UPSC PYQs: Reading Comprehension

Review complete published questions grouped by topic: Reading Comprehension.

143 published questions

Questions

A passage on global food loss/waste asks which inferences follow: (1) distribution methods alone cause the waste; (2) land productivity is harmed; (3) reducing waste lowers the carbon footprint; (4) post-harvest loss-reduction technologies are unavailable.2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
From the same food-waste passage, assess assumptions: (1) food-distribution mechanisms need redesign to reduce losses; (2) reducing food waste is a social and moral responsibility of all citizens.2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage on inflation, interest rates and public debt asks which inferences follow: (1) central banks cannot sustainably reduce inflation without fiscal backing; (2) monetary-policy effects depend on government fiscal policy.2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
From the inflation passage, assess assumptions: (1) fiscal policy alone causes higher prices; (2) higher prices do not affect long-term government bonds.2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage argues that strong institutions reduce uncertainty in public decision-making. Which one of the following is the most logical implication?2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage on systems-based urban planning asks for the most rational inference.2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
From the urban-planning passage, assess assumptions: (1) India needs a new generation of professionals with modern urban-practice knowledge; (2) Indian universities have no capacity or potential to teach a systems approach.2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage on digital political discourse asks for its central idea.2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
From the social-media passage, assess assumptions: (1) the Internet is not inclusive enough; (2) the Internet can adversely affect the quality of politics.2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage on weak foundational learning among class-8 students asks which assumptions are valid: (1) parents have a greater role than government in effective school education; (2) a uniform modern curriculum for the whole country can resolve the issues.2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
From the school-learning passage, which statement best captures the central idea?2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage on science as a modern social enterprise asks what best reflects the author’s view.2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage on science and mankind asks which emphatic statements follow: (1) mankind could not have survived until today without science; (2) science will ultimately determine mankind’s destiny.2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
From the same passage, assess assumptions: (1) the horrors of modern life are an inevitable result of science; (2) a frequently overlooked truth is that science is what human beings have made of it.2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage on travel says prolonged exposure to other peoples teaches a crucial distinction. Which one?2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
From the same travel passage, assess assumptions: (1) travel promotes understanding among human beings; (2) travel helps discover fundamental common values; (3) a sufficiently experienced traveller can resolve differences among people.2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage criticises conventional classroom education for privileging seat-time over competencies and using a one-size-fits-all model. Which inferences follow: (1) it focuses duration more than competency; (2) it follows a one-size-fits-all approach?2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
From the same classroom passage, assess assumptions: (1) because many workers are in the unorganised sector, conventional education need not change; (2) the present classroom system produces enough skilled workers for the demographic dividend.2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage on adolescence and parental conflict asks which assumptions are valid: (1) adolescents may feel uncomfortable because parents are dominating/assertive; (2) modern adolescents generally lack respect for parents.2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
What central idea best follows from the adolescence passage?2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage describes pumping CO2 dissolved in water into underground basalt, where it mineralises into carbonate rock. What is the most practical implication?2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage says giant icebergs release nutrients that stimulate phytoplankton and can affect Southern-Ocean ecosystems. Assess assumptions: (1) giant icebergs can affect primary productivity and food chains; (2) their melting can have climate effects and influence world fisheries.2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage describes caterpillar frass triggering plant defences against pathogens. What practical application is most logical?2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage on democracy argues that inconvenient reality must remain visible in political speech, social assertion and deliberation, while responsible media should circulate reality without distortion. What best captures its central idea?2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage discusses network-connected home devices and how manufacturers may compensate for thin margins by collecting personal data, sometimes without meaningful consent, to observe consumer behaviour. What practical message follows?2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage on green growth argues that resource-intensive growth must give way to efficient, resource-frugal development so that prosperity is environmentally sustainable and broadly shared. What best states the crux?2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage contrasts poetry with claims to absolute truth: poetry accepts plurality, contradiction and imperfection and stands against tyranny, hierarchy and arrogance. What is its most rational message?2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage explains that flowers evolved petals and perfume to attract pollinating insects; human-perceived beauty is a by-product. Assumptions: (1) flowers are creations of Nature’s luxury; (2) flowers have no usefulness except beauty. Which assumptions are valid?2024 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage on growing inter-State water stress asks for the most rational immediate step for fair allocation among competing users.2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage links anaemia, tuberculosis and childhood malnutrition to productivity and future skill capacity. What is its main implication?