Salient Features, Basic Structure Doctrine & Preamble Values
मुख्य विशेषताएं, मूल संरचना सिद्धांत और प्रस्तावना के मूल्य
Salient Features, Basic Structure Doctrine & Preamble Values is part of the UPSC Mains GS Paper II syllabus, under Indian Constitution & Polity. It appeared in Mains GS Paper II question papers in 5 of the 10 years from 2016 to 2025 (2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024). It is marked high-yield: a topic worth revising more than once.
What should you study in Salient Features, Basic Structure Doctrine & Preamble Values?
- Basic structure doctrine — pillars (democracy, federalism, secularism, FR, judicial review)
- Landmark cases — Golaknath, Kesavananda Bharati, Minerva Mills, Indira Gandhi v Raj Narain
- Constitutional morality — judicial vs popular morality debate
- 42nd & 44th Amendments — emergency-era changes, reversals
How often is Salient Features, Basic Structure Doctrine & Preamble Values asked in UPSC Mains?
Asked in 5 of 10 years, including 2 of the last 5. Highlighted years below are the ones it appeared in.
- 2016: asked
- 2017: not asked
- 2018: asked
- 2019: not asked
- 2020: asked
- 2021: not asked
- 2022: asked
- 2023: not asked
- 2024: asked
- 2025: not asked
About the Mains GS Paper II paper
GS Paper II is a 250-mark descriptive Mains paper covering governance, the Constitution, polity, social justice and international relations. See all 40 Mains GS Paper II topics.
Related topics to study next
- Evolution of Constitution — Charter Acts (1773–1853), GoI Acts (1858/1919/1935), Independence ActHigh-yieldasked 5/10 yrs
- Constituent Assembly — Objectives, Key Committees, Drafting & SourcesHigh-yieldasked 5/10 yrs
- Constitutional Amendments — Major Amendments, Procedure & Basic Structure LimitsHigh-yieldasked 4/10 yrs
- Federal Structure — Centre-State Relations, Cooperative/Competitive FederalismHigh-yieldasked 5/10 yrs
- Parliament & State Legislatures — Functions, Procedures, Privileges & OversightHigh-yieldasked 4/10 yrs
- Executive — President, PM, CoM, Governor & Constitutional ConventionsHigh-yieldasked 5/10 yrs
- Judiciary — Supreme Court, High Courts, Judicial Review, PILs & AppointmentsHigh-yieldasked 4/10 yrs
- Separation of Powers, Checks & Balances & Comparison with Other ConstitutionsHigh-yieldasked 3/10 yrs
Syllabus: UPSC Civil Services notification. Topic breakdown, subtopics and PYQ years: GS Score UPSC Syllabus 2026-27 booklet. Sources & credits
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