UPSC Prelims 2020 · CSAT
Question 43: Reading Comprehension
Which of the following are the most rational inferences that can be made from the passage?
- 1.Farmers' income will be higher with pulse cultivation than with paddy cultivation.
- 2.Pulse cultivation causes less pollution as compared to paddy cultivation.
- 3.Pulse straw can be used to improve soil quality.
- 4.In the context of northern Indian agriculture, paddy straw has no usefulness.
- 5.Mechanized agriculture is the main cause for stubble burning.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
AnswerUPSC’s answer is (c).
The passage says the new arhar variety can be harvested by machine, and its green straw can be ploughed back and decomposes fast, unlike paddy straw, which resists decomposition because of its high silica content; farmers therefore burn paddy residue. So pulse cultivation is the cleaner option (2) and pulse straw can improve soil (3). The passage gives no income comparison (1), does not say paddy straw has no use at all (4), and blames the difficulty of dealing with paddy straw, not mechanisation, for burning (5).
- 1. Only yield is compared with existing pulse varieties; farmer income against paddy is not discussed.
- 2. Pulse straw is ploughed back, while paddy straw is burnt.
- 3. Ploughed-back pulse straw decomposes quickly and returns to the soil.
- 4. Paddy straw is hard to plough back, but having no usefulness at all is too strong.
- 5. Burning is attributed to the difficulty of disposing of paddy straw, not to mechanised harvesting itself.
How you could have got this
- If you were sure statement 1 is not correct, (b) and (d) go: each of them includes 1.
What you needed to know: Only yield is compared with existing pulse varieties; farmer income against paddy is not discussed.
- Then, if you were sure statement 5 is not correct, (a) goes: it includes 5.
What you needed to know: Burning is attributed to the difficulty of disposing of paddy straw, not to mechanised harvesting itself.
Only (c) is left. You didn’t need statements 2, 3 or 4.
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) 5 is not supported: machine harvesting is already used for paddy, and straw handling causes the burning.
- (b) 1, 4 and 5 are all unsupported.
- (c) Right: only 2 and 3 follow.
- (d) 1 and 4 are not supported.
Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2020, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.