About the UPSC Prelims 2021 GS Paper I

The Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2021, General Studies Paper I, was held on 10 October 2021 (the exam was delayed from its usual June slot due to the pandemic). The paper leaned heavily on statement-and-code-based questions across Indian Economy and Environment & Ecology, which together accounted for a large share of the 100 questions, testing precise, concept-level understanding rather than surface recall.

Science & Technology and Indian Polity also carried solid weightage, with several questions tied to current developments (ACE2 and viral spread, mitochondrial replacement therapy, recombinant vector vaccines). History and Art & Culture were tested more selectively but still required specific factual recall (Chausath Yogini Temple, the Delhi Sultanate timeline, Vijayanagara-era details), and a small set of current-affairs questions rounded out the paper with sports and international-organisation topics. One question on Lok Sabha election rules (Q80 on this page) was later officially dropped by UPSC, with bonus marks awarded to all candidates.

This page lets you attempt the complete paper — all 100 objective-type questions — in a browser-based test environment that mirrors the real exam: a 2-hour countdown, UPSC's standard +2/−⅔ marking scheme, a question palette for navigation, and an instant score card with subject-wise accuracy once you submit.

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