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage on small farmers and climate adaptation asks for its central message.2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A climate-risk passage argues that waiting for uncertain future technology before cutting emissions is risky. Which message is strongest?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage contrasts collective inertia on environmental and personal-health choices. Which assumption is most reasonable?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage says poor diets, affordability and food-system failures drive malnutrition and NCDs. What is its crux?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage criticises ad-hoc vehicle bans for urban air pollution and calls for continuous scientific source data. What implication follows?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage links strong corporate governance with disclosure, investor confidence and access to external finance. What follows?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage describes elephants creating clearings, dispersing seeds, enriching soil and providing water access. What is the best inference?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A municipal-waste passage discusses segregation, recycling and waste-to-energy. Assumptions: (1) all collection/processing/segregation should be government-run; (2) resource recovery is best handled by private technology firms. Which is valid?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
From the same municipal-waste passage, what is the central practical message?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
An organic-farming passage notes weak regulation and unsafe misuse of some organic inputs. Assumptions: (1) organic farming is inherently unsafe; (2) farmers and consumers need education about eco-friendly food. Which is valid?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
What is the most practical message of the organic-farming passage?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage links monoculture and loss of traditional foods to malnutrition. Which assumptions are valid: monoculture is inevitable for zero hunger; crop dependence harms health/ecosystems; food policy should include nutrition security; subsidies explain all crop-diversity choices?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage says warmer, low-snow winters lengthen the “vernal window” and disrupt timing of birds and other ecological events. Assumptions: (1) global warming is making spring earlier/longer; (2) an earlier/longer spring is necessarily harmful to bird populations. Which is valid?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage notes that only about 40% of applied synthetic nitrogen enters crops while the rest causes air/water pollution. What is its key message?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A climate-justice passage discusses adaptation, loss and damage, resources, technology and support for victims. What is the most crucial message?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage says forest, wetland and pasture foods can supplement cultivated food and buffer crop failures. What is the central message?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage links untreated antibiotic-manufacturing effluent with drug-resistant bacteria. What is the most practical response?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage argues that foundational school skills are prerequisites for higher education, skills and a knowledge economy. What is its crux?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage on the paradox of choice says abundant options, constant connectivity and information overload can increase anxiety and indecision. What is the main message?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage on financialising Indian household savings identifies bureaucracy, distrust and lack of information. Which implied solutions fit: flexible environment; customised household solutions; fintech innovation?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A pharmaceutical-patent passage discusses innovation incentives versus unaffordable medicine. Which assumptions are valid: (1) patent prices burden purchasing power; (2) foreign dependence is the key burden; (3) affordability is irrelevant to policy; (4) governments must balance patentee and patient interests?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage argues that data protection and user control are necessary for a healthy digital economy. Assumptions: privacy has economic value; privacy and innovation are fundamentally linked. Which is valid?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage says measured unemployment among young educated Indians partly reflects rising enrolment and willingness to wait for suitable jobs. What is the author’s point?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage argues science and government both need philosophy to coordinate knowledge toward proper goals. What practical message follows?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A passage says the State exists not to dominate or frighten people but to let them live securely and exercise free reason. What term best captures its ultimate goal?2023 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
The IMF has pointed out that the fast-growing economies of Asia face the risk of falling into the 'middle-income trap'. It means that average incomes in these countries, which till now have been growing rapidly, will stop growing beyond a point—a point that is well short of incomes in the developed West. The IMF identifies a number of causes of the middle-income trap—from infrastructure to weak institutions, to less favourable macroeconomic conditions. The overall cause, says the IMF, is the growth of productivity. Which among the following is the most logical, rational and critical inference that can be made from the above passage?2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
