UPSC Mains 2026 GS Paper 4 — question paper, and where each question came from
The UPSC Mains 2026 General Studies IV paper set 19 questions for 250 marks. Every question below is reproduced word for word, followed by the past UPSC questions it echoes. Compiled 23 August 2026.
How much of each answer was within reach
These numbers are rough estimates, not measurements. For each question we asked one thing: a student who studied past- year questions, read the basic sources, and practised with DAW and the Simulators, how much of a full answer could that student build? The rest is execution: turning what you know into a written answer, within time, in the exam hall. That too is a skill, and practice builds it. We have kept every number conservative, and none goes above 80 percent, because even a familiar question still has to be written well in the exam hall. For the case studies, the number means how much of the thinking frame was familiar. The case itself is always resolved fresh in the hall.
| Question | Topic | Within reach |
|---|
| Q1(A) | AI, accountability and integrity | about 70% |
| Q1(B) | Displacing a forest community | about 80% |
| Q2(A) | Untested remedy on a tribe | about 65% |
| Q2(B) | Security versus human rights | about 70% |
| Q3(A) | Ambedkar and civil disobedience | about 80% |
| Q3(B) | Gandhi's trusteeship | about 75% |
| Q3(C) | Shakespeare: arms and intent | about 80% |
| Q4(A) | Paternalism and beneficence | about 75% |
| Q4(B) | Efficiency versus effectiveness | about 70% |
| Q5(A) | School rules versus children's rights | about 80% |
| Q5(B) | Ethics in international relations | about 80% |
| Q6(A) | Empathy versus rules, and the PA | about 75% |
| Q6(B) | Duty versus charity | about 65% |
| Q7 | The consent case (Dr. Mansi) | about 70% |
| Q8 | AI predictive policing (Ravi) | about 75% |
| Q9 | The tout network (Seema) | about 80% |
| Q10 | Biometric gatekeeping (Vikas) | about 80% |
| Q11 | The divided district (Rajan) | about 70% |
| Q12 | The arms sale (Ajit) | about 70% |
Every question, and its lineage
UPSC Mains 2026 GS Paper 4 Question 1(A) asked, for 10 marks:
Owing to paucity of time, a university professor generates a Ph.D. evaluation report using Artificial Intelligence and submits it with some modifications. Discuss this from the perspective of accountability and integrity.
10 marks · AI, accountability and integrity · about 70% was within reach
What this question is about
A professor lets AI do his judging work and signs it as his own. The question asks what this does to accountability, owning your work, and integrity, honesty in it.
In short
The AI-and-ethics question was in our banks.
We practised this at UnlockIAS
Simulator GS4 · Set A · Q11 “Critically analyse, in the present context of AI-assisted administration, the claim that where a citizen's benefit or liberty is at stake, an algorithm must never be the final authority.”
Our question is this question's core rule: a machine may assist, but a human must own the judgement. The professor broke exactly that rule. The Ph.D. student's fate deserved his mind, not a machine's.
Simulator GS4 · Set B · Q1 “In the age of synthetic media, a fabricated video is conceived by one person who creates it, amplified by a platform whose algorithm rewards reach, and spread by thousands of citizens…”
Who is responsible when a machine sits between a person and the outcome? Our question practised that chain of responsibility.
UPSC Mains 2026 GS Paper 4 Question 1(B) asked, for 10 marks:
A business house is working on a project that could displace a forest community from their habitat. As the administrative officer of that district, what ethical challenges are you likely to face?
10 marks · Displacing a forest community · about 80% was within reach
What this question is about
Development on one side, a community's home on the other, and you in the middle. The question asks what ethical pulls you will feel.
In short
UPSC asked this in 2018. Our case bank carried it too.
We practised this at UnlockIAS
DAW 2026 · W6 Sat Q2 “Ravindra Naik, a District Collector, is directed to acquire land for an irrigation reservoir that will benefit several drought-prone districts downstream. A part of the submergence zone falls in a Scheduled Area where tribal families have farmed and lived for generations, and the Gram Sabha has refused consent…”
Our full case is this question with a name. The pulls are the same: the greater good against a community's consent, rehabilitation promises against their record of failure, duty to the state against duty to the weakest.
