UPSC GS Paper 3 Syllabus — Economy, Environment, Science and Security
May 2, 2026 · 8 min read · My UPSC Syllabus
GS Paper 3 is a 250-mark paper that covers Indian Economy, Technology, Environment, and Internal Security. It is dynamic, with UPSC consistently testing current economic events, recent science-technology developments, and evolving security challenges.
GS Paper 3 is a 250-mark paper that covers Indian Economy, Technology, Environment, and Internal Security. It is dynamic, with UPSC consistently testing current economic events, recent science-technology developments, and evolving security challenges.
INDIAN ECONOMY AND PLANNING:
LPG reforms 1991, NITI Aayog, SDGs and India's progress. Macroeconomic concepts: GDP, GNP, NNP, GVA, measurement methods. Economic growth versus development. HDI.
AGRICULTURE:
Food security and issues. Food processing industries and linkages, significance, location. Land reforms. Subsidies, MSP, agriculture marketing, price and cost. Animal husbandry, fisheries, food processing.
INFRASTRUCTURE:
Energy (conventional and non-conventional). Roads, railways, ports, airports, waterways. Importance of infrastructure for economic development.
INVESTMENT MODELS:
Public-Private Partnership. Industrial policy. MSME sector. Inclusive growth.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:
Developments and applications. Role of Science and Technology in national development. Effects of globalisation. Bio-technology. IP rights. Space technology. Defence technology.
ENVIRONMENT:
Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment. Biodiversity: types, threats, conservation. Wetlands, coral reefs, forests, national parks. Climate change, greenhouse gases, carbon footprint, Kyoto Protocol, Paris Agreement. Disaster management: types of disasters, NDMA, NDRF.
INTERNAL SECURITY:
Linkages between development and spread of extremism. Role of external state and non-state actors. Cyber security: challenges, government initiatives. Money laundering, organised crime. Border management. Left-wing extremism. Insurgency in Northeast.
Tags: GS Paper 3, Mains, Syllabus, Economy, Environment