There has been a significant trend worldwide towards regionalism in government, resulting in a widespread transfer of powers downwards towards regions and communities since the 1990s. This process, which involves the creation of new political entities and bodies at a sub-national level and an increase in their content and powers, is known as devolution. Devolution has been characterized as being made up of three factors—political legitimacy, decentralization of authority, and decentralization of resources. Political legitimacy here means a mass demand from below for the decentralization process, which is able to create a political force for it to take place. In many cases, decentralization is initiated by the upper tier of government without sufficient political mobilization for it at the grassroots level, and in such cases, the decentralization process often does not fulfil its objectives. Which among the following is the most logical, rational, and critical inference that can be made from the above passage?2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Why do people prefer open defecation and not want toilets or, if they have them, only use them sometimes? Recent research has shown two critical elements: ideas of purity and pollution, and not wanting pits or septic tanks to fill because they have to be emptied. These are the issues that nobody wants to talk about, but if we want to eradicate the practice of open defecation, they have to be confronted and dealt with properly. Which among the following is the most crucial message conveyed by the above passage?2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
The greatest blessing that technological progress has in store for mankind is not, of course, an accumulation of material possessions. The amount of these that can be effectively enjoyed by one individual in one lifetime is not great. But there is not the same narrow limit to the possibilities of the enjoyment of leisure. The gift of leisure may be abused by people who have had no experience of making use of it. Yet the creative use of leisure by a minority in societies has been the mainspring of all human progress beyond the primitive level. With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made: 1. People always see the leisure time as a gift and use it for acquiring more material possessions. 2. Use of leisure by some people to produce new and original things has been the chief source of human progress. Which of these assumptions is/are valid?2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Climate change is likely to expose a large number of people to increasing environmental risks forcing them to migrate. The international community is yet to recognize this new category of migrants. There is no consensus on the definition and status of climate refugees owing to the distinct meaning the term refugees carry under international laws. There are still gaps in understanding how climate change will work as the root cause of migration. Even if there is recognition of climate refugees, who is going to provide protection? More emphasis has been given to international migration due to climate change. But there is a need to recognize the migration of such people within the countries also so that their problems can be addressed properly. Which of the following is the most rational inference from the above passage?2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
There is no harm in cultivating habits so long as they are not injurious. Indeed, most of us are little more than a bundle of habits. Take away our habits, and the residuum could not get on without them. They simplify the mechanism of life. They enable us to do a multitude of things automatically, which, if we had to give fresh and original thought to them each time, would make existence an impossible confusion. The author suggests that habits:2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
There is more than a modicum of truth in the assertion that 'a working knowledge of ancient history is necessary to the intelligent interpretation of current events'. But the sage who uttered these words of wisdom might well have added something on the benefits of studying particularly the famous battles of history for the lessons they contain for those of us who lead or aspire to leadership. Such a study will reveal certain qualities and attributes which enabled the winners to win—and certain deficiencies which caused the losers to lose. And the student will see that the same pattern recurs consistently, again and again, throughout the centuries. With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made: 1. A study of the famous battles of history would help us understand modern warfare. 2. Studying history is essential for anyone who aspires to be a leader. Which of these assumptions is/are valid?2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Many farmers use synthetic pesticides to kill infesting insects. The consumption of pesticides in some of the developed countries is touching 3000 grams/hectare. Unfortunately, there are reports that these compounds possess inherent toxicities that endanger the health of the farm operators, consumers, and the environment. Synthetic pesticides are generally persistent in the environment. Entering the food chain, they destroy microbial diversity and cause ecological imbalance. Their indiscriminate use has resulted in the development of resistance among insects to insecticides, upsetting the balance in nature and resurgence of treated populations. Natural pest control using botanical pesticides is safer to the user and the environment because they break down into harmless compounds within hours or days in the presence of sunlight. Plants with pesticidal properties have been in nature for millions of years without any ill or adverse effects on the ecosystem. They are easily decomposed by many microbes common in most soils. They help in the maintenance of biological diversity of predators and the reduction of environmental contamination and human health hazards. Botanical pesticides formulated from plants are biodegradable and their use in crop protection is a practical sustainable alternative. On the basis of the above passage, the following assumptions have been made: 1. Synthetic pesticides should never be used in modern agriculture. 2. One of the aims of sustainable agriculture is to ensure minimal ecological imbalance. 3. Botanical pesticides are more effective as compared to synthetic pesticides. Which of the assumptions given above is/are correct?2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Many farmers use synthetic pesticides to kill infesting insects. Synthetic pesticides are generally persistent in the environment and can destroy microbial diversity and cause ecological imbalance. Natural pest control using botanical pesticides is safer because they break down into harmless compounds and are biodegradable. Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding biopesticides? 1. They are not hazardous to human health. 2. They are persistent in the environment. 3. They are essential to maintain the biodiversity of any ecosystem. Select the correct answer using the code given below:2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Really I think that the poorest he that is in England has a life to live, as the greatest he, and therefore truly, I think it is clear that every man that is to live under a government ought first by his own consent to put himself under the government, and I do think that the poorest man in England is not at all bound in a strict sense to that government that he has not had a voice to put himself under. The above statement argues for2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
