UPSC Civil Services Examination — Environment & Ecology (Prelims GS and Mains GS-III) · India · Union Public Service Commission
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersThe rules: principles of environmental law, the major multilateral agreements and how national laws implement them. India's Acts are examined in GATE ES and UGC NET; the manual uses them as the worked example and states where other countries differ. Trade and agricultural policy are in the Agribusiness track.
In the exams: GATE ES Section 9 (Water and Air Acts, EPA 1986, NGT Act, international treaties); ICAR AICE subject 71 Units 2–3; UGC NET Unit 8; UPSC CSE (heavily asked)
How our questions for UPSC Civil Services Examination spread across the units of Environmental Law, Policy & International Agreements. Difficulty: 19 easy, 49 medium, 18 hard.
| UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement | 9 | |
| Forest, wildlife and biodiversity laws | 9 | |
| Principles: polluter pays, precautionary, prevention, sustainable development | 8 | |
| Convention on Biological Diversity and its protocols | 8 | |
| UNCCD, Ramsar, CITES, CMS | 8 | |
| Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions | 8 | |
| National framework laws: water, air and environment protection acts | 7 | |
| Environmental courts and tribunals | 7 | |
| Public participation, access to information and environmental justice | 7 | |
| Montreal Protocol and its amendments | 6 | |
| Environmental policy and national environment policies | 6 | |
| Policy instruments: regulation, economic instruments, information, voluntary | 3 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
A national limit on the sulphur content of diesel is which kind of standard?
D. Product standard
Limits on what a product contains or how it performs are product standards. Ambient standards limit concentrations in the environment; emission standards limit discharges from sources; technology standards prescribe equipment.
Further reading: Perman et al., Natural Resource and Environmental Economics
India's Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme, launched in 2012, trades certificates for what?
B. Energy savings in energy-intensive industries
PAT sets specific energy consumption targets for designated consumers; those exceeding targets earn energy saving certificates that underachievers can buy. Water rights, forest diversion and fishing quotas are not traded under PAT.
Further reading: Bureau of Energy Efficiency
What was created by the London Amendment (1990) to help developing countries comply with the Montreal Protocol?
D. The Multilateral Fund
The Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol pays the agreed incremental costs of developing countries' compliance. The others were created for climate or broader environmental finance.
Further reading: London Amendment 1990
Where is India's National Biodiversity Authority located?
A. Chennai
The NBA, set up under the Biological Diversity Act 2002, is headquartered in Chennai. Dehradun hosts forest and wildlife institutes; New Delhi the environment ministry.
Further reading: Biological Diversity Act 2002
In which city was the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance signed in 1971?
A. Ramsar, Iran
The Ramsar Convention was adopted in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971. Bonn gives its name to the CMS; Washington to CITES; Nairobi hosts UNEP.
Further reading: Ramsar Convention
Which of the original 'dirty dozen' persistent organic pollutants was an insecticide later allowed for disease vector control?
B. DDT
DDT is listed in Stockholm Annex B (restriction), with an acceptable purpose for vector control. PCBs are industrial chemicals; dioxins and furans are unintentional by-products.
Further reading: Stockholm Convention 2001
The Environment (Protection) Act 1986 was enacted in the aftermath of which event?
C. The Bhopal gas disaster of 1984
The Bhopal methyl isocyanate leak in December 1984 led to the umbrella EP Act 1986. Chernobyl was a Soviet nuclear accident; Stockholm prompted the Water Act; Rio came later.
Further reading: EP Act 1986
China's revised Environmental Protection Law (2014, effective 2015) introduced which notable enforcement tool?
C. Daily accumulating fines for continuing violations
The revision introduced daily fines that accumulate until a violation is corrected, alongside public interest litigation by qualified NGOs. It did not abolish fines or create exemptions.
Further reading: PRC Environmental Protection Law 2014
Which international court issued an advisory opinion in 2025 on states' obligations in respect of climate change?
A. The International Court of Justice
The ICJ delivered its advisory opinion in July 2025, following an ITLOS advisory opinion in 2024. The ICC deals with individual criminal liability; the WTO Appellate Body is trade-focused; the PCIJ ceased in 1946.
Further reading: ICJ Advisory Opinion 2025
Which of these is one of the eight NAPCC missions?
A. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture
The NAPCC includes the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture; the others are not NAPCC missions.
Further reading: NAPCC 2008
Ten here, 86 in the app. The Laisha app has every practice question we have written to UPSC Civil Services Examination in this subject, marked as you go, with timed papers, a jump-to-unanswered list and a certificate when you pass at 70 per cent.
Free for ten days, then one subscription of US$10 a month. We would rather say so here than have you find it later.
An AI operating system for agriculture: free guides, manuals and tools written for every country.