UPSC Prelims 2022 · CSAT

Question 73: Reading Comprehension

Passage beginning “How best can the problems of…” — Passage—2 · as printed by UPSC

Which one of the following best reflects the practical, rational and lasting solution?

aConstructing huge concrete storage tanks and canals across the country

bChanging the cropping patterns and farming practices

cInterlinking of rivers across the country

dBuffer stocking of water through dams and recharging aquifers

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (d).

The passage describes the problem: about three-quarters of India's rain falls in roughly four months and the remaining eight months get far too little, so floods and droughts are two faces of the same timing gap. A lasting remedy must store the surplus of the wet months for use in the dry ones. Buffer stocking of water through dams and recharging aquifers does exactly that. The other options are not tied to this timing problem.

Why each option is right or wrong

(a) Less suitable: very large concrete structures are costly and not a rational, lasting way to buffer a seasonal surplus.
(b) Wrong: changing crops does not manage the seasonal gap in water availability.
(c) Wrong: river interlinking is not the buffering solution that fits the timing problem described.
(d) Correct: dams and recharged aquifers store monsoon water for the dry months.

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

Practise this paper timedPrevious question Next question

Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2022, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.