UPSC Prelims 2026 · CSAT
Question 12: Reading Comprehension
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1.Parents are not encouraging enough when it comes to children playing sport.
- 2.Participation in sporting activities can help develop life skills.
- 3.Sport as a way of life can help evolve the very nature of society itself.
Select the answer using the code given below.
AnswerUPSC’s answer is (b).
Statement 2 is stated directly: sport teaches time management, teamwork, coordination and fitness, which are life skills. Statement 3 follows from the call for a culture in which sport is part of everyday living, offered as a route to a society that is healthier and happier, which is about changing society itself. Statement 1 is not supported: parents are reported as complaining that their children stay inactive and indoors, which is different from failing to encourage sport.
- 1. Parents are shown complaining about inactive children, not discouraging sport.
- 2. Time management, teamwork and fitness are named as skills sport builds.
- 3. A culture of sport as everyday living is offered as a route to a better, happier society.
How you could have got this
- If you were sure statement 2 is correct, (a) and (d) go: each of them leaves 2 out.
What you needed to know: Time management, teamwork and fitness are named as skills sport builds.
- Then, if you were sure statement 3 is correct, (c) goes: it leaves 3 out.
What you needed to know: A culture of sport as everyday living is offered as a route to a better, happier society.
Only (b) is left. You didn’t need statement 1.
This follows UPSC’s provisional key; the final key could change it.
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) Wrong: 1 is not supported; parents complain about inactive children, they are not said to discourage sport.
- (b) Right: 2 and 3 are supported.
- (c) Wrong: leaves out 3, which follows from the way-of-life argument.
- (d) Wrong: omits 2, which the passage states directly.
Only the provisional key (27 May 2026) was found; the final key replaces it when found.
Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2026, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.