Globalisation is usually taught as economics — the 1991 reforms, trade and investment. This chapter studies its social effects: what it has done to family, culture, work, gender, caste, youth and the countryside.

What UPSC asks. Mains GS I asks this almost every few years, usually about a specific group (“effects of globalisation on women”, “on the elderly”, “on cultural diversity”) or about culture (“Is globalisation leading to cultural homogenisation?”). Prelims rarely asks it directly, but concepts such as glocalisation and the gig economy appear in current affairs.

Key sub-topics

Sub-topic	What to know
Meaning and drivers	Flows of goods, capital, people, ideas; 1991 reforms; technology
Cultural effects	Homogenisation, hybridisation, glocalisation, revival of tradition
Group-wise effects	Women, youth, elderly, workers, farmers, tribals, caste groups
Work and the gig economy	Platform work, informality, social security
Balanced assessment	Opportunities vs inequality and vulnerability

Read the topic page, then revise and practise.