GS Paper III — Q10
The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by our adversaries across the borders to ferry arms/ammunitions, drugs, etc., is a…
The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by our adversaries across the borders to ferry arms/ammunitions, drugs, etc., is a serious threat to the internal security. Comment on the measures being taken to tackle this threat. (Answer in 150 words) 10 marks
हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें
सीमा पार से शत्रुओं द्वारा हथियार/गोला-बारूद, ड्रग्स आदि मानवरहित हवाई वाहनों (यू० ए० वी०) की मदद से पहुँचाया जाना हमारी सुरक्षा के लिए गंभीर खतरा है। इस खतरे से निपटने के लिए किए जा रहे उपायों पर टिप्पणी कीजिए। (उत्तर 150 शब्दों में दीजिए)
Model answer
Drafted with AI by UPSC Answer Check against this question's marking rubric, to the 150-word length. UPSC does not publish answers for Mains — this is one way to score well, not an official key. How we build rubrics and answers.
The weaponisation of UAVs by adversaries for cross-border airdrops of arms in Jammu & Kashmir and narcotics in Punjab marks a grave asymmetric internal security threat. India's multi-pronged response spans technological, regulatory, and tactical domains.
Detection and Neutralization: Surveillance is strengthened through upgraded Battlefield Surveillance Radars (BFSR-SR), RF scanners, and acoustic sensors, integrated with intelligence platforms like NATGRID. For neutralization, indigenous assets like DRDO’s D4 System and BEL-built counter-drone systems deploy soft-kill (RF jamming, spoofing) alongside laser-based hard-kill capabilities. During Operation Sindoor (May 2025), integrated air defence including the Akashteer network neutralised hundreds of hostile drones.
Regulatory and Institutional Architecture: The Drone Rules 2021 enforce No Permission No Take-off (NPNT), geofencing, and Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) to secure sovereign airspace. Operationally, the Ministry of Home Affairs' Counter-Drone Guidelines steer coordinated frontline deployments between the BSF and Indian Army.
While current measures have curbed rogue incursions, combating low-RCS, autonomous UAVs demands enhanced inter-agency synergy and sustained R&D indigenisation to ensure an impregnable counter-drone security grid.
How this answer will be evaluated
Framework: Security: classify threat, vulnerability, response; stay calm
What earns full marks: Contextualizes threat, identifies specific measures, provides balanced judgment, uses precise terminology.
Evaluation rubric
Each sub-part is marked on its own, against the marks and word limit printed on the paper.
- The answer Contextualize the UAV threat and provide a judgment on the measures being taken to tackle it. 10 marks · 150 words
comment— context → arguments both sides → judgment → close
Must cover
- Contextualize the threat of UAVs for smuggling arms/drugs
- Identify specific measures being taken (e.g., technology, policy)
- Provide a judgment on the effectiveness of these measures
- Maintain a balanced, analytical tone (not dramatic)
Loses marks
- Dramatic or emotional security writing
- Vague, aspirational solutions without implementation details
- Ignoring the 'measures being taken' aspect
Earns more
- Mention specific technologies (e.g., RF jammers, drones)
- Reference specific policies (e.g., Drone Rules 2021; registration and geo-fencing of civil drones)
- Discuss the role of border infrastructure (e.g., fencing)
- Mention international cooperation or intelligence sharing
Extra mark
- Cite a specific recent incident or data point
- Mention a specific institutional measure (e.g., BSF counter-drone systems)
What "Comment" is asking you to do
Take a position on the statement and support it. Comment usually attaches to a quoted line in the short slots, so the reasoning must be compressed — an opening view, a few load-bearing reasons, and the limit of the claim.
Structure that answers it
Unpack what the statement asserts → your stance → two or three supporting reasons → the qualification that limits it
Where marks are lost
Neutral summary; a comment without a stance has not answered. Equally costly is accepting the quoted line wholesale and never testing where it fails.
Practice this exact question
Write your answer and it is marked point by point against the model answer above — what you covered, what you missed, what you got wrong.
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