2026 Prelims Paper 2 UPSC Question Paper

Directions for the next 2 (two) items:
Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers should be based solely on the passage.
Passage:
India is starting to deploy AI for critical use cases such as weather forecasting, pest detection and control, and crop yield optimisation. However, penetration is limited to a small subset of tech-savvy farmers. In the US and in Europe, generative AI tools have started offering precision farming at scale, integrating large datasets to provide real-time agronomic insights. For at-scale integration and accessibility of AI tools in India, it would be helpful to develop Indian-languages-based AI tools for smallholder farmers, partner with AgTechs to create affordable AI solutions, and disseminate AI-based advisory services through government programmes.

Which of the following assumptions/presumptions is/are valid?
1. Agricultural productivity has marched ahead in the West because of the economies of scale facilitated by the adoption of AI tools.
2. Affordable AI tools rendered available in local languages can help AI-based solutions reach more and more small farmers.
3. Though penetration is as yet low, critical application areas deploying AI tools are already in use in India.
Select the answer using the code given below.

Which of the following statements is/are not correct?
1. Tech-savvy farmers will drive AgTech companies of the future.
2. The development of advisory services by government programmes for the use of AI tools in agriculture would be helpful.
3. In the US and Europe, AI tools have replaced traditional agricultural practices.
4. The integration of large datasets for use in real-time agronomic analysis is already a reality.
Select the answer using the code given below.

P, Q, R, S and T are ranked 1 to 5 (not necessarily in that order). The rank of P is 4, the rank of Q is not 5, the rank of R is 1, the rank of S is not 2, the rank of T is not 3.
Then which of the following is/are correct?
I. If the rank of S is 3, then that of T is 2.
II. If the rank of Q is 3, then that of T is 5.
Select the answer using the code given below.

Two identical straight rods are painted in five distinct colours so that each of them gets divided into five equal parts along the length. In one of them, the portions are marked P1, P2, P3, P4 and P5 (not necessarily in that order) whereas in the other, they are marked Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 and Q5 (not necessarily in that order). When the rods are kept parallel to each other side by side, P1 and Q3 match, P4 matches Q1 or Q2, and Q4 matches P3 or P5. If Q3 and Q5 are adjacent, which of the following is/are possible?
I. Q3 is marked at the middle portion of the straight rod.
II. P2 is marked at one of the extreme portions of the straight rod.
Select the answer using the code given below.

Seven persons A, B, C, D, E, F and G travel by three cars X, Y, Z. A and another two persons travel by X. Only E travels with G. C travels by Z, but B does not travel by Y. Besides, A and B do not travel by the same car. Then which of the following are correct?
I. No one travels alone.
II. Only D travels with F.
III. Only C travels with B.
Select the answer using the code given below.

There are four statements X, Y, Z and W. Their relations are as follows:
If X is incorrect, then so is Z; if Y is incorrect, then W is correct; if W is correct, then X is incorrect.
Which of the following is/are correct?
I. If X is correct, then so is Y.
II. If Z is correct, then it is not necessary that Y is correct.
Select the answer using the code given below.

X and Y are two runners who run for the same duration of time on the same circular track. They started running at the same time in the same direction with uniform speeds. When X completed 7 rounds, Y did exactly 5. After completing 5 rounds, Y changed his direction and started running in the opposite direction with a speed which is double his earlier speed. On the other hand, X continued to run with the same speed. They stopped running when X completed exactly 21 rounds. How many times did X and Y meet after they had started running and before they finally stopped?

In an objective type question paper, 5 marks are awarded for a correct answer and 2 marks are deducted for a wrong answer. A student attempted all the questions and got a score of 69. Had he been awarded 4 marks for a correct answer and 1 mark deducted for a wrong answer, he would have scored 84. How many questions were there in the question paper?

Directions for the next 2 (two) items:
Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers should be based solely on the passage.
Passage:
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, or the JJ Act, 2015, allows for the possibility of trying adolescents above 16 as adults if they are accused of committing a heinous offence. A heinous offence is one with a minimum punishment of seven years. Offences such as culpable homicide and causing death by negligence, which are common in drunken driving cases, are not heinous offences because they do not have a prescribed minimum punishment. The JJ Act, amended in 2021, now categorises an offence that has no minimum sentence but has a maximum sentence of seven years or more as a serious offence which, nonetheless, in the opinion of activists, does not merit the transfer of a case to the adult criminal justice system.

Which of the following conclusions is/are valid?
1. Only a serious offence, as categorised by the revised JJ Act, justifies a case being transferred to the adult judicial system.
2. The JJ Act, 2021, categorises an offence as a serious offence based on the maximum sentence it carries, rather than the minimum sentence.
Select the answer using the code given below.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. If an offence has no minimum prescribed punishment, it cannot be considered heinous as per the JJ Act, 2015.
2. As per the JJ Act, 2021, an offence for which there is a provision for a maximum sentence of seven years or more, but no minimum sentence, is to be considered a serious offence.
Select the answer using the code given below.