The very first lesson that should be taught to us when we are old enough to understand it, is that complete freedom from the obligation to work is unnatural, and ought to be illegal, as we can escape our share of the burden of work only by throwing it on someone else’s shoulders. Nature ordains that the human race shall perish of famine if it stops working. We cannot escape from this tyranny. The question we have to settle is how much leisure we can afford to allow ourselves. The main idea of the passage is that:2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
In the last two decades, the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) has increased by 50 percent, whereas inclusive wealth has increased by a mere 6 percent. In recent decades, GDP-driven economic performance has only harmed inclusive wealth like human capital and natural capital like forests, land and water. While the world’s human capital, which stands at 57 percent of total inclusive wealth, grew by only 8 percent, the natural capital, which is 23 percent of total inclusive wealth, declined by 30 percent worldwide in the last two decades. Which of the following is the most crucial inference from the above passage?2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
In a free country, the man who reaches the position of leader is usually one of outstanding character and ability. Moreover, it is usually possible to foresee that he will reach such a position, since early in life one can see his qualities of character. But this is not always true in the case of a dictator; often he reaches his position of power through chance, very often through the unhappy state of his country. The passage seems to suggest that2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Productive jobs are vital for growth, and a good job is the best form of inclusion. More than half of our population depends on agriculture, but the experience of other countries suggests that the number of people dependent on agriculture will have to shrink if per capita incomes in agriculture are to go up substantially. While industry is creating jobs, too many such jobs are low-productivity non-contractual jobs in the unorganized sector, offering low incomes, little protection, and no benefits. Service jobs are relatively of high productivity, but employment growth in services has been slow in recent years. Which among the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage?2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
The States are like pearls and the Centre is the thread which turns them into a necklace; if the thread snaps, the pearls are scattered. Which one of the following views corroborates the above statement?2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A successful democracy depends upon widespread interest and participation in politics, in which voting is an essential part. To deliberately refrain from taking such an interest, and from voting, is a kind of implied anarchy; it is to refuse one’s political responsibility while enjoying the benefits of a free political society. This passage relates to2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
We live in digital times. The digital is not just something we use strategically and specifically to do a few tasks. Our very perception of who we are, how we connect to the world around us, and the ways in which we define our domains of life, labour, and language are hugely structured by the digital technologies. The digital is everywhere and, like air, invisible. We live within digital systems, we live with intimate gadgets, we interact through digital media, and the very presence and imagination of the digital have dramatically restructured our lives. The digital, far from being a tool, is a condition and context that defines the shapes and boundaries of our understanding of the self, the society, and the structure of governance. Which among the following is the most logical and essential message conveyed by the above passage?2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
By 2020, when the global economy is expected to run short of 56 million young people, India, with its youth surplus of 47 million, could fill the gap. It is in this context that labour reforms are often cited as the way to unlock double-digit growth in India. In 2014, India’s labour force was estimated to be about 40 percent of the population, but 93 percent of this force was in the unorganized sector. Over the last decade, the compound annual growth rate of employment has slowed to 0.5 percent, with about 14 million jobs created during the last year when the labour force increased by about 15 million. Which of the following is the most rational inference from the above passage?2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
What climate change will undeniably do is cause or amplify events that hasten the reduction of resources. Competition over these diminishing resources would ensue in the form of political or even violent conflict. Resource-based conflicts have rarely been overt and are thus difficult to isolate. Instead, they take on veneers that appear more politically palatable. Conflicts over resources like water are often cloaked in the guise of identity or ideology. What does the above passage imply?2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
We have hard work ahead. There is no resting for any of us till we redeem our pledge in full, till we make all the people of India what destiny intends them to be. We are citizens of a great country, on the verge of bold advance, and we have to live up to that high standard. All of us, to whatever religion we may belong, are equally the children of India with equal rights, privileges and obligations. We cannot encourage communalism or narrow-mindedness, for no nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought or action. The challenge the author of the above passage throws to the public is to achieve2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
