QUESTION 16
GS2
15 marks
“The emergence of the Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in contemporary times points to the slow but steady withdrawal of the State from developmental activities.” Examine the role of the SHGs in developmental activities and the measures taken by the Government of India to promote the SHGs.
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11 min
250 words
What the examiner wants
Examine SHGs' role in development, test the 'state withdrawal' claim, and list government support measures.
ExamineGo into the details, test each point against evidence, and conclude on what it shows.
Demand-wise check
- 1Role: credit access, women's empowerment, livelihoods, social issues (alcohol, health), delivery of services (Kudumbashree)≈50 words
- 2On the statement: SHGs complement rather than replace the state; the state funds, trains and links them to banks≈50 words
- 3Government measures: NABARD SHG–Bank Linkage (1992), DAY-NRLM (2011), interest subvention, Lakhpati Didi, NRLM Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme≈50 words
- 4Challenges: dependency, elite capture, low market access≈50 words
Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.
Answer plan
SHG rolesEvaluate statementGovernment measuresChallengesConclusion
Where marks usually go
- Agreeing with the statement without examining it
- Not listing government measures
Draw this
- Flow: SHG → village organisation → cluster federation → bank linkage
Value addition
- DataOver 10 crore women are mobilised into about 90 lakh SHGs under DAY-NRLM.Ministry of Rural Development
- ExampleKudumbashree (Kerala, 1998) links SHGs with local governments for poverty eradication.Government of Kerala
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 38 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Aditya Srivastava · AIR 1 · Page 15 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 11 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Aditya Srivastava · AIR 1 · Page 5 ↗Same syllabus reference
Links open original public sources. MainsBuddy does not host these answer sheets.
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