UPSC Mains 2014 GS1 Paper: 90/250 marks from ClearIAS.com

Considering the unpredictable nature of UPSC question paper, it’s a tough job to select questions. But selections by www.clearias.com turned right for most papers in UPSC Mains 2014. Our strategy was simple – right focus.

The strategy was different too – everything Clear IAS provided was FREE. Clear IAS provided free online study materials, guidance and mock tests to equip candidates to clear IAS. ClearIAS.com and Clear IAS mobile app was conceptualized to help and guide students who do not have access to expensive classroom coaching.

Don’t give fish; teach how to fish!

Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

We stood with our readers/students within the limitations of time, and tried to guide and correct them as per the latest requirements of UPSC Civil Services Prelims and Mains exam. In-spite of the huge size of 2.3 Lakh Clear IAS Facebook followers, Clear IAS Team ensured personal communications as far as possible with all those aspirants who had written to us. We just didn’t always stick to our own convictions but also came up with detailed toppers interviews. The experience and strategies of many toppers including All India Rank 1, Gaurav Agrawal became strategies of thousands in the country.

Questions from ClearIAS.com which appeared in UPSC Mains 2014 GS1 Paper

In UPSC Civil Services Exam, because of the tight competition, even 1 mark counts. Clear IAS Team is happy that our convictions turned right on many occasions and there were lot many direct and indirect questions in actual UPSC exam from Clear IAS Mains High Value Answer Writing Program, Clear IAS Mains Full Length Free Mock Tests and Clear IAS free online study materials. Here is the comparison of clearias.com questions with official UPSC Mains 2014 GS1 Paper.

El-Nino

• [Clear IAS Qn] – Distinguish between El Nino and La Nina? Explain the influence of ENSO in Indian monsoons.
• [UPSC 2014 Qn] – Most of the unusual climatic happenings are explained as an outcome of the El-Nino effect. Do you agree?

Naval Mutiny

• [Clear IAS Qn] –  Though repressed with force by the British the Royal Indian Navy mutiny deserves its special place in Indian freedom struggle due to multiple reasons. Trace the reasons.
• [UPSC 2014 Qn] – In what ways did the naval mutiny prove to be the last nail in the coffin of British colonial aspirations in India?

Feminization of agriculture

• [Clear IAS Qn] –  Contrary to common perception, a large percentage of women in India work.  Examine statistics on Indian women’s contribution as workers, and find out areas where the women’s participation is essential for their empowerment.
• [UPSC 2014 Qn] – Discuss the various economic and socio-cultural forces that are driving increasing feminization of agriculture in India.

Economic policies of the British

• [Clear IAS Qn] –  Distinguish between the policy of ring fence and subsidiary alliance. What were the principles of subsidiary alliance?
• [Clear IAS Qn] – What do you understand by the term ‘Commercialization of Indian Agriculture’ in the backdrop of British policies in India? What were the consequences of this policy?
• [UPSC 2014 Qn] – Examine critically the various facets of economic policies of the British in India from mid-eighteenth century till independence.

Himalayan Glaciers

• [Clear IAS Qn] – List the important water bodies and ice caps in news due to changes in the geographical features. Trace the reasons for change.
• [UPSC 2014 Qn] – Bring out the relationship between the shrinking Himalayan glaciers and the symptoms of climate change in the Indian sub-continent.

Influence of the outside world on Indian freedom movement

• [Clear IAS Qn] – Indian National movement was not an isolated movement, but it was inspired by the happening all over the world. How did Russian Revolution influence Indian National Movement?
• [UPSC 2014 Qn] – What were the major political, economic and social developments in the world which motivated the anti-colonial struggle in India?

Tropical Cyclones in Bay of Bengal

• [Clear IAS Qn] – What are the factors that result in the formation of a tropical cyclone? Why there are more tropical cyclones in Bay of Bengal than in Arabian Sea?
• [UPSC 2014 Qn] – Tropical cyclones are largely confined to South China Sea, Bay of Bengal and Gulf of Mexico. Why?

Indus Valley Civilization – Urbanization and Culture

• [Clear IAS Free Study Material] – Indus Valley Civilization
• [UPSC 2014 Qn] – To what extent has the urban planning and culture of the Indus Valley Civilization provided inputs to the present day urbanization? Discuss.

Iron and Steel Industry – Location factors

• [Clear IAS Free Study Material] – Iron and Steel Industry location pattern
• [UPSC 2014 Qn] – Account for the change in the spatial pattern of the Iron and Steel industry in the world.

Right Guidance! Right Selections!

One can give some 5000+ questions and 10,000+ page study material and claim that many questions in actual UPSC exam came from them. But Clear IAS took a focused and simple path. Our materials were small in size. We provided only around 75 questions each for GS1, GS2, and GS3. There were 54 essay topic selections and 64 questions for GS4 (Ethics) paper. Our online study materials, provided a guidance for note preparation on the important topics, but these too were never long or heavy.

Our aim was to help our readers to catch fish and not give fish directly. But still, because of our focused approach, our mock tests and study-materials provided many direct questions to our readers. In-spite of the new trend of analytical questions by UPSC, many of our convictions turned right. On a quick look, we find that  9 questions (for 90 marks out of 250) which were asked in UPSC exam 2014 were very close to the topics asked by ClearIAS.com. For those who participated in Clear IAS Mains High Value Answer Writing Test Series under our Prelims cum Mains Integrated approach, the rest of the questions should also have turned manageable. Clear IAS Team feel proud and satisfied, and now it’s over to our readers and students! 🙂