UPSC Essay Topics Previous Years: 2007 to 2026 List

UPSC Essay topics in outline: 138 topics in 20 papers, eight topics in two sections since 2014, and mostly quotations and abstract statements in recent papers

This is the UPSC essay topics previous years list, with all 138 topics set in the Civil Services Main Examination from 2007 to 2026, newest first, with the year, question number and section of each, grouped by theme, with an explanation of how the topics have changed.

What the UPSC Essay Paper Asks: Topics, Sections and Marks

How Many Essay Topics UPSC Sets and How Many You Write

The lists of UPSC essay topics below run newest paper first, because the recent papers are closest to the one you will sit. Each line gives the year, the question number and, from 2014, the section the topic appeared in.

Since 2014 every Essay paper has printed eight topics in two sections of four, and you write one essay from each section. Each essay carries 125 marks, so the paper is worth 250, and the 2026 paper asked for about 1,000 to 1,200 words for each essay. Before 2014 the paper printed four to six topics with no sections, and candidates wrote a single essay.

Number of topics printed in each UPSC Mains Essay paper from 2007 to 2026, between four and six until 2013 and eight in every paper since 2014 — Topics printed in each Essay paper, 2007 to 2026.

How UPSC Essay Topics Have Changed Since 2007

Essay topics come in two kinds. An issue-based topic names something you can read about, such as a policy, an institution, a sector, a technology, a social group or a live public issue, such as "Food security - legislation and implementation" (2012). A quotation-style topic is a proverb, a quotation or an abstract statement with nothing named in it, such as "A thorn is a changed bud" (2026).

The balance between the two has reversed. Up to 2015, 13 of 50 topics were quotation-style. Since 2020 it is 53 of 56, and in four papers (2021, 2022, 2025 and 2026) every topic was of that kind. Only three recent topics named an issue:

2020, Q8 (Section B): Technology as the silent factor in international relations.
2023, Q5 (Section B): Girls are weighed down by restrictions, boys with demands - two equally harmful disciplines.
2024, Q5 (Section B): Social media is Triggering 'Fear of Missing Out' amongst the youth, precipitating depression and loneliness.

UPSC Essay Topics 2020 to 2026: The Recent Papers

UPSC Essay Topics 2025 and 2026

The two latest papers are the best guide to what you will face. All sixteen of their topics are quotation-style, and they range widely, across war and peace, gratitude, leadership, nature and the lessons of experience. The 2026 paper is listed first.

2026, Q1 (Section A): Oxymorons reflect the ironies of life.
2026, Q2 (Section A): A grateful mind is very beautiful.
2026, Q3 (Section A): A thorn is a changed bud.
2026, Q4 (Section A): When two elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled.
2026, Q5 (Section B): Nature is the symbol of the spirit.
2026, Q6 (Section B): A well-educated mind will always have more questions than answers.
2026, Q7 (Section B): Shelving hard decisions is the least ethical course.
2026, Q8 (Section B): A good leader is one who follows the followers.
2025, Q1 (Section A): Truth knows no color.
2025, Q2 (Section A): The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.
2025, Q3 (Section A): Thought finds a world and creates one also.
2025, Q4 (Section A): Best lessons are learnt through bitter experiences.
2025, Q5 (Section B): Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.
2025, Q6 (Section B): The years teach much which the days never know.
2025, Q7 (Section B): It is best to see life as a journey, not as a destination.
2025, Q8 (Section B): Contentment is natural wealth; luxury is artificial poverty.

UPSC Essay Topics 2020 to 2024

These five papers set the pattern that the latest two continued. Of their forty topics, 37 are quotation-style, and the three exceptions (listed above) are social or technological issues. Several topics return to the same images, such as ships and forests, which the section on themes below takes up.

