VAID'S ICS – Best UPSC Anthropology Coaching in Delhi Since 1985

Comprehensive Classroom Course · Admissions openRegister now
+91 93113 37737
  • +91-93113 37737, +91-99999 46748
  • 73(FF), Old Rajender Nagar Market, Delhi - 110060
  • MON to SUN 9.00 am - 6.00 pm
Facebook Youtube Instagram
Menu
Enquire Now
Home/Anthropology/Mains PYQ/2025/Paper II/Tribal Development, Policy & Safeguards
UPSC MainsAnthropology Optional Paper II 2025 15 Marks Model Answer Available

Role of NGOs in Development of Weaker Sections — 2025 Paper II

Question · 2025 · Paper II · 15 Marks

Discuss the role of NGOs in the socioeconomic and political development of weaker sections and the manner in which they facilitate other stakeholders.

Model Answer

VAID ICS

Introduction

Non-governmental organisations occupy the space between community, state and market. For Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, women, minorities, informal workers and persons with disabilities, they may function as service providers, mobilisers, advocates and institutional intermediaries. Their distinctive strength lies in combining local trust with wider legal and technical networks.

Socioeconomic development

  • Capabilities: literacy, bridge schooling, health, nutrition, disability support and vocational training expand human capabilities. SEARCH in Gadchiroli demonstrated community-based health innovation.
  • Livelihoods: Self-help groups, producer collectives, microcredit, watershed work and market linkages diversify income. SEWA organises women in informal employment; PRADAN and MYRADA have supported rural collectives.
  • Access to entitlements: NGOs help obtain identity documents, pensions, scholarships, MGNREGA wages and forest or land claims and translate administrative procedures into local languages.
  • Rights and social reform: Legal aid, campaigns against bonded labour, gender violence and caste discrimination enable weaker sections to use constitutional protections.

Political development

  • Community meetings, leadership training and voter education increase participation in Gram Sabhas, panchayats and urban bodies.
  • Rights-based organisations convert private suffering into public claims. MKSS linked local wage records and public hearings to the national movement for the Right to Information and social audit.
  • NGOs document exclusion, conduct participatory research and place marginalised voices before courts, commissions and legislatures.

Facilitating other stakeholders

  • Government: last-mile implementation, community feedback, training of frontline workers, independent monitoring and social audit.
  • Panchayats and customary institutions: participatory planning, conflict mediation and inclusion of women and smaller groups.
  • Corporate sector: channel CSR funds and technical support while negotiating safeguards and community benefit-sharing.
  • Universities and international agencies: provide field access and local knowledge; convert research and finance into culturally appropriate programmes.
  • Communities themselves: form federations and producer organisations so beneficiaries become decision-makers rather than passive recipients.

Critical assessment

NGOs may suffer from donor dependence, short project cycles, urban-professional control, weak downward accountability and “NGO-isation” that substitutes service delivery for political transformation. Some claim to represent communities without democratic mandates. Regulation and financial transparency are necessary; however, the FCRA Amendment 2020 prohibited transfer of foreign contribution to another person, reduced the administrative-expense ceiling from 50 to 20 per cent, and centralised initial receipt through a designated SBI branch. Such rules can increase compliance and funding constraints, especially for small grassroots organisations.

Conclusion

NGOs are most effective not as parallel governments but as enabling institutions that build community capabilities, make the state accountable and coordinate knowledge and resources. Their legitimacy depends on transparency, local leadership and eventual community ownership.

Diagram to draw: Community <-> NGO bridge <-> government, market, university and donor; outcome: services + rights + political capability.

Selected authentic sources: Amartya Sen’s capability approach; SEWA, MKSS, SEARCH, PRADAN and Barefoot College case records; constitutional and statutory social-audit frameworks; Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010 as amended in 2020; development literature on civil society and accountability

2026 What are the provisions given in the Constitution of India for the safeguard of the Scheduled Caste populations? 2026 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) of the islands. 2026 'Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan aims to meet some of the Sustainable Development Goals'. Discuss. 2026 Write an account on the contribution of Verrier Elwin in developing policies for the tribal populations in post-independent India.

Want feedback on your answer?

Join the Anthropology workshop or get structured answer-writing guidance from VAID ICS.

Join Workshop Contact VAID ICS

UPSC Anthropology Optional 2025 — Paper II

28 questions

1(c) Regionalism and Autonomy

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > Ethnicity, Regionalism and Social Change
2025Paper IIEthnicity, Tribal Movements & Social ChangeModel answer available

1(a) 'Soanian cultural' tradition

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper II > Evolution of Indian Culture and Civilization > Prehistoric India
2025Paper IIPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available