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UPSC PYQs: Passage Assumptions

Review complete published questions grouped by topic: Passage Assumptions.

26 published questions

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Questions

Passage: In a digital society, rights such as privacy and free expression require the State not only to abstain from interference but also to prevent private actors from blocking those rights. Assumptions: I the State needs institutions to discharge this role; II the State should prevent private actors from violating privacy; III a digital economy is incompatible with privacy. Which are valid?2020 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
Passage: Future GM crops are likely to combine multiple traits; biotechnology regulation must consider socioeconomic effects, climate mitigation/adaptation, trade policy and international obligations. Assumptions: 1 regulation must evolve; 2 public participation is needed; 3 socioeconomic factors should enter decisions; 4 wider political-executive involvement helps address trade and treaty obligations. Which combination is valid?2020 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
Passage: Foreign private investment is volatile and cannot reliably carry the burden of job creation; technology transfer may also fail where domestic physical and human capital are weak. Assumptions: 1 long-term dependence on foreign investment is unsound; 2 policy should reduce the inherent volatility of foreign investment; 3 domestic private investment should be strengthened; 4 public investment should always take priority over private investment; 5 substantial public investment in education and health is needed. Which are valid?2020 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
Passage: People invest more in education when economic freedom lets them retain the additional income generated by education; higher taxation of that extra income weakens the incentive. Assumptions: 1 lower tax rates invariably encourage greater higher-education investment; 2 investing in children’s education guarantees economic freedom; 3 economic freedom positively builds human capital. Which is valid?2020 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
Using the urban-water passage, consider assumptions: 1 only rich cities can ensure sustainable water delivery; 2 sustainable water delivery involves more than simply supplying water to households. Which is valid?2020 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
Passage: India’s poverty reduction accelerated when agricultural relative prices improved, private farm investment rose, agricultural GDP grew faster, trade surplus increased and real farm wages rose. Assumptions: 1 rural transformation is impossible with mainly small farms; 2 good price incentives can trigger farm investment; 3 high-value value chains are necessary; 4 higher global agricultural prices are important for poverty reduction. Which are valid?2020 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
Passage: Reservoirs are often kept very full to maximise irrigation and electricity generation, although accepted reservoir practice keeps room for incoming monsoon water and regulated releases. Consider assumptions: (1) risks from maximum storage are linked to over-dependence on hydropower; (2) dam storage should not be fully utilised before or during the monsoon; (3) the flood-control role of dams is underestimated in India. Which assumptions are valid?2020 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
Using the same liberalisation passage, consider assumptions: (1) India necessarily needs greater global integration to generate large-scale employment and sustainable growth; (2) liberalisation by itself produces enough growth to reduce poverty and provide sufficient long-term jobs. Which is valid?2020 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
Passage: Modern genome editing uses sequence-specific molecular tools to make precise changes in plant DNA and differs from conventional transgenic approaches that introduce genes from another organism. Consider assumptions: (1) Genome editing does not require transfer of genes from one plant to another. (2) Genome editing can alter chosen genes precisely in a way analogous to natural adaptation. Which assumption(s) is/are valid?2020 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
From the protein-intake passage, which assumption is supported? (1) only animal protein is harmful; (2) acids in the body can be neutralised only by calcium; (3) animal protein is nutritionally superior to plant protein; (4) the conventional belief that ever-higher protein intake is beneficial is scientifically questionable.2020 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
A bottle contains 20 litres of liquid A. Four litres are removed and replaced by four litres of liquid B. Again four litres of the resulting mixture are removed and replaced by four litres of B. What is the final ratio of A to B?2020 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
Using the hunting passage, which assumptions are supported? (1) the narrator’s companions killed animals only for food; (2) the companions were skilled hunters/trackers; (3) the companions had detailed practical knowledge of animal anatomy.2020 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
Using the preceding GM passage, consider assumptions: I corporate GM research gives inadequate attention to agricultural stresses caused by natural calamities; II GM technology will ultimately be incapable of addressing agriculture problems caused by global warming. Which assumption is valid?2019 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
