Women, Population, Poverty and Urbanisation · HCS (Haryana)

What the official syllabus says

General Studies-I (Paper III), Main Written Examination:
Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.

Topics in detail

The line names four issues and asks for “their problems and their remedies”, so each needs causes, effects and solutions.

Role of women and women’s organisations

Women in social reform, the freedom struggle and nation-building
Women’s organisations: the Women’s Indian Association (1917), the All India Women’s Conference (1927), SEWA (1972), women’s self-help groups, the role of women in movements such as Chipko
Issues: sex ratio and sex-selective abortion, dowry, domestic violence, child marriage, low workforce participation, unpaid care work, health and nutrition
Political representation: one-third of seats in panchayats and municipalities (73rd and 74th Amendments); the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, on reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies
Laws: the Dowry Prohibition Act (1961), the PCPNDT Act (1994), the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (2005), the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act (2013); the National Commission for Women
Remedies: education, economic independence, safety, changing social attitudes

Population and associated issues

The Census; growth of India’s population; the demographic transition
Demographic dividend and ageing
Sex ratio and child sex ratio
Migration: types, causes, effects
Population policy: the family planning programme (1952), the National Population Policy (2000)

Poverty and developmental issues

Meaning and measurement: poverty lines (Lakdawala, Tendulkar, Rangarajan), multidimensional poverty
Causes of poverty; rural and urban poverty; inequality
Programmes by type: wage employment (MGNREGA), self-employment and livelihoods (the National Rural Livelihood Mission), food security (the National Food Security Act, 2013), housing
Regional imbalance, hunger and malnutrition, unemployment

Urbanisation

Trends: urban population, census towns, urban agglomerations, push and pull factors
Problems: slums, housing, water and sanitation, transport, pollution, solid waste, urban floods and heat islands, crime
Remedies: planning and urban local bodies (74th Amendment), satellite towns, missions for housing, sanitation and urban infrastructure

Further points

Women’s health: maternal mortality, anaemia; women’s education and its links with fertility and child health
Gender budgeting and women-led development
Fertility: total fertility rate and replacement level; regional differences between states
Survey data: the Census, the National Family Health Surveys, the periodic labour force surveys
Poverty and the Sustainable Development Goals (ending poverty and hunger)
Social security for informal workers
Migrants in cities: housing, identity documents, portability of benefits
Smart and sustainable cities; public transport; affordable housing

Overlaps

Haryana’s sex ratio, migration and the National Capital Region: Haryana: Society and Social Issues.
Welfare schemes, poverty and hunger as governance: HCS Mains: General Studies II.