2019 CSAT, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2019 · CSAT

Question 25: Reading Comprehension

Passage - 3 · as printed by UPSC
Passage beginning “The rural poor across the world, including…”

The above passage implies that

  1. 1.There is a potential problem of food insecurity in India.
  2. 2.India will have to strengthen its disaster management capabilities.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid ?

a1 only
b2 only
cBoth 1 and 2
dNeither 1 nor 2

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (c).

Small farmers in India grow a large share of the country's food grains and are exposed to unreliable weather, droughts, floods, sea level rise and glacier loss, so a food-security problem is a real possibility (1). The same more frequent and extreme weather events can spell disaster, which implies India must be better prepared to manage disasters (2). Both are reasonable implications of the passage.

  • 1. A big share of grain comes from small farms exposed to extreme weather, so food security is at risk.
  • 2. Frequent droughts and floods that can become disasters imply stronger disaster management.

How you could have got this

  1. If you were sure statement 1 is correct, (b) and (d) go: each of them leaves 1 out.

    What you needed to know: A big share of grain comes from small farms exposed to extreme weather, so food security is at risk.

  2. Then, if you were sure statement 2 is correct, (a) goes: it leaves 2 out.

    What you needed to know: Frequent droughts and floods that can become disasters imply stronger disaster management.

Only (c) is left. This one needs every statement.

Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.

Why each option is right or wrong
  • (a) Wrong: 2 also follows from the disasters the passage anticipates.
  • (b) Wrong: 1 also follows from the risk to small farms.
  • (c) Right: both food-insecurity risk and the need for disaster preparedness are implied.
  • (d) Wrong: both assumptions follow.

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

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2019, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.