UPSC Mains 2026 GS2 Q2: model answer
“Women as a class neither belong to a minority group nor are they regarded as forming a backward class.” In the light of this statement, discuss the evolution of women's reservation from local bodies to Parliament.
What the question wants
Explain why women needed their own constitutional route to quotas (not minority or backward-class provisions), then trace the stages: 73rd/74th Amendments → State-level 50% laws → 106th Amendment (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023).
How to structure it
Intro: women are neither a minority nor a backward class, so their quotas rest on Article 15(3) and specific amendments. Body: (1) Local bodies: 73rd and 74th Amendments (1992), one-third seats and chair posts, Articles 243D and 243T; (2) States going to 50% in panchayats, Bihar first in 2006; (3) Legislatures: failed bills of 1996, 1998 and 2008, then the 106th Amendment (2023), Articles 330A and 332A, start after delimitation, 15 years with rotation; (4) Gaps: proxy 'sarpanch-pati', no OBC sub-quota, delayed start. Conclusion: from token numbers to real power through capacity-building and a time-bound rollout.
- 1(1) Local bodies: 73rd and 74th Amendments (1992), one-third seats and chair posts, Articles 243D and 243T
- 2(2) States going to 50% in panchayats, Bihar first in 2006
- 3(3) Legislatures: failed bills of 1996, 1998 and 2008, then the 106th Amendment (2023), Articles 330A and 332A, start after delimitation, 15 years with rotation
- 4(4) Gaps: proxy 'sarpanch-pati', no OBC sub-quota, delayed start
Model answer
Women are not a 'backward class', so their quotas rest on Article 15(3) and specific amendments rather than Articles 15(4)/16(4).
| Test | Minority (Arts. 29-30) | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Basis | Religion or language | Sex, cuts across all groups |
| Numbers | Numerically smaller | About half the population |
| Constitutional tool | Cultural and educational rights | Art. 15(3), 39, 42, 243D, 243T, 106th Amendment |
| Core problem | Assimilation, identity | Patriarchy, unpaid work, violence |
Stage 1, local bodies (1992): the 73rd and 74th Amendments reserved one-third of seats and chair posts in panchayats and municipalities (Articles 243D, 243T).
Stage 2, States go further: over twenty States, Bihar first in 2006, raised this to 50%.
Stage 3, legislatures: after failed bills in 1996, 1998 and 2008, the 106th Amendment, 2023 reserves one-third of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats (Articles 330A, 332A). It starts after the post-Census delimitation and runs 15 years with rotation.
Gaps: 'sarpanch-pati' proxy rule, no OBC sub-quota, a delayed start.
The journey runs from token presence to a claim on power. Training, an end to proxy rule and a firm start date will complete it.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
Article 15(3) 73rd/74th Amendments Articles 243D, 243T 106th Amendment 2023 Articles 330A, 332A delimitation linkage sarpanch-pati
Where most answers lose marks
- Ignoring the quoted statement; it needs to be linked to Article 15(3).
- Skipping the local-body stage and jumping to the 2023 Act.
- Getting the commencement condition wrong: it is after delimitation following the next Census.
Same theme in Prelims
Which of the following statements with respect to the Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) is/are correct ?
- 1. The period of its implementation is 1st April, 2021 to 31st March, 2026.
- 2. The key objective of the Revamped RGSA is to develop the governance capabilities of the Panchayati Raj Institutions to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals.
- 3. The share of the Central funding for the Revamped RGSA is 100% for all States and Union Territories.
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (b) & explanation
Only statement 2 is correct (b). Statement 2 is right: the Revamped RGSA aims to build the governance capacity of Panchayati Raj Institutions to deliver on the SDGs. Statement 1 is wrong: it was approved in 2022 to run from 2022-23 to 2025-26, not from April 2021. Statement 3 is wrong: funding is shared 60:40 with States (90:10 for north-eastern and hill States); only Union Territories get 100%. So options (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the link: the RGSA uses the Localisation of SDGs approach through nine themes, such as poverty-free and healthy villages. The 73rd Amendment (1992) gave Panchayats constitutional status. 24 April is National Panchayati Raj Day.
"100% for all" is the giveaway. Centrally sponsored schemes almost always share costs with States.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements in respect of questions asked by the Members in the Parliament of India :
- 1. Unstarred questions are those to which a Member desires an oral answer in the House.
