From Thucydides’ Trap to Panchamrit — mastering these terms could be the difference between a good answer and a rank-winning one.

With barely a week to go for the UPSC Civil Services Mains 2025, candidates are in the final sprint. At this stage, content mastery is only half the battle; the real edge lies in answer presentation — and the precise, impactful vocabulary that elevates a response from competent to compelling.

Seasoned toppers and mentors agree: the right keywords can transform a paragraph into a persuasive, high-scoring answer. These aren’t just buzzwords; they are conceptual hooks, policy references, and current-affairs touchpoints that signal depth, awareness, and clarity of thought to the examiner.

Here are 25 strategically chosen keywords and frameworks — drawn from geopolitics, governance, economy, social issues, and environment — that could give you an unmistakable edge in the upcoming Mains. Used smartly, they can enrich your arguments, tighten your analysis, and showcase intellectual range.

Global affairs & geopolitics

1. Thucydides’ Trap – Rising power vs established hegemon; use in China–US context.

2. Equi-Closeness Policy – India’s nuanced foreign policy stance.

3. Multipolar Manoeuvre Matrix – Navigating a complex, multipolar world order.

4. Necklace of Diamonds – India’s counter to China’s String of Pearls.

5. Nuclear Apartheid – India’s stance outside the NPT framework.

Society & work culture

6. Quiet Quitting to Quiet Cracking – Shifting trends in work-life balance discourse.

7. Brain Rot – OUP’s 2024 Word of the Year; the perils of trivial online content.

8. Online Disinhibition Effect – Cyber abuse psychology explained.

9. Sticky Floor Effect – Career stagnation challenges for women at entry levels.

10. Uncle-Judge Syndrome – Judicial reform and ethics in appointments.

Governance & policy innovation

MIGA – Make India Great Again – PM Modi’s economic vision.

11. Five Petals of PUSHP – Progressive, Unstoppable, Spiritual, Humanity-First, Prosperous Bharat.

12. PM PRANAM – Fertiliser use balance and subsidy rationalisation.

13. Kaizen Philosophy – Continuous improvement in governance systems.

14. 3R Urban Solution – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle for urban waste challenges.

15. 5F Vision for Textiles – From farm to fibre to foreign markets.

16. IT + IT = IT – Information Technology + Indian Talent = India Tomorrow.

17. Antyodaya – Development from the bottom up.

18. Three Ds of Economy – Demography, digitisation, domestic demand.

19. Seven Cs of Mobility – Common, Connected, Convenient, Congestion-free, Charged, Clean, Cutting-edge.

20. Triple A Approach – ASHA, Anganwadi, ANM in rural healthcare.

Social empowerment & inclusion

22. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao – A decade of empowering girl children.

23. 5R Framework of ILO – Recognise, Reduce, Redistribute, Reward, Represent care work.

24. Nudge Theory – Behavioural change in public policy campaigns.

Environment & sustainability

25. Panchamrit – India’s five-point climate action agenda from COP26.