2024, Q1 (Section A): Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow them.
2024, Q2 (Section A): The Empires of the future will be the empires of the mind.
2024, Q3 (Section A): There is no path to happiness; Happiness is the path.
2024, Q4 (Section A): The doubter is a true man of Science.
2024, Q5 (Section B): Social media is Triggering 'Fear of Missing Out' amongst the youth, precipitating depression and loneliness.
2024, Q6 (Section B): Nearly all men can stand adversity, but to test the character, give him power.
2024, Q7 (Section B): All ideas having large consequences are always simple.
2024, Q8 (Section B): The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing.
2023, Q1 (Section A): Thinking is like a game, it does not begin unless there is an opposite team.
2023, Q2 (Section A): Visionary decision-making happens at the intersection of intuition and logic.
2023, Q3 (Section A): Not all who wander are lost.
2023, Q4 (Section A): Inspiration for creativity springs from the effort to look for the magical in the mundane.
2023, Q5 (Section B): Girls are weighed down by restrictions, boys with demands - two equally harmful disciplines.
2023, Q6 (Section B): Mathematics is the music of reason.
2023, Q7 (Section B): A society that has more justice is a society that needs less charity.
2023, Q8 (Section B): Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.
2022, Q1 (Section A): Forests are the best case studies for economic excellence.
2022, Q2 (Section A): Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.
2022, Q3 (Section A): History is a series of victories won by the scientific man over the romantic man.
2022, Q4 (Section A): A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ship is for.
2022, Q5 (Section B): The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.
2022, Q6 (Section B): You cannot step twice in the same river.
2022, Q7 (Section B): A smile is the chosen vehicle for all ambiguities.
2022, Q8 (Section B): Just because you have a choice, it does not mean that any of them has to be right.
2021, Q1 (Section A): The process of self-discovery has now been technologically outsourced.
2021, Q2 (Section A): Your perception of me is a reflection of you; my reaction to you in an awareness of me.
2021, Q3 (Section A): Philosophy of wantlessness is Utopian, while materialism is a chimera.
2021, Q4 (Section A): The real is rational and the rational is real.
2021, Q5 (Section B): Hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.
2021, Q6 (Section B): What is research, but a blind date with knowledge!
2021, Q7 (Section B): History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce.
2021, Q8 (Section B): There are better practices to 'best practices'.
2020, Q1 (Section A): Life is a long journey between human being and being humane.
2020, Q2 (Section A): Mindful manifesto is the catalyst to a tranquil self.
2020, Q3 (Section A): Ships do not sink because of water around them, ships sink because of water that gets into them.
2020, Q4 (Section A): Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
2020, Q5 (Section B): Culture is what we are, civilization is what we have.
2020, Q6 (Section B): There can be no social justice without economic prosperity but economic prosperity without social justice is meaningless.
2020, Q7 (Section B): Patriarchy is the least noticed yet the most significant structure of social inequality.
2020, Q8 (Section B): Technology as the silent factor in international relations.

UPSC Essay Topics 2014 to 2019: Eight Topics in Two Sections

Essay Topics 2014 to 2019, Year by Year

From 2014 the paper took its present shape of eight topics in two sections. These six papers are the turning point: 22 of their 48 topics are quotation-style, and issue-based topics on federalism, the digital economy, border disputes and climate change still appeared. The quotation-style share first passed half in 2015, dipped again, and has stayed above half since 2020.

