UPSC Prelims 2018 · CSAT

Question 52: Reading Comprehension

Passage beginning “The Arctic's vast reserves of fossil…” — Passage—4 · as printed by UPSC

Which one of the following is the most important implication of the passage?

aIndia can have territorial claims in the Arctic territory and free access to its resources.

bMelting of summer ice in the Arctic leads to changes in the geopolitics.

cThe Arctic region will solve the world's future problem of resource crunch.

dThe Arctic region has more resources than Antarctica.

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (b).

The passage says ice-free summers are making the Arctic's fossil fuels, fish and minerals reachable for longer, that no legal regime protects the Arctic as the Antarctic Treaty protects Antarctica, and that countries with Arctic coastline are scrambling to claim chunks of the melting ocean. The implication is that melting summer ice is reshaping geopolitics. India has no Arctic coastline, the passage does not promise the Arctic will solve resource shortages, and it never compares resource levels of the two regions.

Why each option is right or wrong

(a) Nothing in the passage gives India claims or free access.
(b) Correct: melting summer ice has set off a scramble among Arctic states.
(c) The passage gives no promise that the Arctic will solve the resource crunch.
(d) No comparison of Arctic and Antarctic resources is made.

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

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2018, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.