UPSC Mains 2026 GS Paper 4 Question 2(A) asked, for 10 marks:
An endangered tribe has developed a severe skeletal deformity. A university research has identified a mineral supplement as a possible remedy, though clinical trials are yet to be conducted. Should the District Magistrate (DM) use this research on the tribe? Discuss from the perspective of medical and administrative ethics.
10 marks · Untested remedy on a tribe · about 65% was within reach
What this question is about
A possible cure exists, but it is untested. The people are vulnerable. The question asks whether an officer may use untested science on them.
In short
The untested-remedy dilemma was in our case bank.
We practised this at UnlockIAS
Simulator GS4 · Set B · Q14 “Kavya is the ethics officer of a fast-growing health-tech firm racing two rivals to launch a diagnostic AI tool. Days before launch, validation shows the model is markedly accurate for one demographic group but quietly under-performs for another…”
Our case is the same dilemma in a lab coat: something unproven, pushed onto people before testing is complete. The rule both answers rest on: do not experiment on people without consent and trials.
Simulator GS4 · Set B · Q2 “Examine the significance of privacy and informed consent as ethical values in a digital welfare state.”
Informed consent, the heart of this answer, was our theory question.
UPSC Mains 2026 GS Paper 4 Question 2(B) asked, for 10 marks:
Discuss how national security can be balanced with concerns of human rights.
10 marks · Security versus human rights · about 70% was within reach
What this question is about
The state must keep people safe, and it must not crush the people it protects. The question asks how to hold both.
In short
The balance was practised through our border case.
We practised this at UnlockIAS
Simulator GS4 · Set B · Q19 “Devika is the Divisional Commissioner of a border district. Across the border, in a strictly neighbouring country, fighting has driven civilians from their homes.”
Our case put security against humanity at a border fence: injured civilians pleading to cross, armed men mixed among them. Writing it is writing this answer with a story in hand.
DAW 2026 · W7 Fri Q1 “India's anti-terror laws permit years of detention but secure a conviction in a small fraction of cases.”
The same balance in law: strong powers for safety, and what they cost the innocent. From our GS3 bank. Ethics travels across papers.
UPSC Mains 2026 GS Paper 4 Question 3(A) asked, for 10 marks:
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar had cautioned that employing civil disobedience within a constitutional democracy equates to endorsing 'anarchy'. How should modern democracies navigate the ethical dilemmas posed by civil disobedience movements that aim to promote social justice against policies that may raise genuine concerns?
10 marks · Ambedkar and civil disobedience · about 80% was within reach
What this question is about
Ambedkar said that once we have a Constitution, protest must flow through it. But some protests fight for justice itself. The question asks how a democracy should treat them.
In short
Our question quoted the very same 1949 speech.
We practised this at UnlockIAS
DAW 2026 · W5 Thu Q1 “Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, in his final address to the Constituent Assembly on 25 November 1949, observed: "However good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it, happen to be a bad lot."”
The 'anarchy' caution in the exam comes from this same final address. Our question made you study that speech and what it demands of public life.
Simulator GS4 · Set B · Q4 “Differentiate constitutional morality from social or majoritarian morality, and state which should guide a public servant when they clash.”
The answer's frame: when the crowd and the Constitution disagree, the Constitution wins. Movements for justice must still walk its path.
UPSC Mains 2026 GS Paper 4 Question 3(B) asked, for 10 marks:
In what ways can an Indian Administrative Officer apply Gandhi's notion of 'trusteeship' to ensure fairness in governance?
10 marks · Gandhi's trusteeship · about 75% was within reach
What this question is about
Gandhi's trusteeship: what you hold, you hold for others. For an officer, the office, its funds and its powers belong to the people. The question asks how to live this.
In short
Trusteeship of public office was our direct question.
We practised this at UnlockIAS
DAW 2026 · W5 Fri Q1 “A public office is held in trust for the people who are governed, and not as a personal entitlement of the one who occupies it.”
