QUESTION 1
GS3
12.5 marks
How has globalization led to the reduction of employment in the formal sector of the Indian economy? Is increased informalization detrimental to the development of the country?
WRITE IN
9 min
200 words
What the examiner wants
Explain how globalisation shrank formal employment and judge whether rising informality harms development.
How... IsAnswer exactly what the question asks.
Demand-wise check
- 1Channels: competition pushed firms to cut costs; contract and outsourced labour; capital and skill-intensive technology; cheap imports hurting MSMEs; flexible labour practices≈35 words
- 2Detrimental: low wages and productivity, no social security, narrow tax base, weak skilling, vulnerability in shocks (COVID)≈35 words
- 3Counter-view: informal sector absorbs labour and gives flexibility≈35 words
- 4Measures: labour codes, e-Shram, social security for gig workers, MSME formalisation (Udyam)≈35 words
Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.
Answer plan
Link globalisation to formal job lossEvidenceHarm of informalityCounterpointMeasures
Where marks usually go
- Skipping how globalisation cut formal jobs: contract labour, outsourcing, import competition
- Blaming globalisation alone without domestic factors like labour laws
Draw this
- Flow: global competition → cost-cutting → contract labour → informalisation
Value addition
- ReportNCEUS (Arjun Sengupta, 2007) found about 77% of Indians lived on less than Rs 20 a day and most workers were informal.NCEUS, 2007
- ReportEconomic Survey 2018-19 estimated almost 93% of the workforce as informal.Economic Survey 2018-19
- Schemee-Shram portal (2021) registered over 30 crore unorganised workers.Ministry of Labour
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 23 ↗Reviewed PYQ reference
- Aniket Ranjan · AIR 48 · Page 26 ↗Reviewed PYQ reference
- Mayank Purohit · AIR 33 · Page 13 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Mayank Purohit · AIR 33 · Page 15 ↗Same syllabus reference
Links open original public sources. MainsBuddy does not host these answer sheets.
Next: plan for one minute, write it in 9 minutes, then get it checked.