2019, Q1 (Section A): Wisdom finds truth.
2019, Q2 (Section A): Values are not what humanity is, but what humanity ought to be.
2019, Q3 (Section A): Best for an individual is not necessarily best for the society.
2019, Q4 (Section A): Courage to accept and dedication to improve are two keys to success.
2019, Q5 (Section B): South-Asian societies are woven not around the state, but around their plural cultures and plural identities.
2019, Q6 (Section B): Neglect of primary health care and education in India are reasons for its backwardness.
2019, Q7 (Section B): Biased media is a real threat to Indian democracy.
2019, Q8 (Section B): Rise of Artificial Intelligence: the threat of jobless future or better job opportunities through reskilling and upskilling.
2018, Q1 (Section A): Alternative technologies for a climate change resilient India.
2018, Q2 (Section A): A good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.
2018, Q3 (Section A): Poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere.
2018, Q4 (Section A): Management of Indian border disputes - a complex task.
2018, Q5 (Section B): Customary morality cannot be a guide to modern life.
2018, Q6 (Section B): 'The past' is a permanent dimension of human consciousness and values.
2018, Q7 (Section B): A people that values its privileges above its principles loses both.
2018, Q8 (Section B): Reality does not conform to the ideal, but confirms it.
2017, Q1 (Section A): Farming has lost the ability to be a source of substance for majority of farmers in India.
2017, Q2 (Section A): Impact of new economic measures on fiscal ties between the union and states in India.
2017, Q3 (Section A): Destiny of a nation is shaped in its classrooms.
2017, Q4 (Section A): Has the non alignment movement lost its relevance in a multi-polar world?
2017, Q5 (Section B): Joy is simplest form of gratitude.
2017, Q6 (Section B): Fulfillment of new woman in India is a myth.
2017, Q7 (Section B): We may brave human laws but cannot resist natural laws.
2017, Q8 (Section B): Social media is inherently a selfish medium.
2016, Q1 (Section A): If development is not engendered, it is endangered.
2016, Q2 (Section A): Need brings greed, if greed increases it spoils breed.
2016, Q3 (Section A): Water disputes between States in federal India.
2016, Q4 (Section A): Innovation is the key determinant of economic growth and social welfare.
2016, Q5 (Section B): Cooperative federalism: Myth or reality.
2016, Q6 (Section B): Cyberspace and Internet: Blessing or curse to the human civilization in the long run.
2016, Q7 (Section B): Near jobless growth in India: An anomaly or an outcome of economic reforms.
2016, Q8 (Section B): Digital Economy: A leveller or a source of economic inequality.
2015, Q1 (Section A): Lending hands to someone is better than giving a dole.
2015, Q2 (Section A): Quick but steady wins the race.
2015, Q3 (Section A): Character of an institution is reflected in its leader.
2015, Q4 (Section A): Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make a man more clever devil.
2015, Q5 (Section B): Technology cannot replace manpower.
2015, Q6 (Section B): Crisis faced in India - moral or economic.
2015, Q7 (Section B): Dreams which should not let India sleep.
2015, Q8 (Section B): Can capitalism bring inclusive growth?
2014, Q1 (Section A): With greater power comes greater responsibility.
2014, Q2 (Section A): Is the growing level of competition good for the youth?
2014, Q3 (Section A): Are the standardized tests good measure of academic ability or progress?
2014, Q4 (Section A): Words are sharper than the two-edged sword.
2014, Q5 (Section B): Was it the policy paralysis or the paralysis of implementation which slowed the growth of our country?
2014, Q6 (Section B): Is sting operation an invasion on privacy?
2014, Q7 (Section B): Fifty Golds in Olympics: Can this be a reality for India?
2014, Q8 (Section B): Tourism: Can this be the next big thing for India?

UPSC Essay Topics 2007 to 2013: The One-Essay Paper

Essay Topics 2007 to 2013, Year by Year

These papers printed four to six topics and asked for one essay. Most read like General Studies questions: 28 of the 34 topics named an issue such as Panchayati Raj, special economic zones, food security or foreign investment in retail. They are useful today mainly as a source of examples, because the paper no longer asks this way.