Our question is Gandhi's trusteeship applied to the officer's chair, word for word the same idea. Fairness follows from it: funds, appointments and decisions used only for those they are held for.
UPSC Mains 2026 GS Paper 4 Question 3(C) asked, for 10 marks:
Shakespeare in Henry IV says, "The arms are fair when the intent of bearing them is just". What ethical implications does this have in governance?
10 marks · Shakespeare: arms and intent · about 80% was within reach
What this question is about
Shakespeare says a weapon is right only if the purpose behind it is right. In governance: power is judged by the intention and the cause it serves. The question asks what follows.
In short
The means-ends-intention debate was asked in 2018 and practised in our bank.
We practised this at UnlockIAS
DAW 2026 · W6 Tue Q1 “An honest officer adopts a means that is entirely proper, a fair and open tender, yet the outcome harms the very poor she meant to serve, while a colleague who quietly bends a procedure secures a far better result for them.”
Our question weighed intention, means and consequence against each other, which is exactly what the Shakespeare line asks of power. The answer's caution: just intent cannot bless unjust means for long.
UPSC Mains 2026 GS Paper 4 Question 4(A) asked, for 10 marks:
Citing the serious adverse effects of long-term medication, a doctor convinces the family of a female patient for surgery. This led the patient to reluctantly consent for the surgery, though her original choice was to opt for medication. Explain the concepts of paternalism and beneficence by analysing the doctor's action.
10 marks · Paternalism and beneficence · about 75% was within reach
What this question is about
Paternalism: deciding for someone for their own good. Beneficence: acting to do good. The doctor meant well but overrode the patient's own choice. The question asks you to weigh the two.
In short
The consent-versus-good-intention tension runs through our medical case too.
We practised this at UnlockIAS
DAW 2026 · W6 Fri Q5 “Dr. Meera Iyer is the medical superintendent of a district government hospital during a severe seasonal outbreak of viral fever that has filled the wards.”
Our medical case practised the same ground: a doctor's good intentions tested against fairness and the patient's own claim.
Simulator GS4 · Set B · Q3 “Discuss the ethical considerations when the state shapes citizens' pro-social attitudes. Where does legitimate persuasion end and manipulation begin?”
Our theory question drew the exact line this answer needs: helping someone choose is fair, choosing for them is not.
UPSC Mains 2026 GS Paper 4 Question 4(B) asked, for 10 marks:
Efficiency is doing things right, while effectiveness is doing the right thing. How do you strike a balance between the two to enhance productivity?
10 marks · Efficiency versus effectiveness · about 70% was within reach
What this question is about
Efficiency: follow the process well. Effectiveness: make sure the process serves its real purpose. The question asks how to hold both.
In short
The efficiency-versus-purpose tension was our practice question.
We practised this at UnlockIAS
Simulator GS4 · Set B · Q13 “In the drive to meet delivery targets, a welfare administration can quietly reduce the poorest to numbers on a dashboard rather than persons at a counter. Efficiency, pursued for its own sake, risks stripping the beneficiary of dignity.”
Our question is this question with a face on it: efficiency chased for itself, and the right thing lost on the way. The balance both answers reach: efficiency must serve effectiveness, never replace it.
UPSC Mains 2026 GS Paper 4 Question 5(A) asked, for 10 marks:
Usually schools, working in remote areas, do not fully comply with government regulations. However, if the rules are enforced strictly, it would lead to most schools closing down. How should an administrator strike a balance between enforcement of rules and educational rights of children?
10 marks · School rules versus children's rights · about 80% was within reach
What this question is about
Enforce the rules fully and children lose their schools. Ignore the rules and standards die. The question asks how an officer balances the two.
In short
Compassionate rule-bending was our direct question.
We practised this at UnlockIAS
Simulator GS4 · Set A · Q3 “Is compassionate rule-bending ever ethically defensible, or does it inevitably corrode probity by setting a precedent? Discuss with suitable examples.”
