UPSC Mains 2023 GS1 Q16 — Human Development
Why did human development fail to keep pace with economic development in India? (Answer in 250 words )
Question Decoded — examiner's intent
- Directive verbs
- Why
- Scope keywords
- human developmentfail to keep paceeconomic developmentIndia
- Implicit sub-parts
- What are the specific indicators where India shows a 'growth-development' paradox?
- Structural and systemic bottlenecks preventing wealth from translating into health and education.
- The role of the 'missing middle' and jobless growth in limiting household-level development.
- Regional and gender-based disparities that skew national averages.
- Common pitfalls
- Defining GDP and HDI for too long instead of analyzing the causal gap.
- Blaming 'population' generically without discussing quality of investment in human capital.
- Treating it as a purely economic question while ignoring social barriers like caste and patriarchy.
- Focusing only on failures and neglecting recent improvements (e.g., NFHS-5 data) which provide balance.
- Dimensions required
- Economic (Jobless growth, informalization)Sociological (Discrimination, gender gap)Governance (Implementation leaks, low public spending on health/education)Historical (Post-1991 LPG era focus on services over manufacturing)
- Marks allocation hint
Devote 50 words to establishing the paradox with recent data (GDP rank vs HDI rank). Spend 150 words on a multi-dimensional analysis of the 'why' (structural, social, and policy failures). Use the final 50 words for a way forward, focusing on the transition from 'outlays' to 'outcomes' and inclusive growth.
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