- 2. Starred questions are those to which a Member desires a written answer.
- 3. No supplementary question can be asked on an unstarred question.
Which one of the following conclusions based on the above statements is correct ?
Answer (c) & explanation
Only one statement is correct (c). Statement 3 is right: an unstarred question gets a written answer, so no supplementary question can follow. Statement 1 is wrong: unstarred questions get written, not oral, answers. Statement 2 is wrong: a starred question, marked with an asterisk, gets an oral answer on the floor, and supplementaries may follow. Statements 1 and 2 swap the two types. So options (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice the third type: a short notice question is on a matter of urgent public importance, asked with less than ten days' notice and answered orally. Question Hour is usually the first hour of a sitting, followed by Zero Hour, an Indian innovation not found in the Rules of Procedure.
a clean swap of definitions. Remember: the star is for the spoken answer on the floor.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements about the Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes of the Parliament of India :
- 1. Although members of this Committee are elected from both Houses of Parliament, the Chairperson of this Committee is appointed by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
- 2. Twenty members are elected by the Rajya Sabha and ten members by the Lok Sabha.
- 3. No Minister, except for the Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, is eligible to be a member of this Committee.
- 4. Members are elected for a fixed term of two years from the date they enter their office.
Which one of the following conclusions based on the above statements is correct ?
Answer (d) & explanation
No statement is correct (d). The Committee on the Welfare of SCs and STs has 30 members. Statement 1 is wrong: the Speaker appoints its Chairperson from among the Lok Sabha members. Statement 2 is wrong: 20 members come from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha, the reverse of the statement. Statement 3 is wrong: no Minister at all can be a member. Statement 4 is wrong: the term is one year, not two. So options (a), (b) and (c) fail.
Notice the pattern: like the Estimates and Public Accounts committees, it is a financial-style committee where Ministers are barred. Its job is to examine the work of the National Commissions for SCs and STs and the implementation of safeguards.
four confident details, all slightly off. When every line has a number or an office, check each one.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Fresh examples from current affairs
VB–G RAM G: 375 permissible rural works notified, 41% more than the previous scheme
The Rural Development Ministry has notified 375 permissible works under the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, the law that replaced MGNREGA. That is 41% more than the 266 works earlier. Works fall under four pillars: water security (128), core rural infrastructure (111), livelihood infrastructure (98) and disaster preparedness (38), all planned through Gram Sabha-approved village plans.
UPSC angle: Prelims: Act name, 125 days, works count. · Mains GS-II: welfare schemes; GS-III: rural employment.
6 Oct 2026
‘She-Mart’ cooperative outlets launched in Keralam to link women SHGs to markets
On 26 September 2026 the Union Minister of Cooperation launched She-Mart at Kollam, Keralam. Announced in the Budget, She-Mart links women Self-Help Groups and rural women entrepreneurs directly to buyers. More than 300 She-Mart stores are planned across Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, selling local and Bharat Brand products.
UPSC angle: Mains: Can cooperatives solve the market-access problem of women SHGs?
26 Sep 2026
ECI eases SIR verification: BLOs to collect documents at home, hearings online only in exceptional cases
On 26 September 2026 the Election Commission eased verification in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. For electors served notice as unmapped or for logical discrepancies, BLOs will now collect documents at home and upload them on ECINet. Hearings will be held only in exceptional cases, preferably online.
UPSC angle: Prelims: BLO, ERO, DEO roles; Registration of Electors Rules 1960. · Mains: Balancing roll purity with inclusion of the poor and migrants.
26 Sep 2026
Seat reservation for Limboo and Tamang STs in Sikkim is sub judice
On 13 August 2026 the Ministry of Tribal Affairs told Lok Sabha that reservation of Sikkim Assembly seats for the Limboo and Tamang Scheduled Tribes is sub judice before the Supreme Court in SLP (Civil) No. 26490/2023. So, under Lok Sabha rules, no details could be given. The case raises Articles 332 and 371F.
UPSC angle: Prelims: Article 371F.
13 Aug 2026Learn the concept
Question text as printed in the official UPSC question paper: https://www.upsc.gov.in/sites/default/files/QP-CSM-26-010926-GENERAL-STUDIES-PAPER%20-%20II.pdf The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.