2020 CSAT, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2020 · CSAT

Question 23: Reading Comprehension

Passage—3 · as printed by UPSC
Passage beginning “People will invest in education whenever…”Passage beginning “People will invest in education whenever…”

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made :

  1. 1.Lower tax rates in a country invariably translate into greater investments in higher education.
  2. 2.Investment in the education of children ensures their economic freedom.
  3. 3.Economic freedom has a positive impact on building up human capital.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

a1 only
b2 only
c3 only
d1, 2 and 3

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (c).

The passage argues that people invest in education when economic freedom lets them keep the gains, and low taxes help by letting them retain more of the higher income. Assumption 3 therefore holds: economic freedom encourages investment in human capital. Assumption 1 fails on the word invariably, since low taxes are shown as one incentive, not a guaranteed outcome. Assumption 2 reverses the logic: freedom leads to spending on education, not the other way round.

  • 1. Overstated: low taxes raise the return on education, but the passage does not say they always lead to more investment.
  • 2. The passage says freedom encourages education, not that education guarantees freedom.
  • 3. Economic freedom raises the return to education and so encourages investment in people.

How you could have got this

  1. If you were sure statement 1 is not correct, (a) and (d) go: each of them includes 1.

    What you needed to know: Overstated: low taxes raise the return on education, but the passage does not say they always lead to more investment.

  2. Then, if you were sure statement 2 is not correct, (b) goes: it includes 2.

    What you needed to know: The passage says freedom encourages education, not that education guarantees freedom.

Only (c) is left. You didn’t need statement 3.

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) 1 is too absolute: low taxes encourage, but do not guarantee, more spending.
  • (b) 2 reverses cause and effect: freedom encourages education, not the reverse.
  • (c) Right: only 3 is supported.
  • (d) 1 and 2 are both unsupported.

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

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2020, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.