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General Studies 2025 GS Paper I 10 marks 150 words Compulsory Explain

GS Paper I — Q8

How does smart city in India, address the issues of urban poverty and distributive justice ? (Answer in 150 words) 10

हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें

भारत में स्मार्ट शहर, शहरी गरीबी और वितरणात्मक न्याय के मुद्दे को कैसे संबोधित करता है ? (उत्तर 150 शब्दों में दीजिए) 10 marks

Q8 of the 2025 UPSC Mains General Studies GS Paper I, as printed
The question as printed in the 2025 General Studies paper
Evaluate your answer to this question → See all 2025 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.

The Smart Cities Mission (SCM) leverages technology-driven infrastructure to address multi-dimensional urban poverty and advance distributive justice through specific socio-economic mechanisms.

Basic Service Delivery and ICT Governance: Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs) and e-governance optimize municipal operations. Deploying smart water meters, automated waste management, and affordable public transit (BRTS and Metros) directly improves public health and reduces out-of-pocket expenditure for slum dwellers.

Digital Inclusion and Distributive Justice: Installing public Wi-Fi hotspots and Common Service Centres (CSCs) bridges digital literacy gaps and reduces information asymmetry, enabling vulnerable groups to access targeted welfare entitlements. Citizen-engagement portals, participatory budgeting, and online grievance redressal institutionalize spatial and procedural justice by giving the urban poor a voice in resource allocation.

Livelihood Integration: Smart vending zones, GIS mapping of informal markets, and skill incubation centres integrate street vendors and informal labour into formal economic supply chains, boosting income security.

Way Forward: However, the risk of worsening the digital divide and neglecting unauthorized settlements remains. Ensuring equitable urbanization requires coupling smart technologies with inclusive spatial planning and universal social protection.

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: GS1 Society/Urbanization. explain: definition/context > points in order > small example > short close Full marks: Critically links specific SCM mechanisms to justice/poverty with structural critique.

Key points expected

  • Define distributive justice in the urban context
  • Link specific Smart City features (e.g., GIS, e-governance) to poverty reduction
  • Analyze the 'elite capture' or exclusionary nature of the mission
  • Mention the role of Smart Cities Mission (SCM) guidelines

Evaluation rubric

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

  1. The answer Explain the mechanisms by which Smart City initiatives address urban poverty and distributive justice. 10 marks · 150 words

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

    Must cover

    • Define distributive justice in the urban context
    • Link specific Smart City features (e.g., GIS, e-governance) to poverty reduction
    • Analyze the 'elite capture' or exclusionary nature of the mission
    • Mention the role of Smart Cities Mission (SCM) guidelines

    Loses marks

    • Narrating the history of the mission without analysis
    • Using emotive language without structural critique
    • Ignoring the 'distributive' aspect and focusing only on tech

    Earns more

    • Reference to 'Smart City Challenge' or specific city examples
    • Discussion of 'last mile' connectivity for the poor
    • Mention of 'Smart City Special Purpose Vehicle' (SPV) role
    • Contrast between 'area-based' and 'pan-city' projects

    Extra mark

    • Cite a specific statistic on urban poverty or slum coverage
    • Reference to a specific Supreme Court judgment on housing rights

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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