2013, Q1: Be the change you want to see in others - Gandhi ji.
2013, Q2: Is the Colonial mentality hindering India's success?
2013, Q3: GDP (Gross Domestic Product) along with GDH (Gross Domestic Happiness) would be the right indices for judging the well-being of a country.
2013, Q4: Science and Technology are the panaceas for the growth and security of the nation.
2012, Q1: Indian women in international sports.
2012, Q2: Cultivation of organic foods.
2012, Q3: Foreign Direct Investment in retail - boon or bane?
2012, Q4: How effective are our systems and institutions in dealing with disasters?
2012, Q5: Food security - legislation and implementation.
2011, Q1: Creation of smaller states and the consequent administrative, economic and developmental implications.
2011, Q2: Does Indian cinema shape our popular culture or merely reflect it?
2011, Q3: Credit-based higher education system - status, opportunities, and challenges.
2011, Q4: In the Indian context, both human intelligence and technical intelligence are crucial in combating terrorism.
2010, Q1: Geography may remain the same; history need not.
2010, Q2: Should a moratorium be imposed on all fresh mining in tribal areas of the country?
2010, Q3: Preparedness of our society for India's global leadership role.
2010, Q4: From traditional Indian philanthropy to the Gates-Buffett model - a natural progression or a paradigm shift?
2009, Q1: Are our traditional handicrafts doomed to a slow death?
2009, Q2: Are we a 'Soft' state?
2009, Q3: The focus of health care is increasingly getting skewed towards the 'haves' of our society.
2009, Q4: 'Good Fences make good neighbors'
2009, Q5: 'Globalisation' vs. 'Nationalism'
2008, Q1: Role of the media in good governance.
2008, Q2: National identity and patriotism.
2008, Q3: Special Economic Zones: Boon or Bane.
2008, Q4: Discipline means success, anarchy means ruin.
2008, Q5: Urbanization and its hazards.
2008, Q6: Is an egalitarian society possible by educating the masses?
2007, Q1: Independent thinking should be encouraged right from the childhood.
2007, Q2: Evaluation of the Panchayati Raj System in India from the point of view of eradication of power to people.
2007, Q3: Attitude makes habit, habit makes character and character makes a man.
2007, Q4: Is Autonomy the best answer to combat balkanization?
2007, Q5: How has satellite television brought about cultural change in Indian mindsets?
2007, Q6: BPO boom in India.

Important Essay Topics for UPSC: The Themes That Recur

Ten Themes Across 138 UPSC Essay Topics

Grouping every topic under the theme its wording is about shows what the paper keeps returning to. Knowledge, thinking and education is the largest theme, with 22 topics. The sharpest change is in economy and development: 17 topics before 2020, and only 1 since. Topics about life, happiness and the self moved the other way, from 4 to 14.

Ten themes of UPSC Essay topics, split into 2007 to 2019 and 2020 to 2026; economy and development fell and life, happiness and the self rose — Themes of UPSC Essay topics, 2007 to 2026.

Knowledge, thinking and education: 22 topics, 10 before 2020 and 12 since; most recently "A well-educated mind will always have more questions than answers" (2026).
Ethics, values and character: 19 topics, 12 before 2020 and 7 since; most recently "Shelving hard decisions is the least ethical course" (2026).
Economy and development: 18 topics, 17 before 2020 and 1 since; most recently "There can be no social justice without economic prosperity but economic prosperity without social justice is meaningless" (2020).
Life, happiness and the self: 18 topics, 4 before 2020 and 14 since; most recently "A thorn is a changed bud" (2026).
Society, gender and culture: 15 topics, 9 before 2020 and 6 since; most recently "A society that has more justice is a society that needs less charity" (2023).
Governance, federalism and decisions: 12 topics, 9 before 2020 and 3 since; most recently "A good leader is one who follows the followers" (2026).
Science, technology and media: 12 topics, 9 before 2020 and 3 since; most recently "Social media is Triggering 'Fear of Missing Out' amongst the youth, precipitating depression and loneliness" (2024).
India and the world, security: 10 topics, 7 before 2020 and 3 since; most recently "When two elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled" (2026).
History, time and change: 7 topics, 3 before 2020 and 4 since; most recently "The years teach much which the days never know" (2025).
Nature and environment: 5 topics, 2 before 2020 and 3 since; most recently "Nature is the symbol of the spirit" (2026).

