSection A · 2Visionary Decision Making Happens at the Intersection of Intuition and LogicSection A · 3Not All Who Wander Are LostSection A · 4Inspiration for Creativity Springs from the Effort to Look for the Magical in the MundaneSection B · 1Girls Are Weighed Down by Restrictions, Boys with DemandsSection B · 2Mathematics Is the Music of ReasonSection B · 3A Society That Has More Justice Is a Society That Needs Less CharitySection B · 4Education Is What Remains After One Has Forgotten What One Has Learned in SchoolUPSC Essay topics 2022
Section A · 1Forests Are the Best Case Studies for Economic ExcellenceSection A · 2Poets Are the Unacknowledged Legislators of the WorldSection A · 3History Is a Series of Victories Won by the Scientific Man over the Romantic ManSection A · 4A Ship in Harbour Is Safe, but That Is Not What a Ship Is ForSection B · 1The Time to Repair the Roof Is When the Sun Is ShiningSection B · 2You Cannot Step Twice in the Same RiverSection B · 3A Smile Is the Chosen Vehicle for All AmbiguitiesSection B · 4Just Because You Have a Choice, It Does Not Mean That Any of Them Has to Be RightUPSC Essay topics 2021
Section A · 1The Process of Self Discovery Has Now Been Technologically OutsourcedSection A · 2Your Perception of Me Is a Reflection of You, My Reaction to You Is an Awareness of MeSection A · 3Philosophy of Wantlessness Is Utopian, While Materialism Is a ChimeraSection A · 4The Real Is Rational and the Rational Is RealSection B · 1The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Rules the WorldSection B · 2What Is Research but a Blind Date with KnowledgeSection B · 3History Repeats Itself, First as Tragedy, Second as FarceSection B · 4There Are Better Practices to Best PracticesUPSC Essay topics 2020
Section A · 1Life Is a Long Journey Between Human Being and Being HumaneSection A · 2Mindful Manifesto Is the Catalyst to a Tranquil SelfSection A · 3Ships Do Not Sink Because of Water Around Them, Ships Sink Because of Water That Gets into ThemSection A · 4Simplicity Is the Ultimate SophisticationSection B · 1Culture Is What We Are, Civilization Is What We HaveSection B · 2There Can Be No Social Justice Without Economic Prosperity but Economic Prosperity Without Social Justice Is MeaninglessSection B · 3Patriarchy Is the Least Noticed yet the Most Significant Structure of Social InequalitySection B · 4Technology as the Silent Factor in International RelationsUPSC Essay topics 2019
Section A · 1Wisdom Finds TruthSection A · 2Values Are Not What Humanity Is, but What Humanity Ought to BeSection A · 3Best for an Individual Is Not Necessarily Best for the SocietySection A · 4Courage to Accept and Dedication to Improve Are Two Keys to SuccessSection B · 1South Asian Societies Are Woven Not Around the State but Around Their Plural Cultures and Plural IdentitiesSection B · 2Neglect of Primary Health Care and Education in India Is a Reason for Its BackwardnessSection B · 3Biased Media Is a Real Threat to Indian DemocracySection B · 4Rise of Artificial Intelligence, the Threat of a Jobless Future or Better Job Opportunities Through Reskilling and UpskillingUPSC Essay topics 2018
Section A · 1Alternative Technologies for a Climate Change Resilient IndiaSection A · 2A Good Life Is One Inspired by Love and Guided by KnowledgeSection A · 3Poverty Anywhere Is a Threat to Prosperity EverywhereSection A · 4Management of Indian Border Disputes, a Complex TaskSection B · 1Customary Morality Cannot Be a Guide to Modern LifeSection B · 2The Past Is a Permanent Dimension of Human Consciousness and ValuesSection B · 3A People That Values Its Privileges Above Its Principles Loses BothSection B · 4Reality Does Not Conform to the Idea, but Confirms ItUPSC Essay topics 2017
Section A · 1Farming Has Lost the Ability to Be a Source of Subsistence for the Majority of Farmers in IndiaSection A · 2Impact of the New Economic Measures on Fiscal Ties Between the Union and States in IndiaSection A · 3Destiny of a Nation Is Shaped in Its ClassroomsSection A · 4Has the Non Alignment Movement Lost Its Relevance in a Multipolar WorldSection B · 1Joy Is the Simplest Form of GratitudeSection B · 2Fulfilment of the New Woman in India Is a MythSection B · 3We May Brave Human Laws but Cannot Resist Natural LawsSection B · 4Social Media Is Inherently a Selfish MediumUPSC Essay topics 2016
Section A · 1If Development Is Not Engendered, It Is EndangeredSection A · 2Need Brings Greed, If Greed Increases It Spoils BreedSection A · 3Water Disputes Between States in Federal IndiaSection A · 4Innovation Is the Key Determinant of Economic Growth and Social WelfareSection B · 1Cooperative Federalism, Myth or RealitySection B · 2Cyberspace and Internet, Blessing or Curse to the Human Civilization in the Long RunSection B · 3Near Jobless Growth in India, An Anomaly or an Outcome of Economic ReformsSection B · 4Digital Economy, A Leveller or a Source of Economic InequalityUPSC Essay topics 2015
Section A · 1Lending Hands to Someone Is Better Than Giving a DoleSection A · 2Quick but Steady Wins the RaceSection A · 3Character of an Institution Is Reflected in Its LeaderSection A · 4Education Without Values, as Useful as It Is, Seems Rather to Make a Man More Clever DevilSection B · 1Technology Cannot Replace ManpowerSection B · 2Crisis Faced in India, Moral or EconomicSection B · 3Dreams Which Should Not Let India SleepSection B · 4Can Capitalism Bring Inclusive GrowthUPSC Essay topics 2014
Section A · 1With Greater Power Comes Greater ResponsibilitySection A · 2Is the Growing Level of Competition Good for the YouthSection A · 3Are the Standardized Tests Good Measure of Academic Ability or ProgressSection A · 4Words Are Sharper Than the Two Edged SwordSection B · 1Was It the Policy Paralysis or the Paralysis of Implementation Which Slowed the Growth of Our CountrySection B · 2Is Sting Operation an Invasion on PrivacySection B · 3Fifty Golds in Olympics, Can This Be a Reality for IndiaSection B · 4Tourism, Can This Be the Next Big Thing for IndiaUPSC Essay topics 2013
Topic 1Be the Change You Want to See in OthersTopic 2Is the Colonial Mentality Hindering India's SuccessTopic 3GDP Along with GDH Would Be the Right Indices for Judging the Wellbeing of a CountryTopic 4Science and Technology Is the Panacea for the Growth and Security of the NationQuestions about the UPSC Essay paper
What is the UPSC Essay paper?
The Essay paper is Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Mains. Candidates write two essays, one from Section A and one from Section B, for 250 marks in total.
Where can I read UPSC essay topics with model essays?
GRADFLIX lists every UPSC Mains Essay paper topic by year, each with a full model essay by Abhishek Leela Pandey, free to read.
How should I structure a UPSC essay?
Open with a clear thesis, explore the topic across several dimensions (social, economic, political, ethical, historical), use concrete examples, weigh counter-views, and close with a balanced, forward-looking conclusion. Each model essay here shows its structure as a mind map.