UPSC Prelims 2015 CSAT Paper II · Q24 of 74 Comprehension medium

Passage

Passage - 4 Our municipal corporations are understaffed. The issue of skills and competencies of the staff poses an even greater challenge. Urban services delivery and infrastructure are complex to plan and execute. They require a high degree of specialization and professionalism. The current framework within which municipal employees, including senior management, are recruited does not adequately factor in the technical and managerial competencies required. Cadre and recruitment rules only specify the bare minimum in academic qualifications. There is no mention of managerial or technical competencies, or of relevant work experience. This is the case with most municipal corporations. They also suffer from weak organisation design and structure.

Which among the following is the most logical and rational assumption that can be made from the above passage ?

  1. (a) The task of providing urban services is a complex issue which requires the organisational expansion of municipal bodies all over the country.
  2. (b) Our cities can provide better quality of life if our local government bodies have adequate staff with required skills and competencies. ✓ UPSC's answer
  3. (c) Lack of skilled staff is due to the absence of institutions which offer the requisite skills in city management.
  4. (d) Our country is not taking advantage of the demographic dividend to manage the problems associated with rapid urbanization.

Why the answer is (b)

• The passage explicitly states that urban services delivery is complex and requires high specialization and professionalism.

• It identifies that municipal corporations are understaffed and that current recruitment rules fail to factor in necessary technical and managerial competencies.

• The text links the lack of adequate staff with the required skills to the challenge of delivering complex urban services.

• Therefore, it is logical to assume that having adequate staff with the required skills and competencies would enable local government bodies to deliver better quality urban services and life.

• Option (b) directly connects the identified problem (lack of skilled staff) with the implied solution (better quality of life through competent local governance).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) The task of providing urban services is a complex issue which requires the organisational…
The passage discusses the need for specialized skills and better recruitment frameworks, not necessarily the physical or organizational expansion of municipal bodies.
(c) Lack of skilled staff is due to the absence of institutions which offer the requisite…
The passage attributes the lack of skilled staff to recruitment rules and cadre structures that do not specify competencies, not to the absence of educational institutions.
(d) Our country is not taking advantage of the demographic dividend to manage the problems…
The passage makes no mention of the demographic dividend or rapid urbanization as the primary context for the staffing issues.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2015, held on 23 August 2015. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

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