Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
When power is taken away from Central and State governments and given to local government, it is called decentralisation. The basic idea behind decentralisation is that a large number of problems and issues are best settled at the local level. People have better knowledge of problems in their localities. They also have better ideas on where to spend money and how to manage things more efficiently. At the local level, it is possible for the people to directly participate in decision making. This helps to inculcate a habit of democratic participation. Some cities across the world have carried out extraordinary experiments in combining decentralisation with participative democracy, where thousands of ordinary citizens participate in budget-making exercises every year. This method has helped ensure that public money is spent equitably across different sections of society.
(i) Define decentralisation in your own words. (1 mark)
(ii) State any two advantages of decision-making at the local level as described above. (1 mark)
(iii) How does participatory budget-making reflect the principle of local self-government? What outcome does it achieve in terms of equity? (2 marks)
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 13:18 · grounding rag
Model Answer
(i) Decentralisation is the transfer of power from the Central and State governments to local governments, so that people can manage their own affairs at the local level.
(ii) Two advantages of local-level decision-making:
- People have better knowledge of problems in their localities and can manage resources more efficiently.
- People can directly participate in decision-making, which inculcates a habit of democratic participation.
(iii) Participatory budget-making reflects local self-government because ordinary citizens directly take part in deciding how public money is spent in their area — a core principle of democracy at the grassroots. In terms of equity, it ensures that public money is spent fairly across all sections of society, including the poor, rather than only in wealthy neighbourhoods (as seen in Porto Alegre, Brazil).
Source: Decentralisation in India — Chapter 2
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Explanation
- (i) is 1 mark — one crisp sentence definition is enough.
- (ii) is 1 mark — two short points from the passage; don't over-explain.
- (iii) is 2 marks — link participatory budgeting to the principle of self-government, then state the equity outcome (money spent for all, not just the rich). The Porto Alegre example from the passage directly supports this.
- Always use words/ideas from the passage in case-study questions; examiners check alignment with the source.