QUESTION 2
Discuss the factors responsible for the increasing frequency and intensity of landslides in the Himalayas. How are climate change and human interventions altering the region’s vulnerability to landslides?
QUESTION 1: India’s MSME sector has the potential to become a major engine of employment generation and economic growth. Discuss the challenges that limit its ability to realise this potential.
Relevance: MSMEs are crucial for employment generation, manufacturing, exports and inclusive economic growth, making their performance central to India’s development strategy. The topic is relevant to GS-3 (Indian economy, industrial growth, employment and MSMEs) and India’s goal of becoming a manufacturing and export hub.
Note: This is not a model UPSC answer. It only provides you with a thought process which you may incorporate into the answers.
Introduction:
— India’s MSME sector is a major source of employment and economic activity, but its potential is limited by fragmentation, low productivity, insufficient funding, and weak ecosystem links.
— Around 63 million MSMEs in India employ over 320 million people, accounting for around 31% of GDP, 35% of industrial output, and 49% of exports.
Body:
You may incorporate some of the following points in your answer:
Major challenges limiting their potential
— A huge proportion of businesses operate on a small scale and specialise in low-value activities, restricting economies of scale and efficiency.
— Smaller businesses have difficulty acquiring financing, whereas banks frequently analyse enterprises individually, raising information asymmetry and perceived credit risks.
— Payment delays limit operating capital and disproportionately harm smaller businesses, making it difficult for them to sustain operations and expand employment.
— Limited cash, technological capabilities, and access to specialised facilities limit productivity and hinder many small businesses from diversifying into higher-value industries.
— Smaller businesses face considerable GST, labour, environmental, and tax compliance regulations, which raises the cost of doing business.
— MSMEs frequently lack access to applied research, specialist manpower, laboratories, and innovation networks because universities and surrounding sectors are inadequately connected.
— India has a huge number of microenterprises but few firms that effectively transition to medium-sized enterprises, limiting productivity and large-scale job development.
Conclusion:
— India must transition from isolated firm-level support to ecosystem-based MSME development. Specialised clusters can provide pooled testing laboratories, logistics, cold storage, and design facilities while also creating knowledge spillovers and specialised labour markets.
— Cluster-level finance can help reduce information asymmetry by taking into account shared collateral, buyer-supplier relationships, and collective performance. At the same time, improved university-industry ties, R&D support, speedier patent processing, targeted aid to high-performing MSMEs, and easier compliance can all help enterprises achieve higher productivity and value creation.
(Source: India’s MSME opportunity lies in clusters, How the ‘long Covid’ of pending payments has brought India’s MSME sector to its knees, Not enough medium-sized companies in India, ‘an institutional, structural problem’: Niti CEO, India’s small enterprises hold key to job growth)
Points to Ponder
Why do many MSMEs struggle to adopt new technologies and improve product quality?
How can government support shift from merely protecting MSMEs towards improving their productivity and competitiveness?
Related Previous Year Questions
Faster economic growth requires increased share of the manufacturing sector in GDP, particularly of MSMEs. Comment on the present policies of the Government in this regard (2023)
QUESTION 2: Discuss the factors responsible for the increasing frequency and intensity of landslides in the Himalayas. How are climate change and human interventions altering the region’s vulnerability to landslides?
Relevance: Climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme rainfall, glacial and permafrost changes, and intensifying landslide risks in the fragile Himalayan ecosystem. The topic is relevant to GS-3 (disaster management and climate change) and the broader theme of sustainable Himalayan development.
Note: This is not a model UPSC answer. It only provides you with a thought process which you may incorporate into the answers.
Introduction:
— The Himalayas are among India’s most prone to landslides due to its high slopes, fragile geology, active tectonics, and complicated geomorphology.
— While landslides are a natural occurrence, recent heavy rainfall events and increased human pressure have exacerbated the risk and susceptibility of Himalayan communities.
Body:
You may incorporate some of the following points in your answer:
Factors responsible for increasing landslide risk
— The Himalayas are a young and tectonically active mountain range with unstable slopes. Steep slopes, unstable rock structures, weathering, and erosion make the landscape naturally prone to slope failure.
— Heavy rainfall saturates the soil, adding weight and lowering slope stability. Cloudbursts can quickly cause runoff, erosion, and debris flows, resulting in landslides. Recent significant rainfall in the Himalayan region has caused landslides, flash floods, soil erosion, and sediment deposition.
— Climate change affects the timing and intensity of monsoon rains. A warmer atmosphere can contain more moisture, increasing the likelihood of heavy rain when suitable conditions exist.
— Road expansion and widening necessitate substantial slope cutting and excavation, which disturbs naturally stable slopes. In the fragile Himalayan terrain, poorly constructed or poorly maintained slope cutting can increase the risk of landslides.
— The rapid rise of tourism has increased construction, vehicular traffic, garbage output, and demand for roads and other infrastructure. The concentration of tourists and residents in vulnerable areas increases the number of people and assets at risk from landslides.
Conclusion:
— Thus, the Himalayas’ growing susceptibility to landslides is more than just a result of their inherent fragility. It is the outcome of a combination of harsh weather brought on by climate change, a geologically unstable mountain chain, and increasingly extensive human interference. As a result, Himalayan development needs to become more climate resilient, ecologically aware, and risk-sensitive.
(Source: How landslides threaten Darjeeling, and why this has national security implications for India, Lessons from Wayanad, Himachal: As climate change intensifies, how to prepare for extreme weather events, Topography, climate change: Behind the heavy rain in Uttarakhand, Himachal, How can Himalayan region safeguard its people, heritage, ecosystems from climate change?)
Points to Ponder
How can Himalayan development be balanced with ecological carrying capacity and disaster-risk reduction?
Related Previous Year Questions
Flooding in urban areas is an emerging climate-induced disaster. Discuss the causes of this disaster. Mention the features of two major floods in the last two decades in India. Describe the policies and frameworks in India that aim at tackling such floods. (2025)
Describe the various causes and the effects of landslides. Mention the important components of the National Landslide Risk Management Strategy. (2021)
Previous Mains Answer Practice
UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 166)
UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 165)
UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 166)
UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 165)
UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 165)
UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 166)
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Are you preparing for the Civil Services Mains Exam 2026? Attempt a question on the challenges for India’s MSME sector in today's answer-writing practice. (File Photo) 
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