Every topic from 2007 to 2026 is in the table below with its year, section and theme. Choose a theme to see how the paper has asked about it over twenty years, or a year to see one paper whole.

All 138 topics are listed in the table below.

UPSC Essay topics, 2007 to 2026, by year, section and theme
Year	Section	Theme	Topic
2026	Section A	Life, happiness and the self	Oxymorons reflect the ironies of life.
2026	Section A	Ethics, values and character	A grateful mind is very beautiful.
2026	Section A	Life, happiness and the self	A thorn is a changed bud.
2026	Section A	India and the world, security	When two elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled.
2026	Section B	Nature and environment	Nature is the symbol of the spirit.
2026	Section B	Knowledge, thinking and education	A well-educated mind will always have more questions than answers.
2026	Section B	Ethics, values and character	Shelving hard decisions is the least ethical course.
2026	Section B	Governance, federalism and decisions	A good leader is one who follows the followers.
2025	Section A	Ethics, values and character	Truth knows no color.
2025	Section A	India and the world, security	The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.
2025	Section A	Knowledge, thinking and education	Thought finds a world and creates one also.
2025	Section A	Life, happiness and the self	Best lessons are learnt through bitter experiences.
2025	Section B	Life, happiness and the self	Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.
2025	Section B	History, time and change	The years teach much which the days never know.
2025	Section B	Life, happiness and the self	It is best to see life as a journey, not as a destination.
2025	Section B	Ethics, values and character	Contentment is natural wealth; luxury is artificial poverty.
2024	Section A	Nature and environment	Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow them.
2024	Section A	Knowledge, thinking and education	The empires of the future will be the empires of the mind.
2024	Section A	Life, happiness and the self	There is no path to happiness; Happiness is the path.
2024	Section A	Science, technology and media	The doubter is a true man of science.
2024	Section B	Science, technology and media	Social media is triggering ‘Fear of Missing Out’ amongst the youth, precipitating depression and loneliness.
2024	Section B	Ethics, values and character	Nearly all men can stand adversity, but to test the character, give him power.
2024	Section B	Knowledge, thinking and education	All ideas having large consequences are always simple.
2024	Section B	Governance, federalism and decisions	The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing.
2023	Section A	Knowledge, thinking and education	Thinking is like a game, it does not begin unless there is an opposite team.
2023	Section A	Knowledge, thinking and education	Visionary decision-making happens at the intersection of intuition and logic.
2023	Section A	Life, happiness and the self	Not all who wander are lost.
2023	Section A	Knowledge, thinking and education	Inspiration for creativity springs from the effort to look for the magical in the mundane.
2023	Section B	Society, gender and culture	Girls are weighed down by restrictions, boys with demands – two equally harmful disciplines.
2023	Section B	Knowledge, thinking and education	Mathematics is the music of reason.
2023	Section B	Society, gender and culture	A society that has more justice is a society that needs less charity.
2023	Section B	Knowledge, thinking and education	Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.
2022	Section A	Nature and environment	Forests are the best case studies for economic excellence.
2022	Section A	Society, gender and culture	Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.
2022	Section A	History, time and change	History is a series of victories won by the scientific man over the romantic man.
2022	Section A	Life, happiness and the self	A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ship is for.
2022	Section B	Governance, federalism and decisions	The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.
2022	Section B	History, time and change	You cannot step twice in the same river.
2022	Section B	Life, happiness and the self	A smile is the chosen vehicle for all ambiguities.
2022	Section B	Ethics, values and character	Just because you have a choice, it does not mean that any of them has to be right.
2021	Section A	Science, technology and media	The process of self-discovery has now been technologically outsourced.
2021	Section A	Life, happiness and the self	Your perception of me is a reflection of you; my reaction to you is an awareness of me.
2021	Section A	Life, happiness and the self	Philosophy of wantlessness is Utopian, while materialism is a chimera.
2021	Section A	Knowledge, thinking and education	The real is rational and the rational is real.
2021	Section B	Society, gender and culture	Hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.
