Q5(a) 10 marks · 150 words · answered on its own
What are the main factors responsible for gender inequality in India? Discuss the contribution of Savitribai Phule in this regard.
Approach · directive: “what; discuss”
What it asks · Set out the main social, economic and institutional causes of gender inequality in India, then discuss how Savitribai Phule fought it.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Identify the main factors responsible for gender inequality in India
- Discuss Savitribai Phule's contribution against gender inequality
Open with · India's 112th rank in the WEF Global Gender Gap Report 2020, with economic opportunities for women extremely limited (35.4%); causes social before legal, which is why Savitribai Phule began with the classroom.
Cover
- Patriarchy and son preference: sex-selective abortion and a child sex ratio of merely 919.
- Economic and educational exclusion: unpaid care work, weak control over property, lower schooling and early marriage.
- Weak voice and custom: under-representation, uneven enforcement of dowry and domestic-violence laws; Article 51A(e) on renouncing practices derogatory to the dignity of women.
- Savitribai Phule: the girls' school in Pune (1848) despite abuse and mud thrown at her; schools for Dalit children, a shelter for widows, campaigns against child marriage; death in 1897 nursing plague patients.
Close with · SDG target 5.3 on eliminating child, early and forced marriage as the unfinished part of the work she began in 1848.
Add value (verified)
- WEF Global Gender Gap Report 2020: India ranks 112th with a score of 66.8%.Global Gender Gap Report 2020 — World Economic Forum ↗“India ranks 112th (66.8%) and Pakistan (56.4%) is antepenul- timate, only ahead of Iraq and Yemen.”
- WEF Global Gender Gap Report 2020: economic opportunities for women are extremely limited in India (35.4%).Global Gender Gap Report 2020 — World Economic Forum ↗“At the other end of the spectrum, economic opportunities for women are extremely limited in India (35.4%), Pakistan (32.7%), Yemen (27.3%), Syria (24.9%) and Iraq (22.7%).”
- SDG target 5.3: eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls — Targets and indicators, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (sdgs.un.org) ↗“Target 5.3 Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2020, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 222words · Minimalist IAS
India ranked 112th in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2020, which found economic opportunities for women 'extremely limited' (35.4%). The causes are social before they are legal, which is why Savitribai Phule began with the classroom.
The main factors responsible for gender inequality in India
- Patriarchy and son preference: they decide who eats, studies and inherits; sex-selective abortion pushed the child sex ratio down to merely 919 girls per thousand boys.
- Economic and educational exclusion: unpaid care work, weak control over land and property, lower schooling and early marriage keep women dependent across generations.
- Weak voice and custom: under-representation in decision-making, uneven enforcement of dowry and domestic-violence laws, and stereotypes; Article 51A(e) asks citizens to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.
Savitribai Phule's contribution
- Education as liberation: with Jyotirao Phule she opened a girls' school in Pune in 1848, becoming one of India's first women teachers; abused, with mud thrown at her on the way to school, she stayed steadfast.
- Caste and gender together: schools for Dalit children, a shelter for widows and their infants, and campaigns against child marriage.
- Service to the end: she died in 1897 nursing plague patients.
SDG target 5.3, to 'eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage', is the unfinished part of the work she began in 1848.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
Q5(b) 10 marks · 150 words · answered on its own
‘The current internet expansion has instilled a different set of cultural values which are often in conflict with traditional values.’ Discuss.
Approach · directive: “discuss”
What it asks · Discuss how the values spread by the internet's expansion conflict with traditional values, where they do not, and how the two can be reconciled.
It asks 3 things — answer each
- Explain the cultural values the internet's expansion has instilled
- Discuss where they conflict with traditional values, and where they do not
- Suggest how the two can be reconciled
Open with · TRAI's count of internet subscribers, from 718.74 million to 795.18 million in 2020 alone, 308 million of them rural; new values now reach every home at once and often collide with inherited ones.
Cover
- A table contrasts traditional and internet-age values in authority, expression and gender roles.
- The conflict: choice, self-display and peer approval against duty, modesty and family consensus; a values gap between generations.
- Gains and harms: voice for women, Dalits and small towns and questioning of dowry; against cyber-bullying, addiction, misinformation, organised hate and consumerism.
- Not always a clash: yoga, classical music, regional languages and the diaspora thrive online.
- Way forward: digital literacy, family dialogue and accountable platforms.
Close with · Article 51A's twin duties, to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture and to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.
Add value (verified)
- TRAI: India's internet subscribers rose from 718.74 million at the end of December 2019 to 795.18 million at the end of December 2020.Yearly Performance Indicators of Indian Telecom Sector 2020 — Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ↗“Total internet subscribers increased from 718.74 million in the end of Dec-2019 to 795.18 million at the end of Dec-2020.”
- TRAI: of these, 487.01 million were urban and 308.17 million rural internet subscribers (2020).Yearly Performance Indicators of Indian Telecom Sector 2020 — Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ↗“Urban Internet Subscribers 487.01 Million Rural Internet Subscribers 308.17 Million”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2020, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 204words · Minimalist IAS
India's internet subscribers rose from 718.74 million to 795.18 million in 2020 alone, 308 million of them rural (TRAI). Values that once travelled slowly through books and cinema now reach every home at once, and often collide with inherited ones.
| Domain | Traditional value | Internet-age value |
|---|---|---|
| Authority | Elders, community | Individual choice |
| Expression | Restraint, privacy | Instant, public sharing |
|---|---|---|
| Gender roles | Fixed, hierarchical | Equal, negotiable |
- The conflict: the online world prizes choice, self-display and peer approval; tradition prizes duty, modesty and family consensus. The generation gap becomes a values gap.
- Liberating gains: information and voice for women, Dalits and small towns, and exposure that questions dowry, caste prejudice and other harmful customs.
- Corrosive harms: cyber-bullying, addiction, misinformation, organised hate and a consumerism that erodes contentment.
- Not always a clash: the same networks spread yoga, classical music, regional languages and festivals, and keep the diaspora close to home.
- Way forward: digital literacy at home and in school, family dialogue in place of bans, and platforms held accountable for hate and harm.
The Constitution already holds the balance: Article 51A asks every citizen both 'to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture' and 'to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform'.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
