UPSC Mains 2016 GS Paper 3 Q6: model answer

'Careless and useless manpower' is a harsh phrase. A fairer one is under-prepared manpower: ASER surveys have repeatedly found that only about half of Class 5 children can read a Class 2 text. A workforce built on that base struggles to share in growth.

Challenges for inclusive growth

• Low productivity: most workers are in farming or petty services earning little.
• Skill gap: very few workers have formal vocational training, unlike most workers in Germany or South Korea.
• Unemployable graduates alongside firms that cannot find skilled staff.
• Poor health: stunting and anaemia lower adult capacity.
• Low female participation wastes half the talent.
• Work culture: weak accountability in some public services.

Root causes

• Rote-based schooling and teacher shortages.
• Vocational training seen as second-rate.
• Weak link between colleges and employers.
• Nutrition gaps in the first 1,000 days.
• Weak public spending on education and health compared with peer economies.

Measures

• Foundational learning: NIPUN Bharat and NEP 2020.
• Vocational education from Class 6 and internships, as NEP proposes.
• Apprenticeships in industry and the PM Internship Scheme (2024).
• Health and nutrition: Poshan 2.0, Anaemia Mukt Bharat.
• Women's work: safe transport, hostels and childcare.
• Public sector accountability: Mission Karmayogi for civil servants.

Conclusion

People are not born careless or useless; systems make them so. Fix school, skill and health, and the same workforce becomes India's biggest asset.