UPSC Mains 2020 GS4 Q9 — Child Labour and Development
Rampura, a remote district inhabited by a tribal population, is marked by extreme backwardness and abject poverty. Agriculture is the mainstay of the local population, though it is primarily subsistence due to the very small land holdings. There is insignificant industrial or mining activity. Even the targeted welfare programs have inadequately benefited the tribal population. In this restrictive scenario, the youth has begun to migrate to other states to supplement the family income. Plight of minor girls is that their parents are persuaded by labour contractors to send them to work in the Bt Cotton farms of a nearby state. The soft fingers of the minor girls are well suited for plucking the cotton. The inadequate living and working conditions in these farms have caused serious health issues for the minor girls. NGOs in the districts of domicile and the cotton farms appear to be compromised and have not effectively espoused the twin issues of child labour and development of the area. You are appointed as the District Collector of Rampura. Identify the ethical issues involved. Which specific steps will you initiate to ameliorate the conditions of minor girls of your district and to improve the over-all economic scenario in the district? (250 words) 20
Question Decoded — examiner's intent
- Directive verbs
- Identifyinitiateameliorateimprove
- Scope keywords
- ethical issues involvedminor girlsBt Cotton farmslabour contractorscompromised NGOssubsistence agricultureover-all economic scenario
- Implicit sub-parts
- Analyzing the conflict between immediate economic survival and the fundamental right to childhood/education.
- Investigating the regulatory failure and potential nexus between contractors and local authorities/NGOs.
- Designing a multi-sectoral strategy for the rescue, rehabilitation, and health monitoring of the affected girls.
- Formulating long-term structural reforms to shift from subsistence agriculture to value-added livelihoods to prevent distress migration.
- Common pitfalls
- Focusing only on the 'minor girls' issue while ignoring the broader 'overall economic scenario' requested in the second part of the prompt.
- Proposing generic police action against contractors without addressing the 'abject poverty' that forces parents to send their children.
- Failing to address the specific detail about 'compromised NGOs', which requires a strategy for institutional accountability and oversight.
- Suggesting high-tech industrial solutions that are unrealistic for a 'remote district' with 'insignificant mining/industrial activity'.
- Dimensions required
- Ethical/Moral (Rights vs. Survival)Legal/Constitutional (Child Labor Prohibition, RTE)Administrative/Governance (Welfare delivery leakage)Socio-Economic (Livelihood diversification)Health and Human Capital
- Marks allocation hint
Allocate approximately 50-60 words to identify 4-5 core ethical issues. Use 90-100 words for the immediate 'crisis management' steps regarding the girls and health issues. Spend the final 90-100 words on the 'structural' economic reforms such as SHGs, minor forest produce processing, and fixing welfare leakage to ensure a holistic 20-mark response.
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