UPSC Mains 2016 GS2 Q15 — Social Policy
Examine the main provisions of the National Child Policy and throw light on the status of its implementation. (Answer in 200 words)
Question Decoded — examiner's intent
- Directive verbs
- Examinethrow light on
- Scope keywords
- National Child Policymain provisionsstatus of its implementation
- Implicit sub-parts
- The 4 pillars/rights of the National Policy for Children (NPC) 2013 (Survival, Health, Development, Protection).
- The institutional mechanisms established for monitoring (NCPCR/SCPCR).
- Critical evaluation of current child-related indices (NFHS data) as a proxy for implementation status.
- Identification of bottlenecks such as funding, data gaps, and inter-sectoral coordination.
- Common pitfalls
- Confusing the 2013 Policy with the National Action Plan for Children (NAPC) 2016 or just listing general child rights laws like POSCO/JJ Act without referencing policy pillars.
- Failing to provide specific data points (e.g., IMR, MMR, Stunting) to substantiate the 'status of implementation' section.
- Spending 80% of the word count on provisions and neglecting the 'examine' part of implementation which requires critique.
- Omitting the shift from a 'welfare-based' approach to a 'rights-based' approach which is the core philosophy of the NPC 2013.
- Dimensions required
- Constitutional (Article 21A, 24, 39)Rights-based frameworkSocio-economic (Health and Nutrition metrics)Legal and InstitutionalAdministrative/Governance (Implementation challenges)
- Marks allocation hint
Allocate 40-50 words to the core pillars of the NPC 2013 (Survival, Health, Education, Protection). Devote the bulk of the answer (100-110 words) to implementation status, using data and naming schemes like POSHAN Abhiyaan or Mission Vatsalya. Use the final 40 words for a way forward/bottlenecks.
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