2017 CSAT, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2017 · CSAT

Question 62: Reading Comprehension

Passage—2 · as printed by UPSC
Passage beginning “Productive jobs are vital for growth and…”

Which among the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage?

aWe must create conditions for the faster growth of highly productive service jobs to ensure employment growth and inclusion.
bWe must shift the farm workers to the highly productive manufacturing and service sectors to ensure the economic growth and inclusion.
cWe must create conditions for the faster growth of productive jobs outside of agriculture even while improving the productivity of agriculture.
dWe must emphasize the cultivation of high-yielding hybrid varieties and genetically modified crops to increase the per capita income in agriculture.

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (c).

The passage says productive jobs matter most, and that fewer people will have to depend on agriculture if its per-person incomes are to rise. Industry creates jobs, but mostly low-productivity, unprotected ones; services pay better, but job growth there has been slow. So productive jobs outside agriculture must grow faster, while agricultural productivity is also improved. Options naming only services, moving workers into industry, or specific crop technologies go beyond the passage.

Why each option is right or wrong
  • (a) Services alone are not the whole answer; productive jobs in general are needed, and agriculture's productivity is part of the picture.
  • (b) Industry jobs are described as mostly low-productivity, so shifting workers there is not endorsed.
  • (c) Correct: more productive non-farm jobs while also raising farm productivity.
  • (d) Hybrid and genetically modified crops are never mentioned.

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

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2017, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.