UPSC Mains 2024 GS1 Q17: model answer
What is regional disparity? How does it differ from diversity? How serious is the issue of regional disparity in India?
What the question wants
Define, distinguish from diversity, and assess India's disparities with data.
How to structure it
Intro: Regional disparity means unequal levels of income, development and well-being between regions of a country. Body: (1) Disparity vs diversity; (2) How serious in India; (3) Consequences; (4) Causes; (5) Remedies. Conclusion: Regional disparity is serious because it affects national unity and growth.
- 1(1) Disparity vs diversity
- 2(2) How serious in India
- 3(3) Consequences
- 4(4) Causes
- 5(5) Remedies
Model answer
Regional disparity means unequal levels of income, development and well-being between regions of a country. Diversity means differences in culture, language, religion, landscape or occupation.
Disparity vs diversity
- Diversity is about difference; disparity is about inequality.
- Diversity is valued and protected; disparity is a problem to be reduced.
- Kerala and Punjab are diverse in culture but similar in development; Bihar and Goa differ greatly in development.
How serious in India
- Income: per capita income of Goa and Sikkim is several times that of Bihar, the lowest among major States.
- Poverty: NITI Aayog's Multidimensional Poverty Index shows Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh with the highest shares, Kerala the lowest.
- Human development: infant mortality in Kerala is in single digits, many times lower than in Madhya Pradesh or UP.
- Industry: concentrated in western and southern States.
- Within States: Vidarbha vs western Maharashtra, Bundelkhand vs western UP.
Consequences: migration pressure, demands for new States (Telangana, 2014), insurgency in neglected tribal areas.
Causes: colonial investment patterns, geography, land tenure, governance quality, Green Revolution limited to some areas.
Remedies: Finance Commission formulae favouring poorer States, Aspirational Districts, PM-DevINE for the North-East, industrial corridors, better governance.
Regional disparity is serious because it affects national unity and growth. Celebrating diversity and reducing disparity must go together.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
regional disparity diversity per capita income MPI Aspirational Districts Finance Commission
Where most answers lose marks
- Treating diversity as a problem.
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Question text as printed in the official UPSC question paper: https://www.upsc.gov.in/sites/default/files/QP_CSM_2024_GenStud_I_03102024.pdf The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.