Q4(a) 10 marks · 150 words · answered on its own
What do you understand by the term ‘good governance’? How far recent initiatives in terms of e-Governance steps taken by the State have helped the beneficiaries? Discuss with suitable examples.
Approach · directive: “what do you understand by; how far (discuss with examples)”
What it asks · Define good governance, then judge with examples how far recent e-governance steps have helped beneficiaries: the gains, the gaps and a verdict.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Explain what is meant by good governance
- Discuss with examples how far recent e-governance initiatives have helped beneficiaries, with a verdict
Open with · Good governance defined through UN ESCAP's eight characteristics: participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive, following the rule of law; e-governance a means to it, not a substitute.
Cover
- A flowchart of the JAM chain: Aadhaar identity, bank account, mobile link, direct transfer with fewer leaks.
- Leak-proof transfers: since then, the DBT Mission's record of 6.36 crore duplicate and fake ration cards deleted from the PDS, up to March 2025.
- Portable entitlements: One Nation One Ration Card in all 36 States and UTs by 2022, so a migrant worker can draw rations anywhere.
- Less discretion: DigiLocker, UMANG, e-courts and online tax filing cut queues, visits and middlemen.
- Exclusion by error: the Centre's 2021 instruction that no genuine household be denied foodgrains for want of Aadhaar or a failed authentication; verdict: gains for the connected, equity unfinished.
Close with · SDG target 16.6, effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels, with citizens' satisfaction with their last experience of public services as the right test for every e-governance step.
Add value (verified)
- UN ESCAP: good governance has eight major characteristics: participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive, and following the rule of law.What is Good Governance? — United Nations ESCAP ↗“Good governance has 8 major characteristics. It is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law.”
- DBT Mission (Estimated Gains, up to March 2025): the PDS alone shows deletion of 6.36 crore duplicate and fake ration cards and estimated savings of ₹3,12,977.81 crore — the concrete gain of JAM-based delivery for genuine beneficiaries.Estimated Gains — Direct Benefit Transfer, Government of India ↗“Department of Food and Public Distribution PDS 2,49,972.53 63,005.28 3,12,977.81 Deletion of 6.36 crore duplicate and fake/ non-existent Ration Cards.”
- PIB factsheet (Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, 31 August 2022): One Nation One Ration Card is effectively implemented in all 36 States and UTs, making food security portable throughout the country; Assam was the last to implement it.PIB Factsheet, 'One Nation One Ration Card: making food security portable throughout the country', 31 August 2022 ↗“At present, ONORC is effectively implemented in all 36 States and Union Territories, making food security portable throughout the country, with Assam becoming the last state to have it implemented.”
- The Department of Food and Public Distribution instructed States/UTs (PIB, 5 February 2021) that no genuine beneficiary be deleted or denied foodgrains for want of Aadhaar or for biometric-authentication failure.Cancellation of ration card due to non-seeding with Aadhaar — PIB, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, 5 February 2021 ↗“no genuine beneficiary/household shall be deleted from the list of eligible households and shall not be denied from their entitled quota of foodgrains under NFSA, on the ground of not possessing an Aadhaar number, failure of biometric authentication due to network/ connectivity/ linking issues or any other technical reasons etc.”
- SDG target 16.6: develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels; indicator 16.6.2 is the proportion of the population satisfied with their last experience of public services.United Nations, SDG 16: targets and indicators ↗“Target 16.6 Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels Indicators 16.6.1 Primary government expenditures as a proportion of original approved budget, by sector (or by budget codes or similar) 16.6.2 Proportion of population satisfied with their last experience of public services”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2022, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 221words · Minimalist IAS
Good governance is the exercise of authority that, in UN ESCAP's eight characteristics, is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive, and follows the rule of law. E-governance is a means to it, not a substitute.
How far e-governance has helped beneficiaries
- Aadhaar identity
- Bank account
- Mobile link
- Direct transfer, fewer leaks
- Leak-proof transfers: DBT pays benefits straight into accounts; since then, the DBT Mission has recorded, up to March 2025, deletion of 6.36 crore duplicate and fake ration cards from the PDS.
- Portable entitlements: One Nation One Ration Card, effective in all 36 States and UTs by 2022, made food security portable, so a migrant worker can draw rations anywhere.
- Less discretion: DigiLocker, UMANG, e-courts and online tax filing cut queues, visits and middlemen.
- Exclusion by error: biometric failures can deny the poor their due, so the Centre told States in 2021 that no genuine household be denied foodgrains for want of Aadhaar or a failed authentication.
- Verdict: clear gains in speed, transparency and reach for the connected; equity is unfinished, so assisted access and an offline route remain the State's duty.
SDG target 16.6 seeks "effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels"; one of its indicators is citizens' satisfaction with their last experience of public services, the right test for every e-governance step.
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.
