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

GS Paper II — Q6

Women's social capital complements in advancing empowerment and gender equity. Explain. (Answer in 150 words) 10

हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें

महिलाओं की सामाजिक पूंजी सशक्तिकरण और लैंगिक समानता को आगे बढ़ाने में सहायक है। समझाइए। (उत्तर 150 शब्दों में दीजिए)

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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.

Social capital, conceptualised by Robert Putnam and Pierre Bourdieu as networks, shared norms, and mutual trust, facilitates collective action. It crucially complements formal legal rights by reducing information asymmetries and transaction costs, translating statutory guarantees into substantive empowerment.

Mechanisms of Complementarity

  • Financial Access: Peer networks under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) and Kerala’s Kudumbashree utilize social collateral to bridge the formal credit divide, bypassing traditional banking exclusion.
  • Collective Agency: Network solidarity enhances women's bargaining power in informal labour markets and provides community-led resistance against domestic and gender-based violence.
  • Aspirational Mobility: Maternal community networks accelerate the inter-generational transmission of health, education, and career aspirations for younger cohorts.

Constraint and Synthesis However, insular "bonding" social capital can inadvertently reinforce entrenched patriarchal norms. State intervention must actively cultivate cross-cutting "bridging" capital. Ultimately, because formal legal frameworks alone cannot dismantle entrenched social hierarchies, strengthening women's social networks is indispensable for achieving genuine gender equity.

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: Social Capital Theory (Bourdieu/World Bank) applied to Gender Equity. explain: definition/context > points in order > small example > short close Full marks: Clear definition, strong mechanism explanation, specific example, and a relevant bonus citation.

Key points expected

  • Define social capital (networks, norms, trust).
  • Link social capital to specific empowerment outcomes (economic, political).
  • Explain the mechanism of how networks facilitate equity.
  • Provide a concrete example (e.g., SHGs, community mobilization).

Evaluation rubric

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

  1. The answer Define social capital and explain its specific role in advancing women's empowerment and gender equity. 10 marks · 150 words

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

    Must cover

    • Define social capital (networks, norms, trust).
    • Link social capital to specific empowerment outcomes (economic, political).
    • Explain the mechanism of how networks facilitate equity.
    • Provide a concrete example (e.g., SHGs, community mobilization).

    Loses marks

    • Reciting general empowerment definitions without linking to social capital.
    • Failing to explain the 'how' (mechanism) of social capital.
    • Vague examples without specific context.

    Earns more

    • Distinguish between bonding and bridging social capital.
    • Mention specific schemes (e.g., NREGA, MGNREGA) or institutions.
    • Reference the 'Women's Empowerment' definition (e.g., UNDP).

    Extra mark

    • Cite a specific Supreme Court judgment on gender equity.
    • Reference a specific Law Commission report on women's rights.

Practice this exact question

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