Practice two fresh UPSC CSE Mains questions for 19 September 2026—one current-affairs based and one static—with answer upload, topper-style model answers and self-evaluation.
Daily Mains Answer Writing Practice – 19 September 2026
Attempt first. Upload your handwritten answer. Then compare it with the model answer.
“Public asset monetisation can unlock value from underutilised assets, but its success depends on transparency, competitive discovery of value and protection of long-term public interest.” Examine in the context of the National Land Monetization Corporation (NLMC).
Official references: Ministry of Finance / PIB – NLMC Board Meeting | PIB – Establishment of NLMC
Attempt the answer before checking the model
Model Answer
Introduction
Asset monetisation seeks to unlock economic value from public assets that are idle, underused or non-core, without necessarily transferring ownership permanently. For a capital-constrained State, institutions such as NLMC can convert dormant assets into resources for productive investment, but only if monetisation is transparent and value-maximising.
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Potential benefits
- Unlocking capital: Surplus land and buildings can generate resources for infrastructure and core public functions.
- Better asset use: Professional monetisation can move valuable land from prolonged idleness to productive economic activity.
- CPSE restructuring: Disposal of non-core assets can improve balance sheets and facilitate closure or strategic restructuring.
- Urban redevelopment: Well-planned projects can create commercial, logistics or mixed-use value around existing infrastructure.
Key risks
- Undervaluation: Weak price discovery can transfer public wealth at below-market value.
- Opacity and capture: Limited competition or unclear bidding conditions can create perceptions of favouritism.
- Land-use conflict: Monetisation may affect local communities, workers, ecology or future public needs.
- One-time revenue bias: Selling assets to finance routine expenditure can weaken inter-generational equity.
Safeguards
- Use independent valuation, open e-auctions and auditable bid criteria.
- Prefer leasing or structured concession where long-term public ownership has strategic value.
- Undertake land-use, environmental and social due diligence before transaction design.
- Ring-fence proceeds for capital creation or debt reduction rather than recurring consumption.
- Publish transaction outcomes and post-monetisation performance.
Conclusion
Asset monetisation is useful when it converts idle public value into productive public value. Its legitimacy depends less on the volume monetised than on transparent valuation, competitive allocation and demonstrable long-term public benefit.
“Protection of Critical Information Infrastructure is a governance challenge as much as a technical challenge.” Discuss the nature of India’s cyber vulnerabilities and suggest a framework for building resilient critical infrastructure.
Attempt the answer before checking the model
Model Answer
Introduction
Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) includes digital systems whose disruption can seriously affect national security, the economy, public health or essential services. As power, banking, telecom, transport and government networks become more interconnected, cyber resilience depends not only on firewalls but also on institutions, incentives and coordinated preparedness.
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Major vulnerabilities
- Interdependence: Failure in one sector—such as power or telecom—can cascade into banking, transport and emergency services.
- Legacy systems: Older operational technology may be difficult to patch without disrupting essential services.
- Supply-chain risk: Compromised software, hardware or vendors can create hidden entry points.
- Ransomware and espionage: State and non-state actors can target data, industrial control systems and service continuity.
- Human factors: Phishing, weak access controls and poor cyber hygiene often bypass technical safeguards.
- Fragmented responsibility: Public agencies and private operators may have uneven standards and delayed incident reporting.
Building resilience
- Adopt sector-specific minimum security standards and regular independent audits.
- Use zero-trust access, network segmentation, encryption and secure-by-design procurement.
- Mandate rapid incident reporting and threat-intelligence sharing across sectors.
- Conduct national and sectoral cyber drills for worst-case scenarios.
- Build redundancy, offline backups and tested business-continuity plans.
- Develop trusted domestic capability in critical hardware, software and cyber-security tools.
- Clarify accountability among NCIIPC, CERT-In, sector regulators and private operators.
Conclusion
Cyber security for critical infrastructure is ultimately about continuity of essential public functions. India therefore needs a resilience model that combines technology, institutional coordination, skilled personnel and recovery capacity rather than relying on prevention alone.
- Did I directly address the directive used in the question?
- Did I build an argument instead of merely listing facts?
- Did I cover multiple dimensions and limitations?
- Did I use relevant constitutional/economic concepts?
- Did I give a balanced and practical way forward where required?
- Did I stay within the word limit?