2021	Section B	Knowledge, thinking and education	What is research, but a blind date with knowledge!
2021	Section B	History, time and change	History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce.
2021	Section B	Knowledge, thinking and education	There are better practices to “best practices”.
2020	Section A	Ethics, values and character	Life is long journey between human being and being humane.
2020	Section A	Life, happiness and the self	Mindful manifesto is the catalyst to a tranquil self.
2020	Section A	Life, happiness and the self	Ships do not sink because of water around them, ships sink because of water that gets into them.
2020	Section A	Life, happiness and the self	Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
2020	Section B	Society, gender and culture	Culture is what we are, civilization is what we have.
2020	Section B	Economy and development	There can be no social justice without economic prosperity but economic prosperity without social justice is meaningless.
2020	Section B	Society, gender and culture	Patriarchy is the least noticed yet the most significant structure of social inequality.
2020	Section B	India and the world, security	Technology as the silent factor in international relations.
2019	Section A	Knowledge, thinking and education	Wisdom finds truth.
2019	Section A	Ethics, values and character	Values are not what humanity is, but what humanity ought to be.
2019	Section A	Ethics, values and character	Best for an individual is not necessarily best for the society.
2019	Section A	Life, happiness and the self	Courage to accept and dedication to improve are two keys to success.
2019	Section B	Society, gender and culture	South Asian societies are woven not around the state, but around their plural cultures and plural identities.
2019	Section B	Economy and development	Neglect of primary health care and education in India are reasons for its backwardness.
2019	Section B	Science, technology and media	Biased media is a real threat to Indian democracy.
2019	Section B	Science, technology and media	Rise of Artificial Intelligence: the threat of jobless future or better job opportunities through reskilling and upskilling.
2018	Section A	Nature and environment	Alternative technologies for a climate change resilient India.
2018	Section A	Life, happiness and the self	A good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.
2018	Section A	Economy and development	Poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere.
2018	Section A	India and the world, security	Management of Indian border disputes, a complex task.
2018	Section B	Ethics, values and character	Customary morality cannot be a guide to modern life.
2018	Section B	History, time and change	'The past' is a permanent dimension of human consciousness and values.
2018	Section B	Ethics, values and character	A people that values its privileges above its principles loses both.
2018	Section B	Knowledge, thinking and education	Reality does not conform to the ideal, but confirms it.
2017	Section A	Economy and development	Farming has lost the ability to be a source of subsistence for majority of farmers in India.
2017	Section A	Governance, federalism and decisions	Impact of the new economic measures on fiscal ties between the union and states in India.
2017	Section A	Knowledge, thinking and education	Destiny of a nation is shaped in its classrooms.
2017	Section A	India and the world, security	Has the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) lost its relevance in a multipolar world?
2017	Section B	Life, happiness and the self	Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.
2017	Section B	Society, gender and culture	Fulfilment of ‘new woman’ in India is a myth.
2017	Section B	Nature and environment	We may brave human laws but cannot resist natural laws.
2017	Section B	Science, technology and media	‘Social media’ is inherently a selfish medium.
2016	Section A	Society, gender and culture	If development is not engendered, it is endangered.
2016	Section A	Ethics, values and character	Need brings greed, if greed increases it spoils breed.
2016	Section A	Governance, federalism and decisions	Water disputes between States in federal India.
2016	Section A	Economy and development	Innovation is the key determinant of economic growth and social welfare.
2016	Section B	Governance, federalism and decisions	Cooperative federalism: Myth or reality.
2016	Section B	Science, technology and media	Cyberspace and Internet: Blessing or curse to the human civilization in the long run.
2016	Section B	Economy and development	Near jobless growth in India: An anomaly or an outcome of economic reforms.
2016	Section B	Economy and development	Digital Economy: A leveller or a source of economic inequality.
2015	Section A	Ethics, values and character	Lending hands to someone is better than giving a dole.
2015	Section A	Life, happiness and the self	Quick but steady wins the race.
