UPSC Mains 2025 GS2 Q17: model answer
“In contemporary development models, decision-making and problem-solving responsibilities are not located close to the source of information and execution defeating the objectives of development.” Critically evaluate.
What the question wants
Assess the claim of over-centralisation using the subsidiarity principle; give both sides.
How to structure it
Intro: subsidiarity. Body: (1) Evidence supporting the statement; (2) Counter-view; (3) Reforms. Conclusion: The statement is largely true.
- 1(1) Evidence supporting the statement
- 2(2) Counter-view
- 3(3) Reforms
Model answer
The principle of subsidiarity says decisions should be taken at the lowest level able to take them, because those closest to a problem know it best. Indian development practice often departs from it.
Evidence supporting the statement
- Panchayats and municipalities have constitutional status (73rd and 74th Amendments, 1992) but most States have not devolved all functions, funds and functionaries.
- Centrally sponsored schemes come with uniform guidelines; a district in Ladakh and one in Kerala follow the same norms.
- Schemes are monitored on central dashboards, so officers report numbers upward instead of solving local problems.
- Urban local bodies raise little own revenue and depend on State grants.
- Result: mismatched projects, such as toilets without water or check-dams in wrong places.
Counter-view
- Some uniformity prevents elite capture and corruption at the local level.
- Technology now lets real-time local data inform decisions: Aspirational Districts Programme (2018) let district collectors set priorities on 49 indicators.
- Kerala's People's Plan Campaign (1996) and Gram Panchayat Development Plans show decentralisation can work.
- Large projects (power, highways) need central coordination.
Reforms
- Activity mapping and untied funds to local bodies, as the 15th Finance Commission recommended.
- Flexi-funds in CSS; capacity building of panchayat staff.
- Social audits for accountability.
The statement is largely true. Development succeeds when the people who see the problem can also act on it.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
subsidiarity 3Fs devolution 73rd/74th Amendments Aspirational Districts People's Plan Kerala
Where most answers lose marks
- Only supporting the statement in a 'critically evaluate' question.
Same theme in Prelims
Consider the following statements in respect of questions asked by the Members in the Parliament of India :
- 1. Unstarred questions are those to which a Member desires an oral answer in the House.
- 2. Starred questions are those to which a Member desires a written answer.
- 3. No supplementary question can be asked on an unstarred question.
Which one of the following conclusions based on the above statements is correct ?
Answer (c) & explanation
Only one statement is correct (c). Statement 3 is right: an unstarred question gets a written answer, so no supplementary question can follow. Statement 1 is wrong: unstarred questions get written, not oral, answers. Statement 2 is wrong: a starred question, marked with an asterisk, gets an oral answer on the floor, and supplementaries may follow. Statements 1 and 2 swap the two types. So options (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice the third type: a short notice question is on a matter of urgent public importance, asked with less than ten days' notice and answered orally. Question Hour is usually the first hour of a sitting, followed by Zero Hour, an Indian innovation not found in the Rules of Procedure.
a clean swap of definitions. Remember: the star is for the spoken answer on the floor.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements about the Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes of the Parliament of India :
- 1. Although members of this Committee are elected from both Houses of Parliament, the Chairperson of this Committee is appointed by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
- 2. Twenty members are elected by the Rajya Sabha and ten members by the Lok Sabha.
- 3. No Minister, except for the Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, is eligible to be a member of this Committee.
- 4. Members are elected for a fixed term of two years from the date they enter their office.
Which one of the following conclusions based on the above statements is correct ?
Answer (d) & explanation
No statement is correct (d). The Committee on the Welfare of SCs and STs has 30 members. Statement 1 is wrong: the Speaker appoints its Chairperson from among the Lok Sabha members. Statement 2 is wrong: 20 members come from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha, the reverse of the statement. Statement 3 is wrong: no Minister at all can be a member. Statement 4 is wrong: the term is one year, not two. So options (a), (b) and (c) fail.
Notice the pattern: like the Estimates and Public Accounts committees, it is a financial-style committee where Ministers are barred. Its job is to examine the work of the National Commissions for SCs and STs and the implementation of safeguards.
four confident details, all slightly off. When every line has a number or an office, check each one.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
- I. On the dissolution of the House of the People, the Speaker shall not vacate his/her office until immediately before the first meeting of the House of the People after the dissolution.
- II. According to the provisions of the Constitution of India, a Member of the House of the People on being elected as Speaker shall resign from his/her political party immediately.
- III. The Speaker of the House of the People may be removed from his/her office by a resolution of the House of the People passed by a majority of all the then Members of the House, provided that no resolution shall be moved unless at least fourteen days' notice has been given of the intention to move the resolution.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Answer (c) & explanation
Statements I and III are correct (c). Statement I is right: under Article 94, on dissolution of the Lok Sabha the Speaker stays in office until just before the first meeting of the new House. Statement III is right: the Speaker may be removed by a resolution passed by a majority of all the then members, after at least 14 days' notice. Both lines are copied almost word for word from Article 94. Statement II is wrong: nothing in the Constitution asks the Speaker to leave the party.
Notice that resigning from the party is a convention in Britain, not a rule in India. The Speaker decides defection cases under the Tenth Schedule and certifies Money Bills. The Deputy Speaker post stayed vacant for the whole 17th Lok Sabha.
a good practice dressed as a constitutional rule. Ask, "Which Article says this?"
Fell for this one? Most aspirants do. The PYQ Book puts every UPSC trap side by side, so the pattern finally clicks. Try the free sample
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
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Question text as printed in the official UPSC question paper: https://www.upsc.gov.in/sites/default/files/GENERAL-STUDIES-PAPER-II-QP-CSM-25-010925.pdf The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.