QUESTION 6(b)
GS4
10 marks
Explain the term social capital. How does it enhance good governance?
WRITE IN
7 min
150 words
What the examiner wants
Explain social capital (trust, networks and norms that enable cooperation) and how it improves good governance.
ExplainMake clear how and why it happens: causes, process, and an example for each point.
Demand-wise check
- 1Definition: Putnam/Coleman; bonding, bridging and linking social capital≈30 words
- 2How it helps: participation, accountability, collective action, lower transaction costs≈30 words
- 3Examples: SHGs, cooperatives like Amul, community policing, Gram Sabhas≈30 words
- 4Caution: bonding capital can become exclusion (caste, clientelism)≈30 words
Open in about 20 words and close in about 20.
Answer plan
DefinitionTypesWays it enhances governance with examplesCautionConclusion
Where marks usually go
- Defining social capital without linking it to governance
- No Indian example
Draw this
- Triangle: trust, networks, norms → good governance
Value addition
- ThinkerRobert Putnam, Making Democracy Work (1993): regions with strong civic networks in Italy had better governments.Robert Putnam
- ExampleAmul's cooperative model built farmer trust and collective bargaining power.Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Vidushi Singh · AIR 13 · Page 5 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 23 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Aakash Garg · AIR 5 · Page 7 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · 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.