Passage: Child diarrhoeal deaths arise from many food- and water-safety failures, requiring regulation, monitoring, public awareness, trained inspectors and education of street vendors. Assumptions: I food safety needs a multipronged solution; II substantial investment in surveillance/training manpower is needed; III new legislation specifically for the food-processing industry is needed. Which are valid?2019 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
Passage: Climate policy may strand fossil-fuel reserves, increase taxes and regulation, and extreme weather can damage many industries. Assumptions: I governments and companies should prepare for climate change; II extreme weather will necessarily reduce future economic growth; III ignoring climate change creates major investment risk. Which are valid?2019 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
Passage: School enrolment is nearly universal, but access to quality education varies sharply by socioeconomic status; RTE quotas in private schools triggered debate on equity and resistance among private actors. Assumptions: I equality of opportunity is necessarily the fundamental goal of the entire Indian education system; II the present school system does not provide egalitarian education; III abolishing private schools is the only way to achieve equality. Which is valid?2019 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
From the preceding regulation passage, assess assumptions: I regulations are generally ineffective at protecting local markets; II governments worldwide generally ignore social and environmental concerns when regulating. Which assumption is valid?2019 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
Using the microbiome passage, consider: I processed probiotic foods are established as the solution for children with immature gut microbiomes; II babies of malnourished mothers tend to be malnourished. Which assumption is valid?2019 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
Passage: Rapid warming on the western Antarctic Peninsula is melting glaciers; researchers link suspended sediments from melting to loss of benthic diversity. Assumptions: I all glacier regions warm faster than other regions; II global warming can increase seafloor sedimentation in some places; III melting glaciers can reduce marine biodiversity in some places. Which are valid?2019 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
Passage: Fossil remains at an owl roost suggest small-mammal communities stayed resilient through rapid natural warming about 13,000 years ago, but human-driven environmental change since the late nineteenth century sharply reduced biomass and ecosystem energy flow. Which assumption is valid? I global warming is frequently recurring; II future warming will not harm small mammals; III humans are responsible for loss of natural ecosystem resilience.2019 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
Passage: Crop diversity has collapsed as farming and food systems depend on fewer high-yield varieties; locally adapted varieties could become vital if disease or climate change damages dominant crops. Which assumptions are valid? I humans are the main cause of all large-scale plant-species extinction; II eating mainly locally cultivated crops supports crop diversity; III current production will certainly cause near-term food scarcity; IV future food security may depend on preserving local crop varieties.2019 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
From the historical-injustice passage, assess assumptions: I removing economic discrimination automatically removes social discrimination; II democratic polity is necessarily the best method for repairing historical wrongs. Which is valid?2019 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
Passage: Universities should cultivate both specialised knowledge and culture—thoughtfulness, beauty and human feeling—because information or expertise alone is incomplete. Assumptions: I no society can modernise without well-educated people; II an individual’s education is incomplete without culture. Which is valid?2019 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
Passage: Fertile soil forms slowly but is rapidly lost by erosion; it also stores large quantities of carbon as organic matter. Assumptions: I soil erosion is a major demonstrated cause of worldwide food insecurity; II soil erosion is mainly human-caused; III sustainable soil management can help address climate change. Which is valid?2019 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
Passage: Inequality is visible and measurable, but the economic power organising it is often invisible; power’s influence is best seen through how it tilts observable outcomes. Assumptions: I economic power is the sole cause of inequality; II inequality necessarily reinforces power; III economic power can be studied more readily through its effects than by direct measurement. Which is valid?2019 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions
Passage: About 56 million years ago, a geologically rapid carbon release caused the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, bringing major warming, ecological disruption and a substantially altered biosphere before excess carbon was reabsorbed. Assumptions: I global warming can influence biological evolution; II separation of land masses itself causes huge carbon releases; III warming can change the composition of flora and fauna; IV current warming will necessarily recreate exactly the same conditions. Which are valid?2019 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Passage Assumptions