2015	Section A	Ethics, values and character	Character of an institution is reflected in its leader.
2015	Section A	Knowledge, thinking and education	Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make a man more clever devil.
2015	Section B	Science, technology and media	Technology cannot replace manpower.
2015	Section B	Ethics, values and character	Crisis faced in India – moral or economic.
2015	Section B	Economy and development	Dreams which should not let India sleep.
2015	Section B	Economy and development	Can capitalism bring inclusive growth?
2014	Section A	Ethics, values and character	With greater power comes greater responsibility.
2014	Section A	Knowledge, thinking and education	Is the growing level of competition good for the youth?
2014	Section A	Knowledge, thinking and education	Are the standardized tests good measure of academic ability or progress?
2014	Section A	Knowledge, thinking and education	Words are sharper than the two-edged sword.
2014	Section B	Governance, federalism and decisions	Was it the policy paralysis or the paralysis of implementation which slowed the growth of our country?
2014	Section B	Science, technology and media	Is sting operation an invasion on privacy?
2014	Section B	Society, gender and culture	Fifty Golds in Olympics: Can this be a reality for India?
2014	Section B	Economy and development	Tourism: Can this be the next big thing for India?
2013	One essay	Ethics, values and character	Be the change you want to see in others - Gandhi ji.
2013	One essay	History, time and change	Is the Colonial mentality hindering India's success?
2013	One essay	Economy and development	GDP (Gross Domestic Product) along with GDH (Gross Domestic Happiness) would be the right indices for judging the well-being of a country.
2013	One essay	Science, technology and media	Science and Technology are the panaceas for the growth and security of the nation.
2012	One essay	Society, gender and culture	Indian women in international sports.
2012	One essay	Economy and development	Cultivation of organic foods.
2012	One essay	Economy and development	Foreign Direct Investment in retail - boon or bane?
2012	One essay	Governance, federalism and decisions	How effective are our systems and institutions in dealing with disasters?
2012	One essay	Governance, federalism and decisions	Food security - legislation and implementation.
2011	One essay	Governance, federalism and decisions	Creation of smaller states and the consequent administrative, economic and developmental implications.
2011	One essay	Society, gender and culture	Does Indian cinema shape our popular culture or merely reflect it?
2011	One essay	Knowledge, thinking and education	Credit-based higher education system - status, opportunities, and challenges.
2011	One essay	India and the world, security	In the Indian context, both human intelligence and technical intelligence are crucial in combating terrorism.
2010	One essay	History, time and change	Geography may remain the same; history need not.
2010	One essay	Economy and development	Should a moratorium be imposed on all fresh mining in tribal areas of the country?
2010	One essay	India and the world, security	Preparedness of our society for India's global leadership role.
2010	One essay	Society, gender and culture	From traditional Indian philanthropy to the Gates-Buffett model - a natural progression or a paradigm shift?
2009	One essay	Economy and development	Are our traditional handicrafts doomed to a slow death?
2009	One essay	India and the world, security	Are we a 'Soft' state?
2009	One essay	Society, gender and culture	The focus of health care is increasingly getting skewed towards the 'haves' of our society.
2009	One essay	India and the world, security	'Good Fences make good neighbors'
2009	One essay	India and the world, security	'Globalisation' vs. 'Nationalism'
2008	One essay	Science, technology and media	Role of the media in good governance.
2008	One essay	Society, gender and culture	National identity and patriotism.
2008	One essay	Economy and development	Special Economic Zones: Boon or Bane.
2008	One essay	Ethics, values and character	Discipline means success, anarchy means ruin.
2008	One essay	Economy and development	Urbanization and its hazards.
2008	One essay	Knowledge, thinking and education	Is an egalitarian society possible by educating the masses?
2007	One essay	Knowledge, thinking and education	Independent thinking should be encouraged right from the childhood.
2007	One essay	Governance, federalism and decisions	Evaluation of the Panchayati Raj System in India from the point of view of eradication of power to people.
2007	One essay	Ethics, values and character	Attitude makes habit, habit makes character and character makes a man.
2007	One essay	Governance, federalism and decisions	Is Autonomy the best answer to combat balkanization?
2007	One essay	Science, technology and media	How has satellite television brought about cultural change in Indian mindsets?
2007	One essay	Economy and development	BPO boom in India.