An air quality index (AQI) is a way to combine measurements of multiple air pollutants into a single number or rating. This index is ideally kept constantly updated and available in different places. The AQI is most useful when lots of pollution data are being gathered and when pollution levels are normally, but not always, low. In such cases, if pollution levels spike for a few days, the public can quickly take preventive action in response to an air quality warning. Unfortunately, that is not urban India. Pollution levels in many large Indian cities are so high that they remain well above any health or regulatory standard for a large part of the year. If our index stays in the Red/'Dangerous' region day after day, there is not much anyone can do, other than getting used to ignoring it. Which among the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage?2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
The medium-term challenge for Indian manufacturing is to move from lower to higher tech sectors, from lower to higher value-added sectors, and from lower to higher productivity sectors. Medium-tech industries are primarily capital-intensive and resource-processing; and high-tech industries are mainly capital and technology-intensive. In order to push the share of manufacturing in overall GDP to the projected 25 per cent, Indian manufacturing needs to capture the global market in sectors showing a rising trend in demand. These sectors are largely high-technology and capital-intensive. Which among the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage?2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Over the last decade, Indian agriculture has become more robust with record production of food grains and oilseeds. Increased procurement, consequently, has added huge stacks of food grains in the granaries. India is one of the world’s top producers of rice, wheat, milk, fruits and vegetables. India is still home to a quarter of all undernourished people in the world. On an average, almost half of the total expenditure of nearly half of the households is on food. Which among the following is the most logical corollary to the above passage?2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
A landscape-scale approach to land use can encourage greater biodiversity outside protected areas. During hurricane 'Mitch' in 1998, farms using ecoagricultural practices suffered 58 percent, 70 percent and 99 percent less damage in Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala, respectively, than farms using conventional techniques. In Costa Rica, vegetative windbreaks and fencerows boosted farmers’ income from pasture and coffee while also increasing bird diversity. Bee pollination is more effective when agricultural fields are closer to natural or seminatural habitat, a finding that matters because 87 percent of the world’s 107 leading crops depend on animal pollinators. In Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Colombia silvopastoral systems that integrate trees with pastureland are improving the sustainability of cattle production, and diversifying and increasing farmers’ income. Which among the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage?2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
In a democratic State, where a high degree of political maturity of the people obtains, the conflict between the will of the sovereign law-making body and the organized will of the people seldom occurs. What does the above passage imply?2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Disruption of traditional institutions, identifications, and loyalties is likely to lead to ambivalent situations. It is possible that some people may renew their identification with traditional groups whereas others align themselves with new groups and symbols emergent from processes of political development. In addition, political development tends to foster group awareness of a variety of class, tribe, region, clan, language, religion, occupation, and others. Which one of the following is the best explanation of the above passage?2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
The individual, according to Rousseau, puts his person and all his power in common under the supreme direction of the General Will and in our corporate capacity we receive each member as an indivisible part of the whole. In the light of the above passage, the nature of General Will is best described as2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
An innovative India will be inclusive as well as technologically advanced, improving the lives of all Indians. Innovation and R&D can mitigate increases in social inequality and relieve the pressures created by rapid urbanization. The growing divergence in productivity between agriculture and knowledge-intensive manufacturing and services threatens to increase income inequality. By encouraging India’s R&D labs and universities to focus on the needs of poor people and by improving the ability of informal firms to absorb knowledge, an innovation and research agenda can counter this effect. Inclusive innovation can lower the costs of goods and services and create income-earning opportunities for the poor people. Which among the following is the most logical and rational assumption that can be made from the above passage?2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
The man who is perpetually hesitating which of the two things he will do first, will do neither. The man who resolves, but suffers his resolution to be changed by the first counter-suggestion of a friend—who fluctuates from opinion to opinion and veers from plan to plan—can never accomplish anything. He will at best be stationary and probably retrograde in all. It is only the man who first consults wisely, then resolves firmly and then executes his purpose with inflexible perseverance, undismayed by those petty difficulties which daunt a weaker spirit—that can advance to eminence in any line. The keynote that seems to be emerging from the passage is that:2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
During the summer in the Arctic Ocean, sea ice has been melting earlier and faster, and the winter freeze has been coming later. In the last three decades, the extent of summer ice has declined by about 30 percent. The lengthening period of summer melt threatens to undermine the whole Arctic food web, atop which stand polar bears. Which among the following is the most crucial message conveyed by the above passage?2017 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage: Climate-change mitigation and adaptation require substantial finance. Developing countries’ domestic resources may fall short, while UNFCCC negotiations debate developed-country financial support in light of historical greenhouse-gas contributions. Which issue is essentially discussed?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage: Climate-change action imposes costs; developing-country domestic finances may be inadequate and multilateral finance is needed. It can be inferred that climate change is likely to have implications on developing countries’ 1. domestic finances 2. capacity for multilateral trade.2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage: Under UNFCCC negotiations, financial support for developing-country mitigation and adaptation is debated. Which are matters of intense debate? 