UPSC Mains 2023 GS3 Q7 — Disaster Management
Dam failures are always catastrophic, especially on the downstream side, resulting in a colossal loss of life and property. Analyze the various causes of dam failures. Give two examples of large dam failures. (Answer in 150 words)
Question Decoded — examiner's intent
- Directive verbs
- AnalyzeGive
- Scope keywords
- Dam failurescatastrophicdownstream sidecolossal loss of life and propertyvarious causeslarge dam failures
- Implicit sub-parts
- What makes dam failures uniquely 'catastrophic' compared to regular floods (impact mechanism)?
- Categorization of causes into structural, hydrologic, geological, and human/managerial factors.
- The role of aging infrastructure and climate change as modern compounding variables.
- Briefly linking the examples to the specific causes mentioned in the analysis.
- Common pitfalls
- Spending too many words describing the 'loss of life' instead of analyzing the 'causes'.
- Failing to categorize causes, leading to a bulleted list of random points like 'rain' and 'cracks'.
- Choosing minor local dam bursts instead of 'large dam failures' as specifically requested.
- Ignoring the 'downstream' context mentioned in the prompt, which implies the need to discuss flash floods and sediment deposits.
- Neglecting the mention of the Dam Safety Act 2021 as a modern context for prevention.
- Dimensions required
- Structural/EngineeringHydrologicalGeological/SeismicOperational/ManagerialEnvironmental/Climate
- Marks allocation hint
Allocate 30 words to the introduction defining the scale of catastrophe. Spend 80 words on a structured analysis of causes (Natural, Technical, and Human). Use 40 words to provide two specific examples (e.g., Machchhu dam and Banqiao dam) briefly explaining why they failed to tie the answer together.
Unlock the full analysis for this question
You've seen the question and its examiner-intent decoding. Subscribers also get:
- 🔗 Similar Previous Year Questions — cross-year, cross-paper matches so you study the topic, not the question
- 📚 Source Map — verified citations from Laxmikanth, NCERT, PRS, Yojana, Economic Survey, Spectrum
- 🌱 How this topic is evolving — current-affairs bridge anchored to live TARS news clustering
- 🧭 Examiner's Pattern — how the topic has been framed across every year UPSC has tested it
- ✍️ Answer Skeleton — a structured outline (intro → body → conclusion) you can flesh out
- 🎯 AI evaluation — write your answer, get rubric-based scoring from gs-eval
Or browse 132+ free preview questions across all years and papers — the first 3 questions of every paper are unlocked.
Ready to practice?
Subscribers can attempt this question in 150 words and get an instant, rubric-based evaluation showing where they stand.
Subscribe to evaluate your answer →