Do UPSC Essay Topics Repeat?

No topic has been set twice. All 138 topics from 2007 to 2026 are different. Themes and even images do repeat, which is why older papers are still worth reading.

Forests: "Forests are the best case studies for economic excellence" (2022) and "Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow them" (2024).
Ships: "Ships do not sink because of water around them, ships sink because of water that gets into them" (2020) and "A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ship is for" (2022).
Social media: "Social media is inherently a selfish medium" (2017) and "Social media is Triggering 'Fear of Missing Out' amongst the youth, precipitating depression and loneliness" (2024).
History: "Geography may remain the same; history need not" (2010), "History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce" (2021) and "History is a series of victories won by the scientific man over the romantic man" (2022).
Learning and education: "Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make a man more clever devil" (2015), "Destiny of a nation is shaped in its classrooms" (2017), "Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school" (2023) and "A well-educated mind will always have more questions than answers" (2026).

How to Use Previous Years' Essay Topics for Practice

Choosing Essay Topics for UPSC Practice

Previous years' topics are the best practice material you have, provided you use them the way the exam does. The recent papers matter most, because the papers before 2014 asked for one essay on a named issue, a task the exam no longer sets.

Start with the recent papers: Take topics from 2020 to 2026, which match the current mix of topics.
Practise in pairs: Write one essay from Section A and one from Section B in a single three-hour sitting, as the exam requires.
Decode the line first: Before writing, restate the quotation as a plain question, and note where it holds and where it fails.
Collect examples by theme: Keep examples from history, science, governance, society and daily life under the ten themes above.
Mine the older topics: Issue-based topics from 2007 to 2019 are good prompts for gathering facts and examples on policy and society.

For the marks, the official syllabus wording and how the paper is assessed, read the UPSC Essay paper guide. The GS Paper 4 guide is useful too, since ethics topics are one of the largest groups here, and the complete UPSC syllabus guide shows where the Essay sits among the nine Mains papers.

Common Questions About UPSC Essay Topics

How many essay topics are given in UPSC Mains?

Eight. Since 2014, the UPSC Mains essay topics have come in two sections of four, and you write one essay from each section, each worth 125 marks. Before 2014 the paper printed four to six topics and asked for one essay.

What essay topics were asked in UPSC 2026?

Eight quotation-style topics, including "A thorn is a changed bud", "When two elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled" and "A good leader is one who follows the followers". All eight are listed in the section on the 2025 and 2026 papers above.

Do UPSC essay topics repeat?

No topic has been repeated in the 138 topics set from 2007 to 2026. Themes do recur, such as education, forests, history and social media, so practising by theme is more useful than trying to predict topics.

Which essay topics should I practise first?

The recent ones, from 2020 to 2026. They match the current paper, in which almost every topic is a quotation or an abstract statement, and practising them in pairs builds the timing the exam needs.

What is the word limit for the UPSC essay?

The 2026 question paper asked for about 1,000 to 1,200 words for each essay. You write two essays in three hours.

Official Sources

Editorial Disclaimer

Essay topics are reproduced as the Commission printed them. The grouping of topics into quotation-style and issue-based, and into themes, is Digitally Learn's own and is not published by the Commission. The question papers issued by the Commission are the final authority.

UPSC Essay Topics Previous Years: Every Topic From 2007 to 2026