Our question is this question's engine: when may an officer soften a rule for a larger good? The answer's path: enforce in spirit, give time to comply, never let the child pay for the school's faults.
DAW 2026 · W6 Wed Q2 “A municipal commissioner finds that the law clearly permits her to grant a building completion certificate to a developer who has met every written requirement, yet she k…”
The same tension from the other side: the letter of the rule against what is actually right.
UPSC Mains 2026 GS Paper 4 Question 5(B) asked, for 10 marks:
In international relations, ethical considerations are often subjugated to the strategic interests of nation-states. Discuss this from an ethical perspective.
10 marks · Ethics in international relations · about 80% was within reach
What this question is about
Countries preach values but act on interests. The question asks whether ethics has any real place between nations.
In short
UPSC has asked this before.
We practised this at UnlockIAS
Simulator GS4 · Set A · Q1 “A rising power is no longer merely a claimant in global governance but increasingly a maker of its rules. As its capacity grows, it begins to set the terms that weaker nations must live by…”
Our question asked what ethics demands of a nation as its power grows. The same debate, from the side of the strong.
UPSC Mains 2026 GS Paper 4 Question 6(A) asked, for 10 marks:
On the request of his Personal Assistant (PA), the District Magistrate (DM) stops the transfer of a schoolteacher who takes private tuition for his daughter diagnosed with learning disability. In this context, discuss the aspects of empathy versus compliance with rules.
10 marks · Empathy versus rules, and the PA · about 75% was within reach
What this question is about
The DM's reason is kind, but the favour flows to his own staff. The question asks where empathy ends and misuse of office begins.
In short
Empathy against rules was our direct question.
We practised this at UnlockIAS
DAW 2026 · W5 Mon Q2 “During a disaster relief drive a District Officer faces a grieving family that pleads, with great emotion, for a benefit for which they are clearly not eligible under the relief norms.”
Our question is the same test: real sympathy, clear rules, and the officer in between. The added edge here: the beneficiary is his own PA, so a conflict of interest rides on top of the empathy.
DAW 2026 · W6 Thu Q1 “A senior official must decide on a regulatory clearance for a company in which he still holds a modest block of shares inherited some years ago.”
The conflict-of-interest half: good intentions do not clean a decision that favours your own circle.
UPSC Mains 2026 GS Paper 4 Question 6(B) asked, for 10 marks:
Some moral philosophers argue that spending some of your resources, without significantly affecting your financial stability, to help other people who badly suffer is our moral duty and not merely a matter of charity. Justify this claim by explaining the distinction between duty and charity.
10 marks · Duty versus charity · about 65% was within reach
What this question is about
Charity is a choice we are praised for. Duty is what we owe. The claim: if helping costs us little and saves someone from real suffering, it is owed, not optional. The question asks you to justify this.
In short
The duty-versus-charity line was practised through welfare rights.
We practised this at UnlockIAS
DAW 2026 · W8 Fri Q4 “Most welfare in India is delivered as discretionary schemes a government can expand or withdraw at will, while only a few benefits are legal entitlements. To what extent should welfare in India be founded on justiciable rights?”
The same distinction at state level: is help a favour the giver controls, or a duty the sufferer can claim? Our question argued it for welfare. This one asks it of the individual.
Simulator GS4 · Set A · Q5 “"In the happiness of his subjects lies the king's happiness, in their welfare his welfare." (Kautilya). What does this quotation mean to you in the present context?”
Kautilya's version: the strong owe the weak their welfare as duty, not kindness.
UPSC Mains 2026 GS Paper 4 Question 7 asked, for 20 marks:
Lata, a mother of two, was admitted for acute abdominal pain. During a laparoscopy under general anesthesia, Dr. Mansi's team found a possibly malignant tumor in her uterus. Instead of a biopsy, Dr. Mansi removed the uterus with the written consent of Lata's sister-in-law Sujatha. Lata, informed the next day, felt betrayed and went to court. (a) Discuss the ethical issues involved. (b) Discuss the moral conduct of the doctor.
