Daily Mains Answer Writing –26 October 2025

Model Answer

Introduction

India’s social policy architecture has increasingly adopted gender-targeted welfare strategies, with women-specific Direct Benefit Transfers (DBTs) emerging as a central feature. Schemes like Ladli Behna Yojana (Madhya Pradesh), Gruha Lakshmi (Karnataka), and Lakshmir Bhandar (West Bengal) have positioned women as beneficiaries of the state’s welfare regime. However, while these programmes have widened financial access, their capacity to generate genuine economic agency remains limited.

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1. Expanding Financial Access

The JAM (Jan Dhan–Aadhaar–Mobile) ecosystem has revolutionised financial inclusion:

• 89% of Indian women now possess bank accounts, with 55.7% of Jan Dhan accounts in women’s names.
• 54% opened their first bank account to receive government benefits (Global Findex 2025).

This represents a critical milestone in recognising women as formal economic actors.

2. Persistent Gaps in Economic Agency

However, access has not translated into autonomy:

• 20% of accounts remain dormant due to low deposits and digital discomfort.
• Two-thirds of women depend on male relatives for financial transactions.
• Women are 19% less likely to own mobile phones, and shared access erodes privacy and control.

Such dependency weakens women’s bargaining power within households and markets.

3. Patriarchal Nature of Welfare Design

Welfare schemes continue to frame women as caregivers and dependents—“Beti, Behna, Lakshmi”—reflecting a patriarchal welfare model rather than one grounded in citizenship and agency.

Conclusion

The feminisation of welfare has improved visibility but not voice. For DBTs to become instruments of empowerment, they must be complemented by digital literacy, asset ownership, and institutional reforms that transfer real decision-making power to women.

Model Answer

Introduction

Unconditional Cash Transfers (UCTs) have become an integral part of India’s welfare framework, driven by both social policy and electoral logic. Nearly 15 states now operate such programmes, representing a quasi–Universal Basic Income (UBI) for women. These transfers, though modest, address gendered exclusion and economic vulnerability while stimulating consumption and social recognition.

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1. Income Security and Empowerment

UCTs provide predictable liquidity and social recognition:

• Programmes like Gruha Lakshmi and Lakshmir Bhandar offer ₹1,000–₹2,000 monthly support to low-income women.
• ORF’s 2025 data show household income increases of 5–40%, improving nutrition, health, and education outcomes.
• Tamil Nadu’s Magalir Urimai Thittam links transfers to unpaid care work, symbolically recognising women’s “time poverty.”

Such measures enhance dignity and intra-household bargaining power.

2. Evidence of Economic and Social Impact

• Women’s participation in savings and microfinance groups has grown. In Ladli Behna Yojana, 87% maintain small balances, showing financial discipline.
• In West Bengal and Assam, women report increased decision-making autonomy and confidence in managing household finances.
• Transfers act as buffers during shocks such as illness or crop loss, strengthening household resilience.

3. Structural and Institutional Limitations

• Transfer amounts remain too small to generate entrepreneurship or asset creation.
• Only 12% of Karnataka’s villages have a bank branch, constraining access.
• Fewer than 10% of business correspondents are women, limiting last-mile financial inclusion.
• The political use of UCTs risks fiscal strain—₹1 lakh crore was budgeted for such schemes across states in FY2024–25 (PRS Report).

4. Towards Transformative Empowerment

• Integrate UCTs with skill training, SHG credit, and digital literacy initiatives.
• Ensure women’s ownership of property, land, and productive assets.
• Strengthen digital access through subsidised smartphones and local fintech innovations.
• Build community networks—digital sakhis and women banking agents—to enhance confidence and trust.

Conclusion

UCTs have recast the social contract between women and the state by recognising women as financial subjects. Yet, empowerment demands more than periodic transfers—it requires capability-building, credit access, and institutional reforms that sustain women’s participation in the economy.

Model Answer

Introduction

The JAM trinity—Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, and Mobile—forms the foundation of India’s digital welfare revolution. It has expanded the reach of Direct Benefit Transfers (DBTs) to millions, particularly women. However, digital asymmetries rooted in gender, geography, and social norms restrict women’s ability to fully leverage this infrastructure for financial independence.

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1. Gains in Access, Limits in Autonomy

• 89% of Indian women hold bank accounts, but 20% remain dormant.
• ORF’s 2025 analysis notes that over two-thirds of women rely on male intermediaries for digital transactions.
• Most accounts serve as pass-through channels for welfare withdrawals rather than instruments for savings or investments.

2. Gendered Digital Divide

• GSMA data (2025): Women are 19% less likely to own mobile phones.
• Cost barriers, privacy concerns, and social disapproval prevent independent usage.
• Shared devices undermine confidentiality in financial operations.
• Rural connectivity gaps exacerbate exclusion—only 12% of Karnataka’s villages have a bank branch or ATM.

3. Overcoming Digital Barriers

• Subsidised smartphones and affordable data plans targeted at women.
• Local women-led fintech models and digital sakhis for literacy and trust-building.
• Voice-enabled, multilingual financial interfaces for low-literacy users.
• Inclusion of women correspondents in DBT service networks to enhance last-mile accessibility.

Conclusion

The JAM ecosystem has democratised welfare delivery but not financial power. Bridging the digital gender divide is central to real empowerment. When women gain private, safe, and confident control over digital tools, welfare will evolve from assistance to autonomy.