GS Paper II — Q7
Poverty and malnutrition create a vicious cycle, adversely affecting human capital formation. What steps can be taken to break…
Poverty and malnutrition create a vicious cycle, adversely affecting human capital formation. What steps can be taken to break the cycle ? (Answer in 150 words) 10 marks
हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें
निर्धनता और कुपोषण एक विषाक्त चक्र का निर्माण करते हैं जो मानव पूंजी निर्माण पर प्रतिकूल प्रभाव डाल रहा है। इस चक्र को तोड़ने के लिए क्या कदम उठाए जा सकते हैं ? (उत्तर 150 शब्दों में लिखिए)
Model answer
Drafted with AI 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. How we build rubrics and answers.
Poverty limits food access, causing malnutrition that impairs child cognition and adult productivity, perpetuating poverty. Breaking this cycle requires action.
Direct nutrition measures must strengthen ICDS and POSHAN Abhiyaan by improving Anganwadi coverage, quality of supplementary nutrition, and timely IFA and Vitamin A supplementation. Fortified foods and micronutrient interventions should reach pregnant women, children and adolescent girls.
Social protection should ensure PMGKAY and NFSA provide adequate, affordable food, while PMMVY gives maternity cash benefits for wage loss and maternal/child health; separate conditional cash transfers can promote dietary diversity.
Agriculture must shift from calorie-centric to nutrient-rich production through biofortified crops such as iron-rich pearl millet, kitchen gardens and livelihood diversification.
Human capital gains require integrating early childhood education with nutrition in Anganwadis and health-nutrition convergence under Ayushman Bharat.
Governance should use NFHS-5 data, Anemia Mukt Bharat, and community participation in nutrition-sensitive planning. Thus, they convert nutrition security into human capital formation.
How this answer will be evaluated
Framework: GS2 Social Justice / Human Capital Formation
What earns full marks: Specific, multi-dimensional measures with clear links to breaking the cycle
Evaluation rubric
Each sub-part is marked on its own, against the marks and word limit printed on the paper.
- The answer Explain the poverty–malnutrition cycle and suggest steps to break it for human capital formation. 10 marks · 150 words
suggest— the problem in one line → implementable measures → who acts → conclusion
Must cover
- The cycle: poverty → poor diet, sanitation and health → stunting, anaemia, low learning and productivity → low earnings → poverty; intergenerational via maternal undernutrition
- Evidence: NFHS-5 stunting about 35.5%, wasting 19.3%, anaemia in women about 57%
- Nutrition-specific steps: first 1,000 days, ICDS and Poshan 2.0, PM POSHAN, fortified rice, IFA and deworming, Anemia Mukt Bharat, maternity benefits (PMMVY)
- Nutrition-sensitive and income steps: NFSA/PMGKAY, WASH (Swachh Bharat, Jal Jeevan), women's education and SHGs, crop diversification and millets, livelihoods; convergence and monitoring (Poshan Tracker)
Loses marks
- Only food supply measures
- No data
Earns more
- Economic cost of malnutrition (loss of GDP)
- Behaviour change communication and community platforms
Extra mark
- Lessons from Odisha or Tamil Nadu nutrition outcomes
What "Suggest" is asking you to do
Propose measures that attach to the causes the question has just had you identify. Each should name who acts, on what, and why it would work; a measure with no actor behind it is a wish rather than a suggestion.
Structure that answers it
The problem in one line → measure 1 with the cause it addresses → measure 2 → measure 3 → how it would be implemented and what it requires
Where marks are lost
Prescriptions that would fit any question on any subject — awareness campaigns, capacity building, better coordination. The examiner checks whether each measure is traceable to a cause the answer itself named.
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.
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