20 marks · The consent case (Dr. Mansi) · about 70% was within reach
What this question is about
The doctor meant well and may have saved a second surgery. But she removed an organ without the patient's own consent. The case asks whose body, whose choice.
In short
Consent and good intention, the case's two poles, were both in our bank.
We practised this at UnlockIAS
Simulator GS4 · Set B · Q2 “Examine the significance of privacy and informed consent as ethical values in a digital welfare state.”
Informed consent as a value was our theory question. Its rule decides this case: consent belongs to the patient, and no relative's signature replaces it when the patient can be waited for.
DAW 2026 · W6 Fri Q5 “Dr. Meera Iyer is the medical superintendent of a district government hospital during a severe seasonal outbreak of viral fever that has filled the wards.”
Our medical case trained the same judgement: a doctor's good intent measured against the patient's rights. Note for part (b): paternalism and beneficence, the theory asked at Q4(a) of this very paper, are the tools to grade Dr. Mansi.
UPSC Mains 2026 GS Paper 4 Question 8 asked, for 20 marks:
Ravi, an SP, installed AI-enabled predictive policing that captures biometric data from crowds. It flagged an immigrant, low-income neighbourhood; policing improved, but community leaders allege the system is biased, built on faulty historical data, and that surveillance without residents' knowledge has bred tension. (a) What are the ethical issues, including biases, in AI and data-driven policing? (b) In Ravi's role, discuss the alternatives and justify the action that best combines ethics and compliance.
20 marks · AI predictive policing (Ravi) · about 75% was within reach
What this question is about
The machine works, order improved, and a whole community feels watched and pre-judged. The case asks whether policing by algorithm can be fair.
In short
The algorithm-authority rule and the data-misuse case were both ours.
We practised this at UnlockIAS
Simulator GS4 · Set A · Q11 “Critically analyse, in the present context of AI-assisted administration, the claim that where a citizen's benefit or liberty is at stake, an algorithm must never be the final authority.”
Our question is the case's core rule: liberty is at stake in policing, so the algorithm may point but never decide. Old biased data producing biased policing is exactly why.
DAW 2026 · W6 Sat Q4 “Imran Qureshi heads the technology unit of a state welfare department that holds a large database of beneficiaries, including their Aadhaar-linked details, collected to deliver a food subsidy.”
Our data case trained the other half: people's data used beyond what they knew or agreed to. Ravi's residents did not even know their data was taken.
UPSC Mains 2026 GS Paper 4 Question 9 asked, for 20 marks:
Seema, an honest senior bureaucrat, is DC of Surinder Nagar, where a tout network working through subordinate officials is selectively clearing land-use applications for bribes. Employees are scared, the backlog grows, the public suffers. She must break the network without halting daily administration. (a) What are the ethical issues? (b) Discuss her options, identify the recommended option and justify it.
20 marks · The tout network (Seema) · about 80% was within reach
What this question is about
Corruption has become a system, and fear keeps it running. The case asks how to clean an office without stopping its work.
In short
The bribery-for-clearance case and the why-institutions-fail question were both ours.
We practised this at UnlockIAS
DAW 2026 · W6 Sat Q5 “Deepak Sharma, a section officer who clears building-plan approvals, has on his desk an application from a small businessman, Mahesh, whose papers are entirely in order and who is legally entitled to approval.”
Our case is the same racket seen from one desk: money to move lawful files. Seema sees it from the top, as a network.
Simulator GS4 · Set A · Q12 “Examine why well-designed anti-corruption institutions often underdeliver in practice.”
Our theory question is her part (b): why a loud crackdown can fail, and why steady, protected, systemic cleaning works better. The recommended path: quiet evidence first, protect the honest, fix the process so touts have nothing to sell.
UPSC Mains 2026 GS Paper 4 Question 10 asked, for 20 marks:
Vikas, DC of remote Nainipura, runs the PDS for the poorest. Biometric checks meant to stop leakages keep failing for growing children, manual labourers and senior citizens, worse when WiFi is slow; distributors then decide by personal discretion. Strict rules ensure fiscal probity but hurt the poorest and may touch their Article 21 rights. (a) What options does Vikas have, and how should he balance fiscal probity with empathy? (b) Discuss the ethics of using technology as a gatekeeper for welfare schemes.