Q4(b) 10 marks · 150 words · answered on its own
Online methodology is being used for day-to-day meetings, institutional approvals in the administration and for teaching and learning in education sector to the extent telemedicine in the health sector is getting popular with the approvals of the competent authority. No doubt, it has advantages and disadvantages for both the beneficiaries and the system at large. Describe and discuss the ethical issues involved in the use of online method particularly to the vulnerable section of the society.
Approach · directive: “describe and discuss”
What it asks · Describe and discuss the ethical issues in moving meetings, approvals, teaching and telemedicine online, especially for vulnerable sections, with safeguards.
It asks 3 things — answer each
- Acknowledge the advantages of online methods
- Describe and discuss the ethical issues, particularly for vulnerable sections
- Suggest safeguards
Open with · Online methods brought speed, lower cost and continuity during Covid-19, but a system is ethical only if it serves those least able to use it: the poor, the elderly, persons with disabilities and rural women.
Cover
- A table maps each ethical issue to who is hurt and the safeguard: exclusion, consent and privacy, quality and accountability.
- Justice and access: NFHS-5 (2019-21), only 33.3% of women had ever used the internet against 57.1% of men.
- Consent and dignity in care: the Telemedicine Practice Guidelines (2020) on patient consent, and on not proceeding where a critical physical examination is yet to be arranged.
- Privacy: since then, the DPDP Act, 2023 recognises the right of individuals to protect their personal data.
- Accountability: a clear record and room for dissent in virtual approvals; protection of the elderly from online fraud.
Close with · Since then, Pragya Prasun (2025): the right to digital access an intrinsic component of the right to life and liberty, so every online service must keep an assisted, offline door open.
Add value (verified)
- NFHS-5 (2019-21), India: 33.3% of women (urban 51.8%, rural 24.6%) and 57.1% of men had ever used the internet.NFHS-5 India and State Factsheet Compendium, Phase II (MoHFW/IIPS; DHS Program) ↗“18. Women who have ever used the internet (%) 51.8 24.6 33.3 na 19. Men who have ever used the internet (%) 72.5 48.7 57.1 na”
- Telemedicine Practice Guidelines (25 March 2020, Appendix 5 of the IMC Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics Regulations): patient consent is necessary for any telemedicine consultation.Telemedicine Practice Guidelines, 25 March 2020 (MoHFW, eSanjeevani) ↗“3.4 PATIENT CONSENT . Patient consent is necessary for any telemedicine consultation.”
- Telemedicine Practice Guidelines (2020): if a physical examination is critical for the consultation, the doctor should not proceed until one can be arranged in person.Telemedicine Practice Guidelines, 25 March 2020 (MoHFW, eSanjeevani) ↗“If a physical examination is critical information for consultation, RMP should not proceed until a physical examination can be arranged through an in-person consult.”
- Since the exam: the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (11 August 2023) balances the individual's right to protect personal data with lawful processing.The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (No. 22 of 2023) — Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology ↗“An Act to provide for the processing of digital personal data in a manner that recognises both the right of individuals to protect their personal data and the need to process such personal data for lawful purposes”
- Since the exam: in Pragya Prasun v Union of India (Supreme Court, 30 April 2025), the Court held that bridging the digital divide is a constitutional imperative and that the right to digital access is an intrinsic component of the right to life and liberty.Pragya Prasun v Union of India, Supreme Court, 30 April 2025 (Indian Kanoon) ↗“Bridging the digital divide is no longer merely a matter of policy discretion but has become a constitutional imperative to secure a life of dignity, autonomy and equal participation in public life. The right to digital access, therefore, emerges as an intrinsic component of the right to life and liberty”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2022, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 219words · Minimalist IAS
Online methods brought speed, lower cost and continuity during Covid-19. But a system is ethical only if it serves those least able to use it: the poor, the elderly, persons with disabilities and rural women.
| Ethical issue | Who is hurt | Safeguard |
|---|---|---|
| Exclusion | Rural women, elderly, disabled | Offline route, assisted access |
| Consent and privacy | Patients, children | Plain-language consent, data protection |
|---|---|---|
| Quality and accountability | Remote patients, poor students | Hybrid care, recorded decisions |
- Justice and access: NFHS-5 (2019-21) found that only 33.3% of women had ever used the internet, against 57.1% of men; an online-only service shuts out those it should reach first.
- Consent and dignity in care: the Telemedicine Practice Guidelines (2020) make patient consent necessary, and tell the doctor not to proceed where a physical examination is critical until one can be arranged.
- Privacy: health and student data pass through many apps; since then, the DPDP Act, 2023 has recognised the right of individuals to protect their personal data.
- Accountability: virtual approvals need a clear record and room for dissent, so someone owns each decision; the elderly need protection from online fraud.
Since then, the Supreme Court has held in Pragya Prasun (2025) that the right to digital access is "an intrinsic component of the right to life and liberty": every online service must keep an assisted, offline door open.
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.
