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General Studies 2024 GS Paper III 10 marks 150 words Compulsory Explain

GS Paper III — Q6

What is the technology being employed for electronic toll collection on highways? What are its advantages and limitations? What…

What is the technology being employed for electronic toll collection on highways? What are its advantages and limitations? What are the proposed changes that will make this process seamless? Would this transition carry any potential hazards? (Answer in 150 words) 10 marks

हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें

राजमार्गों पर इलेक्ट्रॉनिक पथ-कर संग्रह करने के लिए कौन-सी प्रौद्योगिकी अपनाई जा रही है? उसके क्या-क्या लाभ और क्या-क्या सीमाएँ हैं? वे कौन-से परिवर्तन प्रस्तावित हैं जो इस प्रक्रिया को निर्बाध बना देंगे? क्या यह परिवर्तन कोई संभावित खतरे लेकर आएगा? (उत्तर 150 शब्दों में दीजिए)

Q6 of the 2024 UPSC Mains General Studies GS Paper III, as printed
The question as printed in the 2024 General Studies paper
Evaluate your answer to this question → See all 2024 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.

Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) in India employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology through FASTags under NHAI’s National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) program. Toll plaza readers use radio waves to read the vehicle’s passive tag and deduct tolls directly from a linked account.

Advantages and Limitations: RFID reduces plaza congestion, cuts vehicular fuel wastage, plugs revenue leakages, and fosters digital payments. However, it faces operational bottlenecks including tag reading malfunctions, double charging, interoperability gaps across state highways, high physical infrastructure costs, and friction for non-tag users.

Proposed Transition: To make transit seamless, the government is introducing GNSS/GPS-based satellite tolling. This calculates tolls dynamically based on exact distance traveled via On-Board Units (OBUs), eliminating physical toll plazas entirely.

Potential Hazards: This transition introduces severe privacy and mass surveillance concerns regarding continuous location tracking, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, high implementation costs for retrofitting OBUs, and digital exclusion. Safeguards under the DPDP Act, 2023 are vital for secure execution.

What "Explain" is asking you to do

Make the working of something clear — what sets it off, what follows from what, and what it produces. Explain is the Commission's mechanism word: it dominates the technical papers and the “explain why” stems, where the marks sit in the causal chain and not in the label.

Structure that answers it

State what it is → the initiating condition → the chain of cause, step by step → an instance where it plays out → what the chain produces

Where marks are lost

Describing what something looks like instead of why it works that way. Naming the stages without linking them reads as description too.

All UPSC directive words, compared →

How this answer will be evaluated

Approach

Framework: GS3 Technology: why it matters, use, benefit, risk, policy. explain: definition/context > points in order > small example > short close Full marks: Precise tech ID, balanced pros/cons, specific hazards, and clear policy context.

Key points expected

  • Identify RFID/FASTag as the core technology
  • List at least two distinct advantages (e.g., speed, fuel)
  • List at least two distinct limitations (e.g., hardware, privacy)
  • Identify one specific potential hazard of the transition

Evaluation rubric

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

  1. The answer Define the tech, list pros/cons, and assess the transition's risks. 10 marks · 150 words

    explain— definition/context → points in order → small example → short close

    Must cover

    • Identify RFID/FASTag as the core technology
    • List at least two distinct advantages (e.g., speed, fuel)
    • List at least two distinct limitations (e.g., hardware, privacy)
    • Identify one specific potential hazard of the transition

    Loses marks

    • Vague generalities without naming the specific tech
    • Ignoring the 'hazards' or 'limitations' part of the question
    • Aspirational solutions without implementation details

    Earns more

    • Mention specific proposed changes (e.g., interoperability, 2.4GHz)
    • Mention specific hazards (e.g., data security, job loss)
    • Mention specific schemes (e.g., FASTag, e-NHAI)

    Extra mark

    • Mention specific data/statistics on toll collection
    • Mention specific legal/regulatory framework (e.g., IT Act)

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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