1. Scale and size of required financial support 2. Crop loss due to climate change 3. Enhancement of mitigation and adaptation actions in developing countries.2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage: The conflict between State and individual has persisted for centuries. Human society is dynamic, and absolute freedom of speech and action could lead to chaos and anarchy. Which statement best sums up the author’s viewpoint?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage: UNFCCC places responsibility for climate financial support on developed countries, taking account of their contribution to accumulated greenhouse gases. Why is the responsibility placed on developed countries? 1. Higher per-capita incomes 2. Larger GDP 3. Large contribution to the stock of GHGs.2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage: No right is absolute. The right of personal property must be viewed with liberty, equality and cooperation. Which is the most convincing explanation?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage: India’s persistent inflation is linked to administered-price increases, demand-supply imbalances, imported inflation, depreciation and speculation; several are outcomes of economic reforms such as trade liberalisation and subsidy reduction. What is the most logical message?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage: Government sometimes requires discretionary powers, but such power must remain within recognized rules, safeguards and predictable principles to prevent abuse. What is the most logical assumption?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage on formal financial institutions and rural savings. Statements: 1. Indian financial institutions offer no financial instruments to rural households. 2. Poor households tend to spend earnings/savings when they lack access to appropriate financial instruments. Which is/are correct?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage on formal financial institutions and rural savings. What is the crucial message?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage criticizes caste/community/religious favouritism as making democracy phoney and urges respect for persons and opportunities based on merit. Which statement best sums it up?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage: Open defecation contaminates food and water, spreads disease, contributes to malnutrition, stunting and impaired cognitive development. What is the most critical inference?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
“By liberty I mean the eager maintenance of that atmosphere in which men have the opportunity to be their best selves.” Which interpretation is best?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage: Advanced-economy portfolio investment in emerging markets has risen sharply, and reversal of US quantitative easing could trigger a chain reaction. What is the most rational inference?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage: Poverty can make people more vulnerable to climate impacts, while climate impacts can deepen poverty through food insecurity, livelihood loss and price shocks. What is the most logical message?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Mangroves shed large quantities of leaves; decomposers consume the litter, tiny organisms feed on them, and fish, birds and crocodiles feed further up the chain. What is the most logical inference?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage on human development: exclusive focus on economic growth can produce adverse distributional and environmental effects. Assumptions: 1. Higher growth is essential to reduce economic disparity. 2. Environmental degradation is sometimes a consequence of economic growth. Which is/are valid?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
From the same human-development passage, consider: 1. A strong institutional framework is the only requirement for human development. 2. Human development and economic growth are not always positively inter-related. 3. Focusing only on human development should be the goal. Which is/are correct?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage on electronic MGNREGS wage payments: many rural beneficiaries with bank accounts still depend on village leaders because of financial, functional and technological illiteracy. What is the crucial message?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage: Flamingos form large social flocks, perform group mating dances and protect chicks in creches while adults forage. What is the most logical corollary?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage: The aim of government is not rule by fear but to free people from fear, secure their right to exist and work without injury, and allow reason and development. What is the most logical inference?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage from “Stench of Kerosene”: family pressure for an heir leads to a second marriage and tragic consequences. The story primarily sensitizes readers about2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage: Municipal corporations are understaffed and recruitment rules do not adequately require the technical and managerial competencies needed for complex urban services. What is the most logical assumption?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage: Richer States have greater responsibility and capacity to reduce carbon emissions, invest in clean energy and support poorer States, while financially stressed State Electricity Boards are reluctant to adopt costlier renewable energy. What is the most logical assumption?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage: The author explains that silence, restraint and economy of words help a votary of truth avoid exaggeration, suppression or modification of truth. For the author, silence is necessary in order to surmount2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
From the same passage on silence and economy of words, the most appropriate reason the author was spared many a mishap is that2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
