The UPSC Mains 2021 is scheduled to be conducted on 7th, 8th, 9th, 15th, and 16th January 2022. The Essay paper is scheduled to be conducted on 7th January 2022 in the forenoon session (9 AM to 12 PM).
The Mains (Written) Examination consists of nine papers in total. The first stage, that is, Prelims, was conducted on October 10, 2021.
UPSC Mains 2021 for Civil Services has begun on 7th January amidst a lot of rows for postponement of the exam. Today, the aspirants of Civil Services appeared for the first exam, Paper 1 which is of the Essay.
The exam was conducted from 9:00 AM today and ended at 12:00 noon. Some happy faces exited the exam centers today as many found the paper average and easier for a lot of candidates to attend.
The Union Public Service Commission gave a green signal to the exams being conducted on scheduled dates on 6th January. Take a look at the in-depth paper analysis below and also note what experts have to say for UPSC Mains GS-1 paper preparation on the last day.
UPSC Mains 2021 Essay Paper PDF Download, Direct Link
UPSC Mains Essay Paper 1: In-Depth Expert Analysis
UPSC Mains Essay paper happens to be one of those exams in the series that helps candidates score maximum marks to give their combined total a push. This time the essay paper as always was a bit tricky for those who attended it.
One of the topics was ‘Your Perception of Me is a Reflection of You, My reflection of you is an awareness of me’. Another was Philosophy of wantlessness is Utopian while materialism is a chimaera. This means that UPSC this year decided to go philosophical. Many candidates seemed to go with these two topics from Section A.
Mehek, a candidate outside the Noida center said, “ The paper was as always easy for those who understood the topics completely and wrote on them, else if we went off-beat, UPSC would not mark us.”
Section A
- 1. The process of self-discovery has now been technologically outsourced.
- 2. Your perception of me is a reflection of you; my reaction to you in an awareness of me.
- 3. Philosophy of wantlessness is Utopian, while materialism is a chimera.
- 4. The real is rational and the rational is real.
Section B
- 5. Hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.
- 6. What is research, but a blind date with knowledge!
- 7. History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce.
- 8. There are better practices to “best practices”.
- A topic that confused many was Real is rational and rational is real.
For those of you who do not know, the essay paper is of 250 marks and is to be completed in three hours. It must only be written in the authorised language chosen by the candidate while choosing his medium of writing. If any candidate writes in any other medium he/she may not be judged.
The candidates must also adhere to the word limit. Last year the candidates got a choice from philosophical, technological and essays based on a saying. This year too, the candidates had a choice from human life affecting topics to something political.
Essays are subjective totally to the viewpoint of the examiner, say all experts. They must be written with a basic theme that can convince the one who reads them to get maximum marks.
UPSC Civil Services Mains 2021 Timetable
Check the datasheet below for knowing the timings
| Dates (2022) | Forenoon Session (9:00 AM-12:00 Noon) | Afternoon Session (2:00 PM to 5:00 PM) |
| January 7 | Paper-I Essay | — |
| January 8 | Paper-II General Studies I | Paper-III General Studies II |
| January 9 | Paper-IV General Studies III | Paper-V General Studies IV |
| January 15 | Paper-A Language Paper | Paper-B English |
| January 16 | Paper-VI Optional Paper I | Paper-VII Optional Paper 2 |
Take a look at the essay topics in 2018.
Section A
- Life is a long journey between human beings and being humane
- The mindful manifesto is the catalyst to a tranquil self
- Ships do not sink because of water around them, ships sink because of water that gets into them
- Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication
Section B
- Culture is what we are, civilization is what we have
- There can be no social justice without economic prosperity but economic prosperity without social justice is meaningless
- Patriarchy is the least noticed yet the most significant structure of social inequality
- Technology as the silent factor in international relations
After seeing the topics above it must be clear to the candidates that the essay topics are chosen from the current events.
7. The candidates must also read various books like Yojana and Kurukshetra to know about the Government of India schemes and benefits to quote them wherever necessary.
8. Writing a brief and to the point essay is always beneficial as it gets your point straight across to the reader without wasting his time. Such essays are always appraised and get good marks.
UPSC – All Frontier Public Recruitment News – AFPR
