UPSC Prelims 2015 · CSAT

Question 4: Reading Comprehension

Passage beginning “India accounts for nearly a fifth…” — Passage – 4 · as printed by UPSC

Which is the critical inference that can be made from the above passage ?

aA lot of Indians are illiterate and hence do not recognize the value of basic health practices.

bIndia has a very huge population and the government alone cannot manage public health services.

cUniversalization and integration of maternal health and child health services can effectively address the problem.

dThe nutrition of women in child bearing age does not affect child mortality rate.

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (c).

The passage lists the causes of India's high child deaths: missing outreach on breastfeeding and immunisation, no care for women during pregnancy and after delivery, child marriage, anaemia in young women and neglect of adolescent sanitation. These are gaps in maternal and child health services, so the sound inference is that making those services universal and integrated would tackle the problem. Illiteracy and population size are not blamed, and the passage in fact links women's anaemia to child deaths. A critical inference follows from what is given without adding new causes.

Why each option is right or wrong

(a) Wrong: illiteracy is never named as a cause; the passage points to missing outreach and care.
(b) Wrong: nothing says the government cannot cope; the problem is gaps in services.
(c) Right: the listed causes are gaps in maternal and child health services, so universal, integrated services follow.
(d) Wrong: the passage says anaemia among young women affects child death rates, the opposite.

Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2015, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.