Previous Year Essay Topics (1993-2020)

Science-Technology

Science and Religion

1. Spirituality and scientific temper. -2003
2. Science and Mysticism: Are they compatible? -2012

Science and Education

1. Modern technological education and human values. -2002
2. Value-based science and education. -1999
3. The march of science and the erosion of human values. -2001

Computer and internet

1. Technology as the silent factor in international relations -2020
2. Rise of Artificial Intelligence: the threat of jobless future or better job opportunities through reskilling and upskilling. -2019
3. ‘Social media is inherently a selfish medium. -2017
4. Cyberspace and Internet: Blessing or curse to the human civilization in the long run -2016
5. Increasing computerization would lead to the creation of a dehumanized society. -2006
6. The cyberworld: Its charms and challenges. -2000
7. Computer: the harbinger of silent revolution. -1993

Sci-Tech: others

1. Technology cannot replace manpower. -2015
2. Science and technology is the panacea for the growth and security of the nation-2013
3. The modern doctor and his patients. -1997
4. The lure of space. -2004

Poverty, Social Justice

1. There can be no social justice without economic prosperity but economic prosperity without social justice is meaningless  -2020
2. Neglect of primary health care and education in India are reasons for its backwardness. -2019
3. The focus of health care is increasingly getting skewed towards the ‘haves’ of our society. -2009
4. Food security for sustainable national development -2005
5. Reservation, politics and empowerment. -1999

India: Democracy, administration, Society, culture

1. Is the Colonial mentality hindering India’s Success? -2013
2. In the context of Gandhiji’s views on the matter, explore, on an evolutionary scale, the terms ‘Swadhinata’, ‘Swaraj’ and ‘Dharmarajya’. Critically comment on their contemporary relevance to Indian democracy -2012
3. Dreams which should not let India sleep. -2015
4. Why should we be proud of being Indians? -2000
5. Whither Indian democracy? -1995
6. How far has democracy in India delivered the goods? -2003
7. What we have not learnt during fifty years of independence. -1997
8. What have we gained from our democratic setup? -2001
9. My vision of India in 2001 a.d. -1993

Federalism, Decentralization

1. Impact of the new economic measures on fiscal ties between the union and states in India. -2017
2. Water disputes between States in federal India. -2016
3. Cooperative federalism: Myth or reality. -2016
4. Creation of smaller states and the consequent administrative, economic and developmental implication -2011
5. Evaluation of Panchayati raj system in India from the point of view of eradication of power to people. -2007
6. Water resources should be under the control of the central government. -2004
7. The language problem in India: it’s past, present and prospects. -1998

Administration

1. How should a civil servant conduct himself? -2003
2. Politics without ethics is a disaster. -1995
3. The VIP cult is a bane of Indian democracy -1996
4. Need for transparency in public administration -1996
5. The country’s need for a better disaster management system. -2000
6. Politics, bureaucracy and business – fatal triangle. -1994

Judiciary

1. We may brave human laws but cannot resist natural laws. -2017
2. Justice must reach the poor -2005
3. Judicial activism and Indian democracy. -2004
4. Judicial activism. -1997

Indian Society, Culture and Values

1. Culture is what we are, civilization is what we have  -2020
2. Indian culture today: a myth or a reality? -2000
3. Modernism and our traditional socio-ethical values. -2000
4. The composite culture of India. -1998
5. The Indian society at the crossroads. -1994
6. From traditional Indian philanthropy to the gates-buffet model-a natural progression or a paradigm shift? -2010
7. New cults and godmen: a threat to traditional religion -1996

Media, TV & Cinema

1. Biased media is a real threat to Indian democracy. -2019
2. Responsibility of media in a democracy. -2002
3. Role of media in good governance -2008
4. Does Indian cinema shape our popular culture or merely reflect it? -2011
5. How has satellite television brought about cultural change in Indian mindsets? -2007
6. Is sting operation an invasion on privacy? -2014
7. Mass media and cultural invasion. -1999
8. The misinterpretation and misuse of freedom in India. -1998

Economy 

Sectors of Economy

1. Farming has lost the ability to be a source of subsistence for majority of farmers in India. -2017
2. BPO boom in India. -2007
3. Tourism: Can this be the next big thing for India? -2014
4. Are our traditional handicrafts doomed to a slow death? -2009

Growth vs Development

1. Poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere. -2018
2. Digital economy: A leveller or a source of economic inequality. -2016
3. Innovation is the key determinant of economic growth and social welfare. -2016
4. Near jobless growth in India: An anomaly or an outcome of economic reforms. -2016
5. Crisis faced in India – moral or economic. -2015
6. Was it the policy paralysis or the paralysis of implementation which slowed the growth of our country? -2014
7. GDP (Gross Domestic Product) along with GDH (Gross Domestic Happiness) would be the right indices for judging the wellbeing of a country-2013
8. Can capitalism bring inclusive growth? -2015
9. Resource management in the Indian context. -1999
10. Economic growth without distributive justice is bound to breed violence. -1993

Environment vs Development

1. Alternative technologies for a climate change resilient India. -2018
2. Should a moratorium be imposed on all fresh mining in tribal areas of the country? -2010
3. Urbanisation and its hazards -2008
4. Protection of ecology and environment is essential for sustained economic development. -2006
5. Urbanization is a blessing in disguise. -1997
6. Ecological considerations need not hamper development. -1993