20 marks · Biometric gatekeeping (Vikas) · about 80% was within reach
What this question is about
The machine that was meant to stop theft is now turning away the very people the scheme feeds. The case asks what the officer owes first: the ledger or the hungry.
In short
This case was in our banks, nearly line for line.
We practised this at UnlockIAS
Simulator GS4 · Set A · Q18 “You are the district officer in charge of a fully digitised welfare scheme in which eligibility for benefits is decided automatically by Aadhaar-linked software, with little human checking in between.”
Our case is this case: the software auto-rejecting the genuinely poor over small mismatches, and the officer deciding between the system and the person. Even the fix is shared: keep the technology, add a human door for those it fails.
Simulator GS4 · Set B · Q13 “In the drive to meet delivery targets, a welfare administration can quietly reduce the poorest to numbers on a dashboard rather than persons at a counter.”
Part (b) was our theory question: technology as gatekeeper, and the dignity it can cost. From our GS3 bank, the same pensioner logic: the fingerprints fail, the person is real.
UPSC Mains 2026 GS Paper 4 Question 11 asked, for 20 marks:
Rajan is the new DM of Rajapuram, a border district where ethnic conflict between the Jhara and Biru communities has killed many. The rivalry has seeped into the local administration and police; both communities distrust the government. A neighbouring country could exploit the unrest. Rajan favours a controlled approach: reopen the highway for food and medicines, consider CRPF support. (a) Discuss the ethical issues. (b) What are his options, and which protects his non-partisan image without compromising ethics?
20 marks · The divided district (Rajan) · about 70% was within reach
What this question is about
Two communities at war, an administration seen as taking sides, and a border that makes every mistake dangerous. The case asks how an officer stays fair and is seen to be fair.
In short
Neutrality under communal fire was practised across our banks.
We practised this at UnlockIAS
Simulator GS4 · Set A · Q9 “Differentiate between impartiality and non-partisanship in public service, with suitable examples.”
Part (b)'s exact vocabulary was our theory question: being fair, and being seen to belong to no side. Rajan's answer turns on both.
Simulator GS4 · Set B · Q19 “Devika is the Divisional Commissioner of a border district. Across the border, in a strictly neighbouring country, fighting has driven civilians from their homes.”
Our border case trained the same nerves: humanity first, security always, and a hostile neighbour watching. Rajan's highway-first instinct, food and medicine before force, is the same order of steps.
UPSC Mains 2026 GS Paper 4 Question 12 asked, for 20 marks:
Ajit heads Weapon Sales in the Ministry of Defence Production. Production limits mean he can sell to only one of two developing countries: A, outside all alliances, needing arms against a troublesome neighbour, seeking a long-term loan; or B, alliance-backed, military-first at its people's cost, not an NPT signatory, supporter of guerrilla forces abroad, ready with advance payment. (a) Discuss his options and which he should choose and why. (b) How can he balance the nation's economic and strategic interests with ethical considerations?
20 marks · The arms sale (Ajit) · about 70% was within reach
What this question is about
One buyer needs protection. The other feeds conflict. The money argues one way, the conscience another. The case asks what a nation's sale says about the nation.
In short
Ethics against strategic interest, this paper's own 5(b), turned into a case.
We practised this at UnlockIAS
Simulator GS4 · Set A · Q1 “A rising power is no longer merely a claimant in global governance but increasingly a maker of its rules. As its capacity grows, it begins to set the terms that weaker nations must live by…”
Our question asked what a powerful seller owes the weaker world. Ajit's desk is where that question becomes real: country A defends itself, country B arms conflict. The ethical sale is also the strategic one, a stable, grateful partner over quick money.
DAW 2026 · W7 Mon Q2 “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.”
The same test of what kind of power India wants to be. From our IR bank. The argument carries straight into part (b).
