2017 · GS Paper 1 · Q20 · 15 marks
"The growth of cities as I.T. hubs has opened up new avenues of employment, but has also created new problems." Substantiate this statement with examples.
In short
IT hubs such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune created skilled, service and women's jobs, but also water shortages, floods, gridlock, a dual economy and social strain. India's IT-BPM sector employs over 5 million people (NASSCOM, 2024), while Bengaluru's borewells ran dry in March 2024.
Model answer
Ghissu Editorial · Verified 4 Oct 2026 · 289 words
Skilled jobs
Bengaluru's Electronic City and Hyderabad's HITEC City absorbed lakhs of graduates from small towns into salaried careers.
Service economy
Campuses sustain drivers, guards, caterers, domestic workers and delivery riders, spreading work beyond the tech workforce.
Women and startups
Women form over a third of the IT-BPM workforce (NASSCOM), and Bengaluru became India's startup capital.
Water and floods
Bengaluru's borewells ran dry in March 2024, Bellandur lake caught fire in 2015, and the Outer Ring Road corridor flooded in September 2022.
Dual economy
Gated enclaves sit beside informal settlements, rents displace older residents, and service workers lack social security.
Social strain
The 2007 murder of a Wipro BPO employee in Pune exposed night-shift risks, while burnout and the 2024 Karnataka local-quota bill show anomie and nativism.
Spread and plan
Karnataka's "Beyond Bengaluru" push, suburban rail and lake restoration should come before new tech parks, under empowered Metropolitan Planning Committees.
Protect workers
Extend Rajasthan's gig-worker law (2023) model and the Code on Social Security (2020).
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This chapter in the exam
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Question from the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination 2017 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.