Chat with us
General Studies 2022 GS Paper II 10 marks 150 words Compulsory Comment

GS Paper II — Q8

Reforming the government delivery system through the Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme is a progressive step, but it has its…

Reforming the government delivery system through the Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme is a progressive step, but it has its limitations too. Comment. (Answer in 150 words) 10 marks

हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें

प्रत्यक्ष लाभ अंतरण योजना के माध्यम से सरकारी प्रदेय व्यवस्था में सुधार एक प्रगतिशील कदम है, किन्तु इसकी अपनी सीमाएँ भी हैं। टिप्पणी कीजिए। (150 शब्दों में उत्तर दीजिए)

Q8 of the 2022 UPSC Mains General Studies GS Paper II, as printed
The question as printed in the 2022 General Studies paper
Evaluate your answer to this question → See all 2022 General Studies questions

Model answer

Written by UPSC Answer Check against this question's marking rubric, to the 150-word length. UPSC does not publish answers for Mains — this is one way to score well, not an official key.

Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), underpinned by the JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) trinity, marks a progressive shift in Indian governance by curbing corruption, eliminating intermediary leakages, and ensuring targeted welfare delivery. However, structural limitations impede its efficacy.

Technological and Administrative Bottlenecks: Aadhaar authentication failures, digital divide, and seeding errors cause severe exclusion errors, as seen in PDS ration card cancellations in tribal areas of Jharkhand and Odisha. Furthermore, inadequate Banking Correspondent (BC) networks and last-mile connectivity gaps lead to delayed transfers, severely impacting vulnerable workers in MGNREGA and farmers under PM-KISAN.

Socio-Economic Constraints: Deep-seated financial illiteracy and patriarchal control over bank accounts dilute women’s economic empowerment. Reliance on outdated Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) data also perpetuates wrongful inclusion and exclusion.

Way Forward: To bridge these gaps, the state must institutionalise offline authentication alternatives, strengthen decentralized grievance redressal, and implement dynamic updating of beneficiary databases. While DBT is fundamentally progressive, its true success lies in marrying digital efficiency with human-centric safeguards to prevent exclusion.

What "Comment" is asking you to do

Take a position on the statement and support it. Comment usually attaches to a quoted line in the short slots, so the reasoning must be compressed — an opening view, a few load-bearing reasons, and the limit of the claim.

Structure that answers it

Unpack what the statement asserts → your stance → two or three supporting reasons → the qualification that limits it

Where marks are lost

Neutral summary; a comment without a stance has not answered. Equally costly is accepting the quoted line wholesale and never testing where it fails.

All UPSC directive words, compared →

How this answer will be evaluated

Approach

Framework: GS2 Governance: Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) & e-Governance. comment: context > arguments both sides > judgment > close Full marks: Balanced analysis of DBT's impact on governance with specific examples of benefits and limitations.

Key points expected

  • Define DBT as a shift from indirect to direct delivery
  • Cite specific progressive benefits (e.g., leakages, corruption, efficiency)
  • Identify specific limitations (e.g., Aadhaar exclusion, digital divide, bank infrastructure)
  • Conclude with a balanced judgment on its overall impact

Evaluation rubric

Each sub-part is marked on its own, against the marks and word limit printed on the paper.

  1. The answer Contextualize DBT as a reform, weigh its progressive benefits against specific limitations, and offer a balanced judgment. 10 marks · 150 words

    comment— context → arguments both sides → judgment → close

    Must cover

    • Define DBT as a shift from indirect to direct delivery
    • Cite specific progressive benefits (e.g., leakages, corruption, efficiency)
    • Identify specific limitations (e.g., Aadhaar exclusion, digital divide, bank infrastructure)
    • Conclude with a balanced judgment on its overall impact

    Loses marks

    • Reciting general e-governance benefits without specific DBT context
    • Listing limitations without explaining their impact on delivery
    • Ending without a clear judgment or reform suggestion

    Earns more

    • Mention specific schemes (e.g., LPG, PM-KISAN) as examples
    • Reference the 'last mile' delivery challenge
    • Discuss the role of financial inclusion in DBT success
    • Mention the reduction in the 'middleman' effect

    Extra mark

    • Cite a specific Supreme Court judgment on Aadhaar/DBT
    • Reference a specific Law Commission or 2nd ARC recommendation

Practice this exact question

Write your answer and it is marked point by point against the model answer above — what you covered, what you missed, what you got wrong.

Evaluate my answer →

More from General Studies 2022 GS Paper II