UPSC Mains 2014 GS Paper 2 Q6: model answer
The size of the cabinet should be as big as governmental work justifies and as big as the Prime Minister can manage as a team. How far is the efficacy of a government then inversely related to the size of the cabinet? Discuss.
What the question wants
Discuss whether a smaller cabinet makes a government more effective.
How to structure it
How far ... inversely related ... Discuss: test the claim with history and the 91st Amendment.
- The principle
- Why big cabinets hurt
- Why size alone is not the issue
- Reforms
How to think it through
'Minimum government, maximum governance' was a 2014 slogan, yet the 2024 Union council has 72 ministers. Size is about coalition arithmetic, not only work. Efficiency depends on how departments are grouped, not on counting heads. A cricket team has eleven players for a reason, and nobody wins by fielding thirty.
Model answer
In 2003 Uttar Pradesh had nearly 100 ministers, almost one for every four ruling MLAs. The same year Parliament passed the 91st Amendment, capping the Council of Ministers at 15% of the Lok Sabha (Article 75(1A)) or Assembly (Article 164(1A)), with a minimum of 12 in States.
Why a big cabinet hurts
- Too many voices slow decisions; cabinet becomes a rally.
- Ministries split for jobs, not for work: separate ministries for overlapping subjects.
- Cost and coordination problems.
Why size alone is not the answer
- India's governance load is huge: 1.4 billion people, a federal system, global roles.
- Coalitions need representation of partners and regions.
- Efficacy depends on cabinet committees, on clear allocation of business, and on the PM's leadership.
- The 2024 Union Council has 72 members, within the cap, and runs through cabinet committees and empowered groups.
So, is the relation inverse?
Up to a point. Beyond a manageable number, more ministers mean less coherence. But a small cabinet with poorly grouped ministries is no better.
Reforms
- Merge ministries into clusters (2nd ARC suggested 20–25 ministries).
- Strengthen cabinet committees and the Cabinet Secretariat.
- Use technology for file movement (eOffice).
Size the cabinet to the work and the team, as the statement says, not to the politics. The test is simple: can every minister explain, in one line, what only his or her ministry does, and why it cannot sit with another?
Draw: An inverted-U curve: efficacy rises with size up to a point, then falls.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
91st Amendment 2003, Article 75(1A), 164(1A), 15% cap, minimum 12, cabinet committees, 2nd ARC clusters, 'minimum government, maximum governance'.
Where most answers lose marks
- Saying there is no limit. The 15% cap is the core fact.
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Question text as printed in the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) question paper. The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.
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