GS Paper I 2017 · Q20
15 marks · 250 words Women, population, poverty & urbanisation X-Ray · Core #5“The growth of cities as I.T. hubs has opened up new avenues of employment, but has also created new problems.” Substantiate this statement with examples.
Approach · directive: “substantiate”
What it asks · Support both halves of the statement, the jobs and growth created by IT hubs and the strains on infrastructure, environment and society, with examples such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Gurugram.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Substantiate with examples: the new avenues of employment opened by IT hubs
- Substantiate with examples: the new problems created by IT-led urban growth
Open with · India's IT-ITeS industry is estimated to employ 5.43 million professionals in FY 2023-24, with women 36% of the workforce, and Bengaluru has emerged as the electronic capital of India.
Cover
- Direct jobs: 5.43 million professionals (FY 2023-24 estimate), 36% women.
- Export earnings: IT-BPM exports of about USD 200 billion (FY 2023-24 estimate).
- Indirect jobs: transport, food, security, housing and retail around tech parks.
- Ecosystems: start-ups and Global Capability Centres cluster in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune.
- Infrastructure strain: traffic, water shortage and lake encroachment.
- Work and family: Taylorist work hours change city life and family arrangements (NCERT).
- Inequality and imbalance: rents, displacement, a widening pay divide, concentration in a few cities, automation risk.
- Way forward: transit-oriented planning, lake and water management, affordable rental housing, IT parks in smaller cities.
Close with · SDG 11 seeks cities that are inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable; IT hubs will meet that test only if the wealth they create is invested in transit, water and housing for all who live there.
Add value (verified)
- India's IT-ITeS industry is estimated to employ 5.43 million professionals in FY 2023-24; women are 36% of the workforce.PIB press note (Ministry of Electronics and IT data on the IT-BPM industry) ↗“is estimated to employ 5.43 million professionals, an addition of 60,000 people over FY 2022-2023 (E). Women employees account for 36% share in total industry employee base.”
- IT-BPM industry revenue was expected at USD 254 billion in FY 2023-24 (E), with exports of around USD 200 billion.PIB press note (Ministry of Electronics and IT data on the IT-BPM industry) ↗“India’s IT-BPM industry (excluding e-commerce) is expected to reach at USD 254 billion, including exports of around 200 USD Billion in FY2023-24 (E).”
- IT services growth has supported the expansion of Global Capability Centres.PIB press note (Ministry of Electronics and IT data on the IT-BPM industry) ↗“The flourishing growth of IT services has also supported the expansion of Global Capability Centers”
- SDG 11: make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.Goal 11 — UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Sustainable Development ↗“Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2017, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 16 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 301words · Minimalist IAS
India's IT-ITeS industry is estimated to employ 5.43 million professionals (FY 2023-24), and Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Gurugram are among its hubs. The statement holds on both counts.
New avenues of employment
- Direct jobs: women account for 36% of the IT workforce, a scale of formal, salaried work for young graduates that few other sectors match.
- Export earnings: IT-BPM exports are estimated at about USD 200 billion (FY 2023-24), largely earned from these few cities.
- Outsourcing advantage: NCERT notes that skilled English-speaking staff work at lower wages, so a firm in Hyderabad serves clients abroad.
- Indirect jobs: cab drivers, security guards, canteens, paying-guest hostels and delivery workers depend on tech parks such as Electronics City and HITEC City.
- New ecosystems: start-ups and Global Capability Centres cluster where talent already exists, so Bengaluru draws more firms each year.
New problems
- Infrastructure strain: traffic congestion, falling groundwater and polluted lakes in Bengaluru; water shortage and unplanned sprawl in Gurugram.
- Work and family: NCERT notes Taylorist work routines; in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Gurugram shops stay open late, and working couples lean on creches and grandparents.
- Inequality: high salaries push up land prices and rents, displacing villages and informal settlements, while service workers stay low-paid.
- Health: night shifts, long hours and sedentary work bring stress and lifestyle disease to young workers.
- Imbalance and risk: jobs concentrate in a few metros and depend on global demand and automation.
Way forward
- Plan with growth: metro, bus and walkable transit, lake restoration and rainwater harvesting tied to new tech parks.
- Spread and include: IT parks in tier-2 cities and affordable rental housing for service workers.
SDG 11 seeks cities that are inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable; IT hubs will pass that test only if their wealth is reinvested in transit, water and housing for everyone who keeps them running.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 16 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
