QUESTION 5(b)
GS4
10 marks
It is often said that poverty leads to corruption. However, affluent and powerful people also indulge in corruption in a big way. What are the basic causes of corruption among people? Support your answer with examples.
WRITE IN
7 min
150 words
What the examiner wants
Identify the root causes of corruption common to both poor and rich, with examples.
ExplainMake clear how and why it happens: causes, process, and an example for each point.
Demand-wise check
- 1Poverty view: need-based petty corruption (low wages, survival)≈30 words
- 2Greed-based: affluent and powerful seek more power and wealth (2G, coal allocation, corporate frauds)≈30 words
- 3Basic causes: greed and materialism, weak values, opportunity from discretion and monopoly, low accountability, low risk of punishment, social acceptance, election funding≈30 words
- 4Implication: remedy is values plus institutions, not just higher incomes≈30 words
Open in about 20 words and close in about 20.
Answer plan
Poverty argumentAffluent corruptionCommon basic causesRemediesConclusion
Where marks usually go
- Supporting the poverty argument without explaining the affluent case
- No examples like 2G or coal allocation scams beside petty bribe-taking
Draw this
- Klitgaard formula diagram: monopoly + discretion − accountability
Value addition
- ThinkerRobert Klitgaard (1988): Corruption = Monopoly + Discretion − Accountability.Klitgaard, 1988
- DataIndia ranked 93 of 180 in Transparency International's CPI 2023 with a score of 39.Transparency International, 2023
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Vidushi Singh · AIR 13 · Page 5 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Aakash Garg · AIR 5 · Page 7 ↗Same syllabus reference
- G Sanjana · AIR 55 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
Links open original public sources. MainsBuddy does not host these answer sheets.
Next: plan for one minute, write it in 7 minutes, then get it checked.