2026 CSAT, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2026 · CSAT

Question 17: Reading Comprehension

Passage · as printed by UPSC
Passage beginning “How is deflation done? Most countries…”

Which of the following assumptions is/are valid?

  1. 1.Deflation strategies can be used to make manufacturers appear to be doing better than they actually are.
  2. 2.When input and output prices are both deflated against a single input price, it is referred to as ‘double deflation’.

Select the answer using the code given below.

a1 only
b2 only
cBoth 1 and 2
dNeither 1 nor 2

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (a).

Statement 1 is a fair assumption: the passage shows that using one deflator for inputs and outputs makes a manufacturer look more productive after an oil price fall, though nothing real improved. So the choice of deflation method can flatter performance. Statement 2 reverses the term: double deflation means inputs and outputs are deflated separately, each with its own price index, not both against a single input price.

  • 1. A single deflator makes a manufacturer look more productive than it is.
  • 2. Double deflation deflates inputs and outputs separately, not against one input price.

How you could have got this

  1. If you were sure statement 1 is correct, (b) and (d) go: each of them leaves 1 out.

    What you needed to know: A single deflator makes a manufacturer look more productive than it is.

  2. Then, if you were sure statement 2 is not correct, (c) goes: it includes 2.

    What you needed to know: Double deflation deflates inputs and outputs separately, not against one input price.

Only (a) is left. This one needs every statement.

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) Right: 1 holds, while 2 reverses the meaning of double deflation.
  • (b) Wrong: double deflation uses separate deflators, not one input price.
  • (c) Wrong: statement 2 is false.
  • (d) Wrong: statement 1 is a valid assumption.

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.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2026, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.