Writing the CGPSC Essay: National and Chhattisgarh Issues — CGPSC Paper II
Weightage: Paper II is 200 marks, a full seventh of the Mains total. Part 1 gives four topics on national and international issues, of which you write two. Part 2 gives four topics on Chhattisgarh, of which you write two. Each essay is about 750 words and carries 50 marks. The paper expects the essay to set out causes, the present position with data, and solutions. The general craft chapters aliased from UPSC CSE (essay structure, contemporary themes and the material bank) sit beside this chapter; this one adapts them to CGPSC's format.
1. What the paper rewards
The CGPSC essay is a problem-solution essay, and it is judged on evidence. The syllabus asks for cause, current status with data, and solution, so a beautiful opening does not compensate for a missing figure.
- Part 1 (national and international) draws on economy, society, technology and world affairs. Prepare it with the aliased UPSC essay chapters and your GS notes.
- Part 2 (Chhattisgarh) is where this exam differs from UPSC. It rewards a candidate who knows the state's numbers, laws and programmes, and who can argue a state issue in national context.
2. A time and mark plan
Three hours for four essays is about 40 to 45 minutes each, with ten minutes at the end for review. Spend the first five minutes of each essay on a plan.
A suggested split of the 50 marks, which is an aid and not an official scheme:
| Part | Share | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction | About 10 per cent | Frame the issue and state your line of argument |
| Causes and present status | About 35 per cent | Data, laws and programmes, with sources |
| Solutions | About 35 per cent | Short, medium and long term, with who acts |
| Way forward and conclusion | About 10 per cent | A balanced close that returns to the opening |
| Language and flow | About 10 per cent | Short paragraphs, clear transitions |
3. The problem-solution frame
Use the same six steps for every issue.
- Frame: define the issue and why it matters now.
- Causes: structural, economic, social and governance causes.
- Status with data: two or three figures, dated and sourced.
- Effects: who is affected and how.
- Response so far: laws, schemes and their limits.
- Solutions and conclusion: what should change, by whom, and a balanced close.
4. A data toolkit for Chhattisgarh
Facts that stay stable enough to quote, with their source:
| Theme | Anchor facts | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Tribal population | Scheduled Tribes about 30.6 per cent; five PVTGs | Census 2011 |
| Forests | Forest cover about 41 per cent; among the top states by area | Forest Survey of India |
| Sex ratio and literacy | 991 and 70.28 per cent | Census 2011 |
| Food security | Own Food Security Act, December 2012; community-run PDS | State law |
| Minerals | Roughly a fifth of India's coal and iron ore | State mineral department and the Ministry of Mines |
| Governance | 33 districts (September 2022); PESA rules August 2022 | State notifications |
Use a rounded figure with its year, and say "about". If you are unsure of a number, use a sentence such as "a large share" and name the source. An invented figure costs more than a missing one.
5. A map of Chhattisgarh themes
| Theme | Causes to raise | Solutions to raise | Related chapters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mining and tribal livelihoods | Minerals in forest and tribal areas; displacement | Gram Sabha consent, benefit-sharing, restoration | Economy; tribes |
| Left-wing extremism in Bastar | Development deficit, alienation, forest and land grievances | Security with development, rights implementation, rehabilitation | Tribes; polity |
| Farm incomes and paddy dependence | Monsoon reliance, small holdings | Irrigation, crop diversification, value addition | Economy; geography |
| Forest rights and conservation | Overlapping claims, wildlife pressure | Community rights, joint management | Geography; tribes |
| Health and nutrition | Remote habitations, anaemia, undernutrition | Last-mile services, PDS-nutrition linkage | Economy; welfare |
| Culture and language | Migration and media pressure | Schooling in Chhattisgarhi, festivals, crafts | Language; culture |
6. Style rules for a 750-word essay
- Short paragraphs. Five or six sentences at most, each with one idea.
- One example per point. A law, a scheme, a place or a figure.
- Balance. Present both costs and benefits, and avoid blaming one actor.
- Sensitive themes. On conflict and tribal issues, write in a neutral, evidence-based tone that acknowledges grievances and security needs together.
Worked example 6.1 (a model essay, about 600 words). "Mining and tribal livelihoods in Chhattisgarh: finding a balance."
Introduction. Chhattisgarh sits on some of India's richest coal and iron ore, and about 30 per cent of its people are Scheduled Tribes. Many of the richest deposits lie under forests where tribal families live. The question is how to gain from minerals without losing the communities that live above them.
Causes and present position. The state holds roughly a fifth of the country's coal and iron ore, and mining, power and steel make industry its largest sector. Mineral royalties are a large source of state revenue. Yet mining areas are often the poorest districts.
Displacement is the sharpest cost. Coal-bearing land is acquired under a special central law of 1957, which is separate from the general land acquisition Act, and forest diversion removes the forest produce on which households depend. Air and water pollution, especially around coal and power belts, add to the burden.
The legal frame. Much of the mineral belt is a Fifth Schedule area. PESA (1996) gives Gram Sabhas powers over local resources, the Forest Rights Act (2006) recognises community rights over forest land and produce, and the District Mineral Foundation directs a share of mining income to affected communities. The state framed its PESA rules in 2022.
The gap lies in practice. Gram Sabha consent has sometimes been contested or bypassed, forest rights claims lag, and District Mineral Foundation funds have not always reached affected villages.
Solutions. First, make Gram Sabha consent real, with prior information in the local language. Second, publish District Mineral Foundation spending village by village. Third, invest in restoration of mined land and compensatory afforestation with community roles. Fourth, add value within the state through processing and local skill training, so that local youth find work in the industries around them. Fifth, protect forest produce incomes, through fair support prices and value addition by women's groups.
Conclusion. Chhattisgarh's minerals are a national asset, but the people above them are its citizens first. A balance is possible if development is designed with communities and not for them, with rights honoured before resources are extracted. That is both the constitutional promise of the Fifth Schedule and the practical route to lasting peace and growth.
Common traps CGPSC sets here
- A general essay in Part 2. A state topic needs state facts, laws and places, not only general arguments.
- Unsourced figures. Give the year and source, or use a qualitative phrase.
- One-sided treatment of sensitive topics. Weigh grievances and security together.
- Running out of time on the fourth essay. Keep to about 40 minutes each.
- Listing solutions without actors. Say who acts: the state, the Gram Sabha, the Centre or civil society.
Memory aids
- "F-C-D-E-R-S": Frame, Causes, Data, Effects, Response, Solutions.
- "Four essays, forty minutes": the pacing rule.
- "Rights before resources": the line for mining and tribal essays.
Summary
Paper II asks for four problem-solution essays of about 750 words, two national and two on Chhattisgarh, each judged on causes, dated data and solutions. Plan for about 40 minutes per essay.
Build a small data toolkit of stable state facts, map the likely themes to your chapters, and practise the six-step frame. Sensitive topics deserve a neutral, evidence-based tone.
Exam protocol
- Spend five minutes planning each essay.
- Put two or three dated figures and one law in every body section.
- Close by returning to the opening and naming who must act.
