← All questionsGS2 · 2025 · Social Justice ·Resource Inequality and the Paradox of Poverty
QUESTION 16
GS2
15 marks

Inequality in the ownership pattern of resources is one of the major causes of poverty. Discuss in the context of 'paradox of poverty'.

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11 min
250 words
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What the examiner wants

Discuss how unequal ownership of land, capital and natural resources causes poverty, using the idea of the 'paradox of poverty'.

DiscussExplain the different sides of the issue, use evidence, and finish with a balanced view.

Demand-wise check

  1. 1Paradox of poverty: resource-rich regions or countries with poor people (e.g. mineral-rich Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh; 'resource curse')≈65 words
  2. 2How unequal ownership causes poverty: landlessness, concentration of assets, lack of collateral and credit, elite capture of resource rents≈65 words
  3. 3Remedies: land reforms, District Mineral Foundations, forest rights, asset creation for the poor, progressive taxation≈65 words

Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.

Answer plan

Define paradoxUnequal ownership as cause with dataIndian examplesRemediesConclusion

Where marks usually go

  • Explaining poverty in general without the ownership angle
  • Not explaining the term 'paradox of poverty'

Draw this

  • Map of mineral-rich states with poverty rates

Value addition

  • DataNITI Aayog MPI shows Jharkhand among the states with the highest multidimensional poverty, despite large mineral wealth.NITI Aayog National MPI 2023
  • SchemeDistrict Mineral Foundations (MMDR Amendment Act, 2015) take a share of mining royalty for people in mining-affected areas.Ministry of Mines

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