Reading Comprehension — UPSC CSE CSAT PYQs

*Directions for the following 4 (four) items :
Read the following two passages and answer the items that follow the passages. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.

Passage - 1
Maintaining an ecosystem just to conserve biodiversity will affect its commercial potential as well as the livelihoods dependent on the ecosystem. There is also a conflict between using an ecosystem only for livelihoods, for commercial exploitation, or strictly for conservation. Deforestation caused due to commercial exploitation will lead to indirect harm like floods, siltation problems and microclimatic instability, apart from adversely affecting livelihoods dependent on forests. These conflicts are particularly acute in developing countries where the dependence of people on the ecosystem is significant, and commercial exploitation has the potential to boost national income.*

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Which one of the following statements best reflects the critical message conveyed by the author of the passage ?

Passage - 1
Maintaining an ecosystem just to conserve biodiversity will affect its commercial potential as well as the livelihoods dependent on the ecosystem. There is also a conflict between using an ecosystem only for livelihoods, for commercial exploitation, or strictly for conservation. Deforestation caused due to commercial exploitation will lead to indirect harm like floods, siltation problems and microclimatic instability, apart from adversely affecting livelihoods dependent on forests. These conflicts are particularly acute in developing countries where the dependence of people on the ecosystem is significant, and commercial exploitation has the potential to boost national income.

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With reference to above passage, the following assumptions have been made :
I. No country needs to depend on ecosystems to boost national income.
II. Resource-rich countries need to share their resources with those of scant resources so as to prevent the degradation of ecosystems.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid ?

Passage - 2
The history of renewable energy suggests there is a steep learning curve, meaning that, as more is produced, costs fall rapidly because of economies of scale and learning by doing. The firms’ green innovation is path-dependent : the more a firm does, the more it is likely to do in the future. The strongest evidence for this is the collapse in the price of solar energy, which became about 90% cheaper during the 2010s, repeatedly beating forecasts. Moving early and gradually gives economies more time to adjust, allowing them to reap the benefits of path-dependent green investment without much disruption. A late, more chaotic transition is costlier.

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Which one of the following statements best reflects the central idea of the passage ?

Passage - 2
The history of renewable energy suggests there is a steep learning curve, meaning that, as more is produced, costs fall rapidly because of economies of scale and learning by doing. The firms’ green innovation is path-dependent : the more a firm does, the more it is likely to do in the future. The strongest evidence for this is the collapse in the price of solar energy, which became about 90% cheaper during the 2010s, repeatedly beating forecasts. Moving early and gradually gives economies more time to adjust, allowing them to reap the benefits of path-dependent green investment without much disruption. A late, more chaotic transition is costlier.

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With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made :
I. Path-dependent green investments will eventually most likely benefit growth as well as public finances in a country like India.
II. If other green technologies follow the same pattern as that of solar energy, there will most likely be an easy green transition.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid ?

*Directions for the following 4 (four) items :
Read the following two passages and answer the items that follow the passages. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.

Passage - 1
Each State in India faces a distinctive set of challenges regarding the impact of warming, but also offers its own set of opportunities for reducing emissions depending on its natural resources. For example, coastal States need to take action to protect their shores from sea level rise, districts that are drier need to prepare for variable monsoon precipitation. Himalayan regions have their own unique challenges, and selected parts of peninsular India and offshore areas offer great opportunities for harnessing wind power. These various aspects need to be considered for developing clear and sustainable goals for the future.*

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Which one of the following statements best reflects the most logical, rational and pragmatic message conveyed by the author of the passage ?

Passage - 1
Each State in India faces a distinctive set of challenges regarding the impact of warming, but also offers its own set of opportunities for reducing emissions depending on its natural resources. For example, coastal States need to take action to protect their shores from sea level rise, districts that are drier need to prepare for variable monsoon precipitation. Himalayan regions have their own unique challenges, and selected parts of peninsular India and offshore areas offer great opportunities for harnessing wind power. These various aspects need to be considered for developing clear and sustainable goals for the future.

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With reference to the passage, the following assumptions have been made :
I. Green energy production can be linked to/integrated with the climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.
II. Effects of climate change are much more severe in coastal and mountainous regions.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid ?

Passage - 2
If the social inequality is the most acutely felt social problem in India, insecurity, more than poverty, is the most acutely felt economic problem. Besides those below the official poverty line, even those just over the poverty line are subject to multiple economic insecurities of various kinds (due to wealth and/or health risks, market fluctuations, job-related uncertainties). Many Government policies are actually intended towards mitigating these insecurities.

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Which one of the following statements best reflects the critical message conveyed by the passage ?

Passage - 2
If the social inequality is the most acutely felt social problem in India, insecurity, more than poverty, is the most acutely felt economic problem. Besides those below the official poverty line, even those just over the poverty line are subject to multiple economic insecurities of various kinds (due to wealth and/or health risks, market fluctuations, job-related uncertainties). Many Government policies are actually intended towards mitigating these insecurities.

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With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made :
I. People above the poverty line also are prone to suffer from anxiety about economic insecurity.
II. Eradication of poverty can result in peace and social equality in the country.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid ?

*Directions for the following 4 (four) items :
Read the following two passages and answer the items that follow the passages. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.

Passage - 1
One of the dismal realities of the agricultural sector in independent India has been that it never experienced a high-growth phase, unlike the non-agricultural economy. The highest decadal growth (compound annual growth rate or CAGR) for agriculture has been just 3.5% in the 1980s. Also, after experiencing a spurt in decadal growth during the 1980s, agricultural growth suffered relative stagnation thereafter. This is in sharp contrast to non-agricultural growth, which consistently increased from the 1980s to 2000s.*

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Which one of the following statements best reflects the corollary to the above passage ?

Passage - 1
One of the dismal realities of the agricultural sector in independent India has been that it never experienced a high-growth phase, unlike the non-agricultural economy. The highest decadal growth (compound annual growth rate or CAGR) for agriculture has been just 3.5% in the 1980s. Also, after experiencing a spurt in decadal growth during the 1980s, agricultural growth suffered relative stagnation thereafter. This is in sharp contrast to non-agricultural growth, which consistently increased from the 1980s to 2000s.

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With reference to the passage, the following assumptions have been made :
The growing divergence between the fortunes of the agricultural and non-agricultural economy in India could have been reduced/contained by :
I. adapting large-scale cultivation of commercial crops and viable corporate farming.
II. providing free insurance for all crops and heavily subsidizing seeds, fertilizers, electricity and farm machinery at par with developed countries.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid ?