Direction (1-10): In each of the given questions an inference is given in bold which is then followed by three statements. You have to find the statement(s) from where it is inferred. Choose the option with the best possible outcome as your choice.
1Q. Technology and its access is a critical factor for diversified agriculture.
(I). Any industry grows when it adapts to a competitive environment. If farmers get market signals from the market about upcoming trends of demands of consumers, total supply in the economy, new technologies, export opportunities or import vulnerabilities, they will find out more profitable crops, technologies and will keenly adapt. Present system creates a glut in the market of particular crops.
(II). The introduction of Agriculture Produce and Livestock Marketing Act (APML) 2017 may free both farmers and consumers from the core problem of price differences in different regions over different products. Higher market connectivity and free licensing mechanisms may prove to be highly responsive. Support of digital market tools like e-NAM (electronic national agriculture market) has though given some relief already.
(III). One of the biggest roadblocks to the growth of Indian agriculture is the low levels of yields. The predominant causes of low productivity are poor access to irrigation facilities; use of low-quality seeds, low adoption of improved technology and lack of knowledge dissemination on improved agricultural practices. The challenge of small landholding size impacts diversification indices negatively.
(A) Only (II)
(B) Both (I) and (II)
(C) Both (II) and (III)
(D) Both (I) and (III)
(E) All (I), (II) and (III)
Answer: Option (E)
Explanation: All three paragraphs explain the problems that the Indian farmers are facing today along with the remedial measures that may help in diversifying the agricultural sector, especially the use of technology in agriculture can bring a revolution that would accelerate its growth. Thus all these factors comply with the required inference i.e. “Technology and its access is a critical factor for diversified agriculture.” Hence (E) is the correct option.
2Q. Sports injury may cause damage to a child's mental growth.
(I). Many papers have shown that all it takes for your child to suffer brain damage is just one concussion. But before your son suffers a concussion, there must have been hundreds if not thousands of sub-concussions while playing various sports. The damage is permanent because the brain does not have any ability to regenerate itself.
(II). Concussions and TBI do real damage to the brain. Concussions and TBI occur when the brain suddenly shifts within the skull — usually as the result of a sudden blow, jolt or change of direction (e.g., whiplash). A football tackle, being hit with a baseball or softball, heading a soccer ball or tripping and falling are just a few of the athletic scenarios that can result in TBI.
(III). Some experts warn parents that there could be potential dangers to having children specialize in one sport year-round at a young age because of the physical toll it can take on a young athlete’s body before he or she has matured.
(A) Only (I)
(B) Only (III)
(C) Both (I) and (II)
(D) Both (II) and (III)
(E) All (I), (II) and (III)
Answer: Option (C)
Explanation: Passage (I) focuses on possible injuries that a child may suffer in sports, more specifically the brain damage that can cause severe mental disabilities and hamper one’s growth. Similarly, passage (II) describes the effects of concussions and TBI that can be fatal to one’s growth both physically and mentally. Thus both these paragraphs generate the same inference i.e. “Sports injury may cause damage to a child's mental growth.” Whereas, passage (III) talks about the same issue but it is to be noted that it focuses only on the physical strain that a child’s body undergoes before he/she attains maturity. Hence (C) is the correct option.
3Q. The downward trend is ascribed to the failure of neoliberal policy.
(I). The FRBM Act effectively tied the hands of the government and has since its passage resulted in a decline in the fiscal deficit to GDP ratio to 3.5 percent in 2016-17. Since this occurred in a period when the government sought to move to an investor-friendly tax regime, which capped and even reduced the tax-to-GDP ratio, a consequence has been curbs on spending that had an overall deflationary impact on the economy.
(II). The Indian economy faces “serious downside risks” as the government’s demonetization drive, implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) and corporate deleveraging could accelerate a slowdown and make recovery difficult, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, or UNCTAD, said in its Trade and Development Report 2017.
(III). This year's overall growth rate promises to be the worst in the last four years. At least one reason for this is the demonetization exercise last November which probably lopped off about one percent from the overall growth rate. It is tempting to jump to the conclusion that demonetization - surely amongst the worst policy decisions in recent times - has been solely responsible for the rather dismal performance and also played an important role in slowing down the economy.
(A) Only (I)
(B) Only (II)
(C) Only (III)
(D) Both (I) and (III)
(E) All (I), (II), and (III)
Answer: Option (A)
Explanation: The FRBM Act mentioned in paragraph 1 is about the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act enacted in 2003. The paragraph is more about the failure associated with neo-liberalism which resulted in an overall deflationary impact on the economy. The term “neo-liberalism” refers to a freeing of the economy by eliminating regulations and barriers that restrict what actors can do and transfers control of economic factors to the private sector from the public sector. Neoliberal policies aim for a laissez-faire approach to economic development. Thus the given inference can be generated from this paragraph. However, the other two paragraphs have got similar perspectives citing demonetization drive and other recent economic decisions to be the reasons behind the downward trend of the Indian economy. It is to be noted that these decisions do not affirm to the neo-liberal policy failure and thus cannot be connected to the given inference. Hence (A) is the correct option.
4Q. The education system in India should be autonomous.
(I). Insights from the report showed that while education is one of the most funded causes in India, few models have achieved scale, and quality remains a pressing issue. Holistic development is not given due attention and as such, access to education has not been equitable, and teacher shortages have impeded quality education delivery. To remedy these gaps, the Report observes the critical need for relevant curriculum design, leadership development, and ecosystem interventions that will go a long way in driving the quality and sustainability of the education sector.
(II). India’s vision of being a world leader in the 21st century is unlikely to be realized without an education system that keeps abreast with the needs of our future citizens. There is a strong case for public-private partnerships in education which will unleash the true potential of Indian citizens in a competitive climate. Clear guidelines and an audit and accountability mechanism are necessary for such an endeavor to succeed.
(III). Education is now a business activity devoted to immediate profits instead of long term benefits to society and rather than leave it to institutions as a mere suggestion (which would probably not be taken) the state could stipulate at least 100 hours of compulsory film viewing per annum for each school/college up to a certain level while also providing a large selection of films to pick from. The nation needs to have an educational programme of its own to create useful citizens and cannot leave this to private initiatives.
(A) Only (I)
(B) Only (II)
(C) Both (I) and (II)
(D) Both (I) and (III)
(E) All (I), (II), and (III)
Answer: Option (E)
Explanation: A passage I bring out the loopholes in our education system along with the need for remedies to sustain the deliverance in the education sector which is the need of the hour. Paragraph II states that our education system needs to move alongside the needs of our future citizens to fulfill the vision of being a world leader in the 21st century. Similarly, paragraph 3 talks about the need for proper reforms in the education system to create useful citizens. Thus all the three paragraphs direct to the given inference, “Education system in India should be autonomous.” It is to be noted that the word “autonomous” in this case refers to “self-sufficient or self-governing.” Hence (E) is the correct option.
5Q. Conservation should not be considered a drag on development.
(I). The tiger population in countries where the big cat occurs had a chequered existence. Although assiduously conserved, tiger populations in some of the range countries are awfully precarious; their numbers lie around the presumed ecological thresholds as far as their viability is concerned. The world has already lost three of the nine subspecies of this charismatic species, further restricting its world population genetically to only six subspecies or geographical variations.
(II). Tiger conservation basically demands stringent protection laws, vast landscapes and a good prey base. While these demands may sound innocuous, they conflict with the country’s land-use planning for development, and as a result, conservation is sidelined in favor of more human-centered priorities.
(III). India lost 69 tigers in 2015 and 52 in 2016. While poaching did not claim all these tigers, it does remain a serious threat to the tiger population. Among the tiger conservation practices, protection and intelligence gathering should be accorded priority and made more professional.
(A) Only (II)
(B) Only (III)
(C) Both (I) and (II)
(D) Both (II) and (III)
(E) All (I), (II) and (III)
Answer: Option (A)
Explanation: Both the paragraphs I and III, talk about the need for conservation of tiger population and certain strict measures for the purpose. Both these articles fail to give any hint regarding the development process. Thus the given inference is untrue to both of them. In the case of paragraph II, it is mentioned that protection mechanisms to conserve the tiger population is the need of the hour, but it should not be considered a drag on development. It is particularly mentioned in the last sentence of the paragraph that conservation is sidelined in favor of more human-centered priorities which should not have been the case. Thus the given inference, “Conservation should not be considered a drag on development” can be generated from this paragraph. Hence (A) is the correct option.
6Q. ISRO's recent accomplishments pronounce the autarky of Indian space prowess.
(I). Success upon success has visited ISRO in the past several years. It successfully put into orbit its spacecraft around Mars in its first attempt on September 24, 2014. The spacecraft completed 1,000 earth days in its orbit on June 19, 2017, well beyond its designated mission life of six months. Its mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-1, was the first to discover the presence of water molecules on the lunar surface soil and rocks. Majority of the mission was financed by Isro's commercial arm antrix which generates a profit of more than 28 million dollars a year by launching various foreign satellites.
(II). The GSLV Mk III, part of the GSLV launchers, carried India's heaviest satellite, GSAT-19 weighing 3136 kg for 16.20 minutes, will continue to be an operating launch. This was the first such launch from India. Earlier, India used to ask foreign space organizations to launch heavy satellites/orbiters. With this development, India will now be able to save crores. The GSLV Mk-III will continue to be a launch vehicle in the future.
(III). A key focus area of ISRO is building reusable launch vehicles (RLVs). In fact, the RLV program crossed a milestone on May 23, 2016, with the launch and return of a winged RLV-TD in a scaled configuration that flew at hypersonic speed. On August 28, 2016, ISRO took the next steps towards reducing the cost of access to space when a modified two-stage vehicle developed by the VSSC (Kerala, India) used air-breathing propulsion in its scramjet engine.
(A) Only (II)
(B) Both (I) and (II)
(C) Both (II) and (III)
(D) Both (I) and (III)
(E) All (I), (II) and (III)
Answer: Option (E)
Explanation: All three paragraphs mark the achievements of ISRO’s space programs over the last few years. These successes proclaim the self-sufficiency of Indian space agency as it is now independent enough to take bigger challenges in times to come. Thus all three passages agree to the given inference, “ISRO's recent accomplishments pronounce the autarky of Indian space prowess.” Hence (E) is the correct option.
7Q. Most NGOs in India lack leaders to succeed in Current Management.
(I). NGOs lack a foundational, leadership development culture and often do not have a shared understanding of what this should look like. Pushed in part by donors to focus almost exclusively on delivering programs, NGOs do not emphasize talent development and often shortchange themselves by under-investing in people.
(II). For the not-for-profit sector to play a far larger role in narrowing the social development deficit in India, prioritizing and investing in developing leaders needs to be a concerted effort from all sector stakeholders—NGO leaders, funders, and intermediaries.
(III). If India’s NGOs are to make real strides toward ambitious goals such as providing equitable healthcare, ensuring high-quality education for children, or providing access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, they will have to confront the unassailable fact that exceptional organizations rely on exceptional leaders—and they need to grow more of them.
(A) Only (I)
(B) Only (III)
(C) Both (I) and (II)
(D) Both (II) and (III)
(E) All (I), (II) and (III)
Answer: Option (E)
Explanation: All three paragraphs are based on a common theme. All the three articles express the need of building leadership development culture in the not-for-profit sector. This infers that to achieve the bigger goals that NGOs in India perceive, they need to work hard to develop exceptional leaders that they lack in current management. Hence all three generate the same inference, “Most NGOs in India lack leaders to succeed Current Management.”
8Q. India owes its present economic progress to LPG reforms.
(I). India’s annual average growth rate from 1990 – 2010 has been 6.6 % which is almost double than the pre-reforms era. GDP growth rate surpassed 5% mark in the early 1980s. This made the impact of 1990’s reforms on growth unclear. Some believe that 1980’s reforms were a precursor to LPG reforms. Other things apart, it is clear that 1980 reforms led to the crash of the economy in 1991, which was remedied by LPG reforms which were quite more comprehensive.
(II). The fruits of LPG’s reforms of 1990 have reached their peak in 2007 when India recorded its highest GDP growth rate of 9%. With this, India became the second fastest growing major economy in the world, next only to China. There has been significant debate, however, around liberalization as an inclusive economic growth strategy. Since 1992, income inequality has deepened in India. Whereas consumption is among the poorest staying stable while the wealthiest generate consumption growth.
(III). The LPG reforms were aimed at ending the license-permit raj by decreasing government intervention in the business, thereby pushing economic growth through reforms. India’s GDP stood at Rs 5,86,212 crore in 1991. About 25 years later, it stands at Rs 1,35,76,086 crore, up 2216 percent. In dollar terms, India’s GDP crossed the $2 trillion mark in 2015-16. Currently, the country is ranked ninth in the world in terms of nominal GDP. India is tipped to be the second largest economy in the world by 2050.
(A) Only (I)
(B) Only (II)
(C) Only (III)
(D) Both (I) and (III)
(E) All of the above
Answer: Option (E)
Explanation: Study the first and the last sentences of the paragraph (I), it is quite evident that India’s LPG reforms in 1991 gave the much-needed boost to its economy which paid the dividends comprehensively and it could well be judged by the comparatively better GDP in the last two decades or so. Thus the paragraph agrees with the required inference. Similarly, paragraph (II) deals with the achievements of LPG reforms which resulted in accelerating India’s growth rate leading it to become the second fastest growing major economy in the world. Thus it also contributes to the required inference. In the case of the paragraph (III), there is a direct comparison in GDP after the reforms. Hence all the three paragraphs come out with the same inference, “India owes its present economic progress to LPG reforms.”
9Q. Strong unified actions are an important protection against child labor.
(I). Following the ratification of the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict in 2001, Guinea had taken steps to prohibit the recruitment of persons under the age of 18 and their direct involvement in armed conflict. The provisions of the Children's Code protected and afforded all possible guarantees to refugee children affected by armed conflict. The provisions of the Optional Protocol had been taken into account both in the Constitution and in the Child Code Act.
(II). Since 2015, Pact and Microsoft have been working together to address the issue through the Children out of Mining pilot project in Katanga. The project uses interventions that are deeply embedded in communities and local institutions to address the economic and social root causes that lead to child labor in mining. In mines where the project has been active, Pact has found a reduction in child labor of between 77 to 97 percent, with variation influenced by seasonal factors and the influx of new conflict-displaced families, among others.
(III). In 2001 factory monitors confirmed illegal union-busting and other violations—including employment of 13-15-year-old children—at a Mexican factory sewing clothing with university logos for Nike and other U.S. companies. Thousands of American students, workers, and consumers wrote letters to corporate CEOs protesting worker treatment. The international solidarity campaign helped factory workers overcome violence, intimidation, and mass firings when they tried to organize, and after months of struggle, workers won an independent union.
(A) Only (I)
(B) Only (II)
(C) Both (I) and (II)
(D) Both (II) and (III)
(E) All of the above
Answer: Option (D)
Explanation: Passage (I) leaves an inference which partly agrees with the given one. The mention of “strong unified actions” cannot be derived from the first paragraph as the actions had been considered based on the Optional Protocol. Moreover, it is more about the children affected by armed conflict. Thus the given inference cannot be derived from the paragraph (I). Paragraphs (II) and (III) indicate the presence of strong unified actions against child labor. Paragraph (II) shows the joint pilot project of Pact and Microsoft to eradicate child labor from mining and the positive result thereof. Similarly, paragraph (III) shows the unified actions by thousands of American students, workers, and consumers to help the children working in factories in overcoming violence, intimidation, etc. Hence both the paragraphs agree with the required inference, “Strong unified actions are an important protection against child labor.”
10Q. Electrification, in contemporary times, is a basic human necessity.
(I). The Saubhagya scheme will help India, the world’s third-largest energy consumer after the US and China, to help meet its global climate change commitments as electricity will substitute kerosene for lighting purposes. Lighting, in turn, will also help in improving education, health, connectivity with the multiplier effect of increased economic activities and job creation.
(II). After launching the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana for universalizing electricity access, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is readying a raft of power sector structural reforms including legal provisions to drive electricity demand, promoting retail competition and tariff slab rationalization to drive manufacturing.
(III). Despite the government’s aggressive village electrification programme, the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana launched in July 2015, under which 78% of 18,000 villages have been electrified, it was realized that the problem of electricity ‘access’ wasn’t resolved. A village is declared to be electrified if 10% of the households are given electricity along with public places such as schools, panchayat office, health centers, dispensaries, and community centers.
(A) Only (I)
(B) Only (III)
(C) Both (I) and (II)
(D) Both (II) and (III)
(E) All of the above
Answer: Option (A)
Explanation: At the very outset, we need to understand the meaning of the given inference. The inference suggests that in today’s world, electrification is a basic human necessity. Now we need to be specific about “basic human necessity” which infers how electrification would cater to our needs in bringing about a change in the existing condition. Among the three paragraphs, paragraph (I) provides a better explanation that could be referred from the last sentence of it. However, paragraphs (II) and (III) are out of the context. Paragraph (II) talks about the structural reforms in the power sector which would promote more electricity generation to meet up the required needs. Thus there is no mention of basic human necessity in the paragraph which marks its elimination. Similarly, paragraph (III) deals with the failure of the government’s electrification program, the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana launched in July 2015. Hence only paragraph (I) agrees with the given inference, “Electrification, in contemporary times, is a basic human necessity.”