UPSC Mains 2015 GS2 Q6 — Arbitration and Conciliation
What are the major changes brought in the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 through the recent Ordinance promulgated by the President? How far will it improve India’s dispute resolution mechanism? Discuss. (Answer in 200 words)
Question Decoded — examiner's intent
- Directive verbs
- WhatHow farDiscuss
- Scope keywords
- Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996recent Ordinancepromulgated by the PresidentIndia’s dispute resolution mechanism
- Implicit sub-parts
- What specific triggers led to the Ordinance (e.g., concerns regarding fraud/corruption in contracts)?
- Analysis of the shift from automatic stay to conditional stay on enforcement of awards.
- Critical evaluation of the removal of the Eighth Schedule regarding qualifications of arbitrators.
- Impact assessment on Ease of Doing Business and India's goal of becoming an international arbitration hub.
- Common pitfalls
- Generalizing the 2015 and 2019 amendments instead of focusing on the specific 2020/2021 Ordinance changes.
- Failing to mention the 'unconditional stay' provision in cases of fraud or corruption, which was a core change.
- Neglecting the impact on the 'Akaal' (timelines) of the dispute resolution process.
- Discussing arbitration in theory without linking it to foreign direct investment (FDI) and judicial backlog.
- Dimensions required
- Legal/StatutoryEconomic/InvestmentJudicial/ProceduralGlobal/Comparative
- Marks allocation hint
Allocate 50-60 words to the specific changes brought by the Ordinance (stay on awards and arbitrator qualifications). Devote 100-110 words to the 'How far' discussion, balancing the benefits of reduced corruption with concerns over increased judicial interference. Use the remaining 30-40 words for a forward-looking conclusion on institutionalizing arbitration.
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 200 words and get an instant, rubric-based evaluation showing where they stand.
Subscribe to evaluate your answer →