MNCs

1. Globalization would finish small-scale industries in India. -2006
2. Multinational corporations – saviours or saboteurs -1994
3. Special economic zone: boon or bane -2008
4. Is the criticism that the ‘Public-Private-Partnership’ (PPP) model for development is more of a bane than a boon in the Indian context, justified? -2012

Education

Values in Education

1. Destiny of a nation is shaped in its classrooms. -2017
2. Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make a man more clever devil-2015
3. Independent thinking should be encouraged right from the childhood. -2007
4. Are the standardized tests good measure of academic ability or progress? -2014
5. Irrelevance of the classroom. -2001
6. Is the growing level of competition good for the youth? -2014
7. Literacy is growing very fast, but there is no corresponding growth in education. -1996
8. Is an egalitarian society possible by educating the masses? -2008
9. What is real education? -2005
10. Neglect of primary health care and education in India are reasons for its backwardness. -2019
11. “Education for all” campaign in India: myth or reality. -2006
12. Restructuring of Indian education system. -1995

Higher education

1. Privatization of higher education in India. -2002
2. Credit-based higher education system – status, opportunities and challenges -2011

Quote based, Philosophy, Ethics

Character, Honesty, Ethics

1. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication  -2020
2. Ships don’t sink because of water around them ships sink because of water that gets into them -2020
3. Life is a long journey between human being and being humane. -2020
4. Values are not what humanity is, but what humanity ought to be -2019
5. Best for an individual is not necessarily best for the society -2019
6. Courage to accept and dedication to improve are two keys to success -2019
7. Wisdom finds truth -2019
8. A people that values its privileges above its principles loses both. -2018
9. Customary morality cannot be a guide to modem life. -2018
10. We may brave human laws but cannot resist natural laws. -2017
11. Need brings greed, if greed increases it spoils breed. -2016
12. Character of an institution is reflected in its leader. -2015
13. With greater power comes greater responsibility. -2014
14. Words are sharper than the two-edged sword. -2014
15. Attitude makes, habit makes character and character makes a man. -2007
16. He would reigns within himself and fold his passions and desires and fears is more than a king. -1993

Knowledge

1. Mindful manifesto is the catalyst to a tranquil self -2020
2. ‘The past’ is a permanent dimension of human consciousness and values. -2018
3. A good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge. -2018
4. There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so. -2003
5. Disinterested intellectual curiosity is the lifeblood of civilisation. -1995

Compassion

1. Joy is the simplest form of gratitude. -2017
2. Compassion is the basis of all morality of the world -1993
3. Lending hands to someone is better than giving a dole. -2015
4. Be the change you want to see in others (Gandhi)-2013

Truth and reality

1. Reality does not conform to the ideal but confirms it. -2018
2. Truth is lived, not taught -1996
3. When money speaks, the truth is silent. -1995
4. Search for truth can only be a spiritual problem. -2002

Youth, Discipline

1. Discipline means success, anarchy means ruin -2008
2. Youth is a blunder, manhood a struggle, old age a regret -1994
3. If youth knew if age could. -2002
4. Youth culture today. -1999
5. Fifty Golds in Olympics: Can this be a reality for India? -2014

Towards excellence

1. Quick but steady wins the race. -2015
2. Useless life is an early death. -1994
3. Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds. -1995
4. The paths of glory lead but to the grave. -2002
5. The pursuit of excellence. -2001

Women empowerment

Politics

1. Greater political power alone will not improve women’s plight. -1997
2. Women’s reservation bill would usher in empowerment for women in India. -2006
3. The new emerging women power: the ground realities. -1995
4. If women ruled the world -2005
5. The hand that rocks the cradle -2005

Empowerment 

1. Patriarchy is the least noticed yet the most significant structure of social inequality -2020
2. Fulfilment of ‘new woman’ in India is a myth. -2017
3. If development is not engendered, it is endangered. -2016
4. Whither women’s emancipation? -2004
5. Empowerment alone cannot help our women. -2001
6. Women empowerment: challenges and prospects. -1999
7. Woman is god’s best creation. -1998
8. Men have failed: let women take over. -1993
9. Managing work and home – is the Indian working woman getting a fair deal? -2012

International issues, Internal Security

Globalization

1. South Asian societies are woven not around the state, but around their plural cultures and plural identities. -2019
2. Geography may remain the same; history need not. -2010
3. Modernisation and westernisation are not identical concepts. -1994
4. ‘globalization’ vs. ‘nationalism’ -2009
5. National identity and patriotism -2008
6. Globalization and its impact on Indian culture. -2004
7. The masks of new imperialism. -2003
8. As civilization advances culture declines. -2003
9. The implications of globalization for India. -2000
10. My vision of ideal world order. -2001
11. India’s contribution to world wisdom. -1998
12. The world of the twenty-first century. -1998
13. Preparedness of our society for India’s global leadership role. -2010

International Org./ Bilateral

1. Technology as the silent factor in international relations -2020
2. Has the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) lost its relevance in a multipolar world? -2017
3. Restructuring of UNO reflect present realities -1996
4. The global order: political and economic -1993
5. India’s role in promoting ASEAN co-operation. -2004
6. Importance of Indo-US nuclear agreement -2006

Security

1. Management of Indian border disputes is a complex task. -2018
2. In the Indian context, both human intelligence and technical intelligence are crucial in combating terrorism -2011
3. Are we a ‘soft’ state? -2009
4. Good fences make good neighbours -2009
5. Is autonomy the best answer to combat balkanization? -2007
6. Terrorism and world peace -2005
7. True religion cannot be misused. -1997