2023 GS Paper I, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2023 · GS Paper I

Question 89: International Relations and Current Affairs

Consider the following statements : The 'Stability and Growth Pact' of the European Union is a treaty that

  1. 1.limits the levels of the budgetary deficit of the countries of the European Union
  2. 2.makes the countries of the European Union to share their infrastructure facilities
  3. 3.enables the countries of the European Union to share their technologies

How many of the above statements are correct?

aOnly one
bOnly two
cAll three
dNone

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (a).

Statement 1 is correct: the Stability and Growth Pact is a set of EU rules to keep public finances sound, capping budget deficits at 3 percent of GDP and public debt at 60 percent of GDP. It has nothing to do with sharing infrastructure or technology, so statements 2 and 3 are wrong.

  • 1. The pact limits budget deficits (3 percent of GDP) and debt (60 percent).
  • 2. It does not require sharing infrastructure.
  • 3. It does not require sharing technologies.

How you could have got this

No shortcut here: in a “how many” question, ruling out options doesn’t help. Every statement has to be judged.

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) Correct: only statement 1 (limits on deficits) holds.
  • (b) Two would need infrastructure or technology sharing to be part of the pact; neither is.
  • (c) Statements 2 and 3 do not describe the pact.
  • (d) Statement 1 is correct, so not none.

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 I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.