UPSC Mains 2022 GS Paper 2 Q8: model answer
Reforming the government delivery system through the Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme is a progressive step, but it has its limitations too. Comment.
What the question wants
Comment on DBT as a progressive delivery reform and on its limitations.
How to structure it
Comment: progressive features, limits, balance.
- Progress
- Limits
- Balance
How to think it through
Same theme as 2013, but now with a decade of evidence. Be brief and specific.
Model answer
When DBT began on 1 January 2013 it covered a handful of scholarships in a few districts. More than a decade later it carries hundreds of central schemes, from PM-KISAN to LPG subsidy, and most States have their own DBT portals.
Why it is progressive
- Less leakage: the government reports cumulative savings of over ₹3 lakh crore from removing fake and duplicate beneficiaries.
- Speed: PM-KISAN instalments reach about 9–10 crore farmers within days.
- Financial inclusion through Jan Dhan accounts.
- Transparency: tracking on PFMS.
Limitations
- Exclusion: Aadhaar authentication failures and mismatched names.
- Last-mile access: banking correspondents charge fees; rural ATMs are far.
- Not suitable for everything: services like schools and health cannot be replaced by cash.
- Inflation: fixed cash amounts lose value.
- Grievance redress is weak.
Balance
DBT is a strong reform because it puts the citizen, not the official, at the centre of the money trail. It now needs better grievance redress, offline options and a human face at the last mile, so that a failed fingerprint is never a failed meal.
Draw: Two scales: leakage (down) and exclusion (watch it), with grievance redress as the counterweight.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
DBT 2013, JAM, PFMS, PM-KISAN, savings claims, exclusion error, banking correspondents, DBT Mission.
Where most answers lose marks
- Repeating the 2013 answer without recent evidence.
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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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