UPSC Mains 2014 GS Paper 2 Q12: model answer
An athlete participates in Olympics for personal triumph and nation’s glory; victors are showered with cash incentives by various agencies, on their return. Discuss the merit of state sponsored talent hunt and its cultivation as against the rationale of a reward mechanism as encouragement.
What the question wants
Discuss the merits of the State nurturing sporting talent compared with rewarding medal winners afterwards.
How to structure it
Discuss merit of A against B: weigh both, then favour a mix with an emphasis.
- The paradox
- Merit of state-sponsored cultivation
- Rationale of rewards
- Comparison
- Way forward
How to think it through
After every Olympics, States announce crores for medallists who trained largely on their own or with private help. That is rewarding the harvest without sowing the field. The examiner wants you to favour the pipeline but accept that rewards motivate.
Model answer
At the 2012 London Olympics India won six medals. Within weeks, State governments and companies announced crores in cash for the winners. Many of those athletes had trained for years with private sponsors and their own savings. The money arrived after the work was done.
Merit of state-sponsored talent cultivation
- Early identification: talent is spotted at 10–14, not at 24.
- Equity: poor and rural children get coaching, diet and equipment they could not afford.
- Infrastructure: stadiums, academies, sports science and coaches.
- Long-term results: China and Britain built medal tallies through funded pipelines; Britain's lottery-funded system lifted it from one gold in 1996 to many in 2012.
- India's TOPS (2014) and Khelo India (2018) fund athletes before competitions; Neeraj Chopra's gold in Tokyo 2020 came after long, funded training.
Rationale of rewards
- They motivate athletes and inspire children.
- They recognise effort and give financial security after short careers.
- They cost little compared with building systems.
Comparison
- Rewards reach a few winners; cultivation builds a base of thousands.
- Rewards come late; cultivation shapes the result.
- Rewards are visible and political; cultivation is slow.
Way forward
- Shift most money to grassroots academies and coaching, especially in schools.
- Keep modest rewards, linked to funding the athlete's academy or coach.
- Pensions and jobs for retired athletes.
- Transparent, professional sports federations under the National Sports Governance Act, 2025.
A nation does not win medals by paying for them afterwards; it wins them by investing before.
Draw: A pyramid: mass participation at the base, talent pool, elite, medals at the tip; rewards touch only the tip.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
TOPS 2014, Khelo India 2018, SAI, National Sports Policy 2001 and 2025, UK Sport lottery model, sports science, National Sports Governance Act 2025, athlete welfare.
Where most answers lose marks
- Rejecting rewards altogether. Show their place, then argue for the pipeline.
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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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