UPSC Mains 2014 GS Paper 4 Q5a: model answer
The current society is plagued with widespread trust-deficit. What are the consequences of this situation for personal well-being and for societal well-being? What can you do at the personal level to make yourself trustworthy?
What the question wants
Explain how a widespread trust deficit harms personal and social well-being, and what you can do personally to be trustworthy.
How to structure it
Consequences at two levels, then personal steps.
- Personal
- Societal
- What I can do
How to think it through
Personal: anxiety, isolation, cynicism, transaction costs. Societal: low cooperation, more litigation, corruption, low tax compliance, mob violence, weak institutions, slow economy (Fukuyama Trust 1995). Personal steps: keep promises, consistency, transparency, admit mistakes, confidentiality, fairness, competence, punctuality, listening.
Model answer
When people do not trust a stranger's directions, a doctor's advice or a government notice, life becomes slower, costlier and lonelier. Francis Fukuyama argued in his book 'Trust' (1995) that high-trust societies grow faster because people can cooperate without lawyers at every step.
Consequences for personal well-being
- Anxiety and suspicion in everyday dealings.
- Isolation: fewer close friendships.
- Cynicism that drains motivation.
- More time and money spent on checks and guarantees.
Consequences for societal well-being
- Weak cooperation in neighbourhoods and workplaces.
- More litigation and slower justice.
- Corruption becomes 'normal' when no one trusts the honest route.
- Low tax compliance and weak public institutions.
- Rumours and mob violence thrive where official news is distrusted.
What I can do to be trustworthy
- Keep my word, even in small things like time and deadlines.
- Be consistent: the same person in public and private.
- Be transparent about my decisions and reasons.
- Admit mistakes quickly.
- Respect confidences.
- Be fair to everyone, not only to those who can help me.
Trust is built in drops and lost in buckets, so I would guard every drop.
Draw: A bridge called 'trust' between a citizen and the state, with each personal action as a pillar.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
trust deficit, Fukuyama 'Trust' 1995, social capital, transaction costs, cynicism, litigation, rumours, consistency, transparency, keeping promises.
Where most answers lose marks
- Ignoring the personal part, which asks what you will do.
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Fresh examples from current affairs
Supreme Court: no prior approval under Section 17A needed to probe a bribe demand
In a judgment of 16 October 2026, a Supreme Court Bench of Justices S.V.N. Bhatti and N.V. Anjaria held that investigating a bribe demand by a public servant does not need prior approval under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Asking for a bribe, the court said, is not part of discharging official duties.
UPSC angle: Prelims: Sections 7, 7A, 17A and 19 of the PC Act. · Mains GS-II/GS-IV: honest officers versus accountability.
19 Oct 2026Learn the concept
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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