From the passage on silence, the author says a thoughtless word hardly ever escapes his tongue or pen. Which is not a valid reason for this?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage: India’s high child mortality is linked to weak breastfeeding and immunisation practices, gaps in maternal care, child marriage, anaemia and poor adolescent sanitation. What critical inference follows?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage: Some people argue that cutting defence expenditure on weapon-building would create peace with neighbours; the author rejects this as a false argument. What is the most valid assumption?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage: Long-distance and processed food creates transport pollution, wastage, rainforest destruction, reduced nutrition and additional preservation/packaging demand. Consider: 1. Consuming regionally grown food is eco-friendly. 2. Food processing puts a burden on natural resources.2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage: Human history contains theories restricting the right to govern to selected citizens and justifying exclusion for social or political efficacy. Which statement is least essential to this argument?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage: By 2050 a larger population, changing consumption, climate stress and finite land/water will intensify food needs; responses include higher yields, efficient farming, waste reduction, nutrient recovery and changed consumption. What best sums up the passage?2015 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage on inclusive growth: What is the author’s central focus?2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
From the same passage on inclusive growth, the author supports policies which will help2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
According to the inclusive-growth passage, India’s economy has grown but there is no room for complacency because: 1. growth eradicates poverty; 2. growth has resulted in prosperity for all. Which is/are correct?2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
According to the petrol-pricing passage, an oil company can make greater profits under a transparent pricing formula by: 1. promoting sales 2. undertaking innovation 3. cutting costs 4. selling equity shares at higher prices.2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
According to the petrol-pricing passage, private oil companies re-enter the market if: 1. transparent rule-based pricing exists 2. there is no government interference 3. subsidies are given 4. anti-trust regulations are removed.2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage on climate change and agriculture: shifting locations of existing crops may be forced by 1. melting glaciers 2. water availability and temperature suitability elsewhere 3. poor crop productivity 4. wider adaptability of crop plants. Which are correct?2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
According to the climate-and-agriculture passage, why is it important to promote agricultural research in India?2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
According to the greenhouse-gas mitigation passage, which would help mitigation? 1. reducing meat consumption 2. rapid economic liberalization 3. reducing consumerism 4. modern livestock-management practices.2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Why, according to the passage, do we continue to depend heavily on fossil fuels? 1. inadequate technological development 2. inadequate funds/support for research and development 3. inadequate practical availability of alternative energy.2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
According to the greenhouse-gas passage, how does mitigation help us? 1. reduces expenditure on public health 2. reduces dependence on livestock 3. reduces energy requirements 4. reduces the rate of global climate change.2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
What is the essential message of the greenhouse-gas passage?2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Passage on Himalayan ecosystem and climate change: adverse impact on an ecosystem can mean 1. permanent disappearance of some flora and fauna 2. permanent disappearance of the ecosystem itself. Which is/are correct?2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Which statement best implies the need to shift toward a contemporary conservation approach in the Himalayan ecosystem?2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
What is the most important message conveyed by the Himalayan conservation passage?2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
With reference to the Himalayan passage, consider assumptions: 1. exploitation of natural resources should be completely avoided 2. natural as well as anthropogenic reasons can adversely affect ecosystems 3. loss of endemic diversity leads to extinction of ecosystems. Which assumption(s) are correct?2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
According to the globalization passage, government interventions are viewed as processes leading to2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
According to the passage, the basic philosophy of globalization is to2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
According to the globalization passage, which are consistent with globalization? 1. privatization of public enterprises 2. expansionary public expenditure 3. free play of market forces in wages and employment 4. privatization of social services such as education and health.2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
According to the globalization passage, in the process of globalization the State should have a2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
According to the passage on capitalism and the global banking crisis, apologists of the “Free Market System” believe in2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
With reference to “ideological bias” in the passage on capitalism, what does it imply?2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
The passage says the exercise of private greed can be justified as serving larger public interest. Which statements are supported? 1. It is a false ideology of capitalism. 2. It underlies righteous claims of the free market. 3. It is the benevolent face of capitalism. 4. It ignores resultant gross inequity.2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
According to the passage on public and private sectors, why has the time come to review the role of the public sector? 1. Public sector has lost all relevance. 2. Public sector performance is unsatisfactory. 3. Private entrepreneurship is expanding. 4. Effective competition policies are available.2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
According to the passage, why should rural roads remain in the public-sector domain?2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
In the public/private-sector passage, “portfolio composition of the government” refers to2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension
Why does the author prefer “government as umpire and private sector as players” in regulated industries?2014 · Prelims CSAT · CSAT · Reading Comprehension

UPSC PYQs: Reading Comprehension

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