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Week 7 of 8 · GS2 + GS3
Week 7: International Relations & Internal Security
Multilateralism, the neighbourhood, terror and border security. 340 marks across the week. Attempt each question online, get a free AWE Bot evaluation, and post your answer for peer review.
Day 1Monday
2 questions · 20 marks- Groupings like the Quad and the India-Israel-United States-United Arab Emirates (I2U2) bloc issue joint declarations for years without treaties or secretariats. Comment on what they have actually delivered, and whether informality explains the gap between rhetoric and result. (10 marks)
- India presents itself as the voice of the Global South, yet as it grows richer its interests on carbon, trade and debt part ways with the poorest nations. Discuss whether it can still credibly lead the Global South. (10 marks)
Day 2Tuesday
3 questions · 45 marks- 'A foot in every camp can become a leg in none.' As the world hardens into blocs, is multi-alignment India's shrewdest strategy or a comfort it can no longer afford? (15 marks)
- The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor must cross a region in conflict and raise vast financing before it can move a single container. To what extent is it a realistic prospect? (15 marks)
- India stayed out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership to protect domestic producers. Critically analyse this decision, and suggest measures to safeguard those producers while keeping India's options in regional trade open. (15 marks)
Day 3Wednesday
4 questions · 50 marks- Despite 'Neighbourhood First', India's influence in South Asia has slipped. How far is this loss of ground of India's own making? (10 marks)
- India presses China to share data and consult on its upstream dams on the Brahmaputra, yet as the upper-riparian power on the Teesta and the Ganga it faces the same demand from Bangladesh. Critically evaluate whether India's conduct upstream matches the standard it asks of China. (15 marks)
- The World Trade Organization's Appellate Body has had no functioning members since December 2019, leaving its dispute-settlement system paralysed. Comment on how this loss of the one forum to challenge the trade actions of far more powerful economies affects India. (10 marks)
- After three decades of pressing for a permanent United Nations Security Council seat with little to show for it, is it time for India to stop asking? Critically evaluate. (15 marks)
Day 4Thursday
4 questions · 45 marks- India fields world-class commandos yet runs a constable-to-citizen ratio below the United Nations norm. On which does its internal security truly rest, and why has it invested in the first while neglecting the second? (10 marks)
- A young man self-radicalises entirely online, joins no organisation and meets no handler, so an apparatus built to watch groups never sees him. How far can a system designed for organisations counter radicalisation that reaches the individual? (10 marks)
- After every major attack an inquiry finds the warning existed but never reached the right desk. Is the surer fix a single fusion authority, mandated inter-agency sharing protocols, or a change of institutional culture? (10 marks)
- The armed forces are India's most capable instrument against its hardest internal threats, yet every internal deployment dulls their war-fighting edge and draws them into civilian affairs. Critically analyse. (15 marks)
Day 5Friday
4 questions · 55 marks- India's anti-terror laws permit years of detention but secure a conviction in a small fraction of cases. Is this low conviction rate the price of pre-emption, or proof that the law fails at both security and justice? Critically evaluate. (15 marks)
- An adversary spreads disinformation, funds proxies and applies economic pressure, all while staying below the threshold that would justify a military response. How should India answer aggression that never quite crosses into war? (15 marks)
- Cryptocurrencies and virtual digital assets have opened a channel for money laundering and terror financing that India's banking-era controls cannot easily track. Comment. (10 marks)
- In the light of the view that securing India's frontiers depends as much on keeping its remote border villages alive and connected as on fences and troops, critically analyse how India should weight the two. (15 marks)
Day 6Saturday
Essay · 125 marksSaturday essay — choose one of the two topics and write it in full.
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What does Week 7 cover?
Week 7 focuses on International Relations & Internal Security (GS2 + GS3): Multilateralism, the neighbourhood, terror and border security. It ends on a Saturday essay with a choice of two topics.
Are these official UPSC questions?
No — they are original UnlockIAS practice questions modelled on the UPSC Mains pattern, written for the Daily Answer Writing programme, not official past papers.
How do I get my answer evaluated?
Open any question, write your answer and get one free AWE Bot AI evaluation against the UPSC rubric. Post it to get peer review too. Unlimited evaluations and model answers are part of the Sherlocking Mains Comprehensive Module.
UnlockIAS Daily Answer Writing 2026 programme — original practice questions modelled on the UPSC Mains pattern, not official UPSC past papers.