Thinker
Amartya Sen
Amartya Sen is central to 57 previous-year questions, spanning 2009 to 2025 across Paper I and Paper II. Everything below is drawn from the official papers — the questions themselves, the concepts they test, and where they sit in the syllabus.
57Questions
2009–25Years tested
I & IIPaper
9Syllabus topics
Concepts asked alongside Amartya Sen
What the examiner actually wants you to know when this name appears.
son preference 12social exclusion 11capability approach 6sex ratio 6capability deprivation 5patriarchy 5infant mortality rate 4empowerment 3inclusive development 3informal sector 3marginalisation 3relative deprivation 3sex-selective abortion 3sexual division of labour 3social mobility 3sustainable development 3centralised planning 2cooperative federalism 2
Where Amartya Sen appears in the syllabus
Every question on Amartya Sen
Each links to a full breakdown — how to approach it, a model answer, and the examiner’s perspective.
2025
- 'Educational development is the only Panacea for country's all ills and evils.' Critically examine the above statement with reference to NEP-2020.
- Compare capability deprivation approach with that of social capital deprivation in understanding chronic poverty.
- What do you understand by sustainable development? Discuss the elements of sustainable development as proposed in the UNDP's Sustainable Development Goals Report-2015.
2024
- Critically examine the relevance of development planning in India.
- Discuss the major challenges related to women's reproductive health in India. What measures would you suggest to overcome these challenges?
- Education is a key to social development. Elucidate.
- What is sustainable development? How can sustainability be achieved in India where livelihood needs conflict with environmental protection?
2023
2022
- Discuss different forms of deprivation associated with slums.
- How do you understand the relationship between patriarchy and social development ?
- Sociologists argue for democratization of science and technology for inclusive development. Comment.
- Trace the trajectory of development perspectives on social change.
2021
- Does “economic empowerment” automatically bring about “substantive empowerment” for women? Briefly describe the main issues in women empowerment in India.
- The problem of displacement is inherent in the idea of development. Analyze the statement critically.
- Underline the socio-cultural factors responsible for India's skewed sex-ratio.
- Urban slums are sites of social exclusion – explain.
2020
2019
- Define patriarchy. Does it have bearings on women's entitlement in Indian family system? Explain.
- Discuss the challenges in implementing the Rural Development Programmes in India.
- Examine the importance of Development Planning in Indian Mixed Economy, and analyze its problems and prospects.
- Highlight the main features of the ‘Inter-linking of Rivers’ project in India. What could be its probable advantages to Indian agriculture?
- What is 'social security'? Examine recent security measures adopted by the Government in India.
2018
2017
- Can we equate 'poverty' with 'poor living'? Elaborate your answer.
- Discuss some of the striking issues of development induced imbalances that need urgent attention.
- What are the causes and solutions for the low female sex-ratio in the DEMARU States of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and Gujarat?
- What are the emerging concerns on women's reproductive health?
2016
- “Social change can be brought about through development.” Illustrate from the contemporary situation of India.
- Differential sex-ratio and its implications
- Discuss the emerging forms of ‘inequalities’ and ‘acute poverty’ as major challenges of social transformation in India.
- Discuss the relationship between poverty and social exclusion.
- Empowerment through ‘Right to Education’
- Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme for rural development
2015
- Feminization of poverty
- Human development approach affirms that education and health-care growth are more important than economic growth. Discuss this issue in the light of post-liberalized Indian society.
- Important components of National Education Policy in India
- Why is it necessary to implement PCPNDT Act in India?
2014
2013
2011
2010
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