2025 Prelims Paper 2 UPSC Question Paper

Directions for the following 4 (Four) Items :
Read the following two passages and answer the items that follow the passages. Your answer to these items should be based on the passages only.
Passage -1
In our country, regrettably, teaching and learning for the examination have been our forte but the new demands of society and the future of work require critical and independent thinking, learning through doing, asking questions from multiple disciplinary perspectives on the same issue, using evidence for building arguments, and reflecting and articulation. Higher education should not "either be a mere servant of the government policy or a passive respondent to public mood." Higher learning is all about how to think rather than what to think. Teaching has to be re-invented.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the central idea conveyed by the passage?

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:
I. Higher education is a constantly evolving subject that needs to align towards new developments in all spheres of society.
II. In our country, sufficient funds are not allocated for promoting higher education.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Passage-2
If there is inequality in the pattern of population growth, there is greater inequality in food production and utilization. As societies become wealthier, their consumption of animal products increases. This means that a greater proportion of such basic foodstuff as grains and legumes that could feed humans directly is instead being converted into feed for poultry and large farm animals. Yet this conversion of plant-based food into animal food for humans is far from efficient. Only 16% of the calories fed to chickens are recovered by us when we eat them. This conversion rate goes down to five to seven per cent in large animals that are fed grain to add fat and some protein before slaughter.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the crux of the passage?

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:
I. The food manufacturing and processing industries in every country should align their objectives and processes in accordance with the changing needs of the societies.
II. Wealthier societies tend to incur great loss of calories of food materials due to indirect utilization of their agricultural produce.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

What is the maximum value of n such that 7 × 343 × 385 × 1000 × 2401 × 77777 is divisible by 35n?

What is X in the sequence 24, X, 12, 18, 36, 90?

P and Q walk along a circular track. They start at 5:00 am. from the same point in opposite directions. P walks at an average speed of 5 rounds per hour and Q walks at an average speed of 3 rounds per hour. How many times will they cross each other between 5:20 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.?

If P = +, Q = –, R = ×, S = +, then insert the proper notations between the successive numbers in the equation 60_15_3_20_4=20:

A tram overtakes 2 persons X and Y walking at an average speed of 3 km/hr and 4 km/hr in the same direction and completely passes them in 8 seconds and 9 seconds respectively. What is the length of the tram?

If N² = 12345678987654321, then how many digits does the number N have?