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General Studies 2024 GS Paper I 15 marks 250 words Compulsory How

GS Paper I — Q19

Globalization has increased urban migration by skilled, young, unmarried women from various classes. How has this trend impacted…

Globalization has increased urban migration by skilled, young, unmarried women from various classes. How has this trend impacted upon their personal freedom and relationship with family? (Answer in 250 words) 15 marks

हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें

वैश्वीकरण ने विभिन्न वर्गों की कुशल, युवा एवं अविवाहित महिलाओं द्वारा शहरी प्रवास में वृद्धि की है। इस प्रवृत्ति ने उनकी व्यक्तिगत स्वतंत्रता एवं परिवार के साथ संबंधों पर क्या प्रभाव डाला है? (उत्तर 250 शब्दों में दीजिए)

Q19 of the 2024 UPSC Mains General Studies GS Paper I, as printed
The question as printed in the 2024 General Studies paper
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Model answer

Written by UPSC Answer Check against this question's marking rubric, to the 250-word length. UPSC does not publish answers for Mains — this is one way to score well, not an official key.

Globalization-driven growth in knowledge services, IT, finance, and healthcare has accelerated the migration of skilled, young, unmarried women to urban centers, fundamentally transforming their personal agency and familial ties.

Impact on Personal Freedom Urban skilled employment provides direct financial autonomy, transitioning women from economic dependents to primary asset-builders. This economic leverage enhances spatial mobility and broadens lifestyle choices. Migrant women increasingly embrace independent living arrangements, delayed marriage, and alternative choices such as cohabitation, directly challenging orthodox patriarchal surveillance. However, these freedoms are class-differentiated: while upper-middle-class professionals leverage high disposable incomes for comprehensive lifestyle autonomy, lower-tier service sector migrants often navigate spatial precarity, unsafe transit, and lower wages, circumscribing their actual freedom.

Transformation of Family Relationships Substantial remittance flows sent by migrant women have altered intra-household power dynamics, elevating their voice in familial decision-making, asset creation, and sibling education. Yet, this does not signify a complete rupture with tradition, but rather a practice of "negotiated patriarchy." Women continuously balance newfound professional autonomy with enduring filial obligations, at times grappling with emotional care deficits. Concurrently, digital connectivity via platforms like WhatsApp and video calling enables real-time transnational and trans-regional familial bonding, maintaining close kinship ties while allowing physical separation.

Ultimately, urban migration has enabled young women to shift from passive domestic conformity to active, negotiated empowerment. While it has democratized family relations and expanded personal liberties, achieving substantive freedom requires mitigating the urban precarities and dual burdens of traditional-modern expectations that these women continue to navigate.

What "How" is asking you to do

Set out the route by which the outcome comes about, step by step. Many how stems ask how one thing affects another, and there the channel of transmission is precisely what is being marked.

Structure that answers it

Starting condition → step → step → outcome reached → the conditions the route depends on

Where marks are lost

Answering why it happens instead of how, the commonest single misread in the paper. An answer full of causes and significance that never traces the mechanism has answered a different question.

All UPSC directive words, compared →

How this answer will be evaluated

Approach

Framework: Society: continuity, data, intersectionality, then solution. discuss: intro > 3-4 dimensions > example > balanced close Full marks: Analyzes the tension between autonomy and family duty with specific examples.

Key points expected

  • Economic independence as a driver of personal freedom
  • Shift from patriarchal control to negotiated autonomy
  • Impact on family structure (nuclearization, changing roles)
  • Balanced view of social isolation vs. empowerment

Evaluation rubric

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

  1. The answer Analyze the dual impact of urban migration on women's autonomy and family dynamics. 15 marks · 250 words

    discuss— intro → 3-4 dimensions → example → balanced close

    Must cover

    • Economic independence as a driver of personal freedom
    • Shift from patriarchal control to negotiated autonomy
    • Impact on family structure (nuclearization, changing roles)
    • Balanced view of social isolation vs. empowerment

    Loses marks

    • Narrating a single anecdote instead of structural analysis
    • Ignoring the 'family relationship' aspect of the question
    • Using emotive language without analytical backing

    Earns more

    • Reference to changing marriage norms (late marriage)
    • Intersectionality: class/caste differences in migration
    • Role of digital connectivity in maintaining family ties
    • Mention of specific sectors (IT, healthcare) driving migration

    Extra mark

    • Citing a specific statistic on female workforce participation
    • Reference to a specific sociological study on urban women

Practice this exact question

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