Mains GS Paper IIIInternal SecurityHigh-yield

Money Laundering, Black Money & Hawala

धन शोधन, काला धन और हवाला

Money Laundering, Black Money & Hawala is part of the UPSC Mains GS Paper III syllabus, under Internal Security. It appeared in Mains GS Paper III question papers in 3 of the 10 years from 2016 to 2025 (2017, 2020, 2023). It is marked high-yield: a topic worth revising more than once.

What should you study in Money Laundering, Black Money & Hawala?

  • Money laundering — Placement, Layering, Integration; PMLA 2002
  • Hawala — informal value transfer; ED enforcement
  • Crypto regulation — Virtual Digital Assets; PMLA application to crypto exchanges
  • Terror financing — FATF recommendations; India's technical compliance

How often is Money Laundering, Black Money & Hawala asked in UPSC Mains?

Asked in 3 of 10 years, including 1 of the last 5. Highlighted years below are the ones it appeared in.

  1. 2016: not asked
  2. 2017: asked
  3. 2018: not asked
  4. 2019: not asked
  5. 2020: asked
  6. 2021: not asked
  7. 2022: not asked
  8. 2023: asked
  9. 2024: not asked
  10. 2025: not asked

About the Mains GS Paper III paper

GS Paper III is a 250-mark descriptive Mains paper covering technology, economic development, biodiversity, environment, security and disaster management. See all 50 Mains GS Paper III topics.

Related topics to study next

Syllabus: UPSC Civil Services notification. Topic breakdown, subtopics and PYQ years: GS Score UPSC Syllabus 2026-27 booklet. Sources & credits

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