2023 CSAT, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2023 · CSAT

Question 51: Reading Comprehension

Passage – 1 · as printed by UPSC
Passage beginning “Sourcing food from non-agricultural lands…”

Which one of the following statements best reflects the most logical and rational message conveyed by the author of the passage ?

aFood yielding trees should replace other trees in rural and tribal areas and community owned lands.
bFood security cannot be ensured in India with the present practice of conventional agriculture.
cWastelands and degraded areas in India should be converted into agroforestry systems to help the poor.
dAgroecosystems should be developed in addition to or along with conventional agriculture.

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (d).

The passage says food from forests, wetlands and pastures, taken together with farmland, gives a broader way of feeding people. It lets rural and tribal communities last through the year and cope with disasters and crop failures, since trees tolerate bad weather better than annual crops. The message is to develop such systems in addition to conventional agriculture, not to replace it. It does not say conventional farming fails, and it does not single out wastelands.

Why each option is right or wrong
  • (a) Wrong: replacing other trees with food trees is not suggested.
  • (b) Wrong: the passage does not say conventional agriculture cannot ensure food security.
  • (c) Wrong: wastelands and degraded land are not discussed.
  • (d) Right: such systems are to be developed alongside conventional agriculture.

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

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2023, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.