UPSC Mains 2019 GS Paper 2 Q17: model answer
The need for cooperation among various service sectors has been an inherent component of development discourse. Partnership bridges the gap among the sectors. It also sets in motion a culture of ‘collaboration’ and ‘team spirit’. In the light of statements above examine India’s development process.
What the question wants
Examine India's development process through the lens of cooperation and partnership among the public, private and voluntary sectors.
How to structure it
Examine in the light of: use the quote as the lens.
- Why partnership
- Where it worked
- Where it failed
- What makes collaboration work
- Conclusion
How to think it through
The quote has three ideas: cooperation, bridging gaps, team spirit. India has examples of each: Amul (cooperative + state), polio (state + WHO + Rotary + religious leaders), PPP highways (state + private). Add the failures (PPP stress after 2012) and the conditions for success.
Model answer
India's last polio case was a two-year-old girl in Howrah in January 2011. Behind that victory stood the health ministry, WHO, UNICEF, Rotary, the Gates Foundation, and imams in western Uttar Pradesh who persuaded hesitant families. No single sector could have done it alone, and none could have done it without trusting the others.
Why partnership matters
- The State has reach and legitimacy, the market has capital and efficiency, civil society has trust and local knowledge.
- Problems like nutrition, sanitation and climate cut across departments and sectors.
Where partnership bridged gaps
- Cooperatives and the State: Operation Flood and Amul made India the largest milk producer.
- Public–private partnerships: Delhi and Mumbai airports; the National Highways' hybrid annuity model.
- State and civil society: Akshaya Patra in mid-day meals; MKSS in social audits.
- Digital public infrastructure: UPI was built by NPCI with banks and fintech firms, a model now studied abroad.
- Convergence within government: Aspirational Districts brought ministries, NITI Aayog and NGOs together on monthly data.
Where it failed
- Many PPP road and power projects stalled after 2012 due to aggressive bidding and contract disputes (Kelkar Committee, 2015).
- Distrust of NGOs and the 2020 FCRA amendment narrowed space for voluntary partners.
- Departments still guard their turf, so schemes overlap and data is not shared.
- Communities are often treated as beneficiaries, not partners, so ownership is weak.
What builds collaboration and team spirit
- Clear roles, fair risk-sharing and quick dispute resolution.
- Shared data platforms and common outcome targets.
- Joint planning at the district level.
- Respect for community institutions like gram sabhas and SHGs.
Conclusion
India's best development stories, from milk to polio to digital payments, are stories of partnership. The task is to make collaboration a habit of governance, not an exception, so that 'team spirit' becomes part of how schemes are designed.
Draw: Three circles (State, market, civil society) with examples in each overlap.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
Operation Flood, polio eradication 2011 (certified 2014), PPP, Kelkar Committee 2015, hybrid annuity model, NPCI and UPI, Aspirational Districts, convergence, social capital.
Where most answers lose marks
- Writing only about PPPs. 'Various service sectors' includes civil society and communities.
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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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