2013 · GS Paper 1 · Q15 · 10 marks
Discuss the various social problems which originated out of the speedy process of urbanization in India.
In short
Speedy urbanisation in India has bred slums, crime, new caste and religious segregation, family breakdown, anomie and migrant exclusion, because growth outran housing, jobs and civic institutions. Census 2011 counted about 6.5 crore slum dwellers, roughly one in six urban residents.
Model answer
Ghissu Editorial · Verified 4 Oct 2026 · 275 words
Slum life
About 6.5 crore people, one in six urban residents, lived in slums in 2011 (Census), in places like Dharavi with shared toilets and insecure tenure.
Crime and insecurity
Anonymity and inequality raise crime against women; the 2012 Delhi gang rape led to the Justice Verma Committee (2013).
Old divisions in new forms
Sukhadeo Thorat's 2015 Delhi NCR study found Dalit and Muslim tenants refused rented homes, and riots pushed Muslims into enclaves such as Juhapura in Ahmedabad.
Nuclearisation and the elderly
Costly housing breaks up joint families and leaves parents alone, which the Senior Citizens Act, 2007 had to address.
Anomie and mental distress
Durkheim's anomie shows in loneliness, addiction and suicide; the National Mental Health Survey 2015-16 found metro mental morbidity (13.5%) about double the rural level.
Migrant exclusion
Migrants without ration cards or housing remain outsiders, feeding nativist attacks like those on north Indians in Mumbai in 2008.
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Urbanization, their problems and their remedies5 questions
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Question from the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination 2013 paper. Answer written by Ghissu's engine and checked against our editorial standards. Found an error? Tell us and we correct it within 48 hours.