UPSC Prelims 2017 CSAT Paper II · Q62 of 79 Comprehension medium

Passage

Passage—2 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?

  1. (a) We must create conditions for the faster growth of highly productive service jobs to ensure employment growth and inclusion.
  2. (b) We must shift the farm workers to the highly productive manufacturing and service sectors to ensure the economic growth and inclusion.
  3. (c) We must create conditions for the faster growth of productive jobs outside of agriculture even while improving the productivity of agriculture. ✓ UPSC's answer
  4. (d) We must emphasize the cultivation of high-yielding hybrid varieties and genetically modified crops to increase the per capita income in agriculture.

Why the answer is (c)

• The passage states that for agricultural per capita incomes to rise, the number of people dependent on agriculture must shrink.

• It notes that while industry creates jobs, many are low-productivity and unorganized, offering poor protection and benefits.

• It highlights that service jobs are high-productivity but have seen slow employment growth recently.

• Therefore, the logical inference is to foster the growth of productive jobs in non-agricultural sectors (industry and services) to absorb the shrinking agricultural workforce.

• This approach ensures employment growth and inclusion by moving labor to higher-productivity sectors while acknowledging the need to reduce agricultural dependency, which aligns with option (c).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) We must create conditions for the faster growth of highly productive service jobs to…
The passage explicitly states that employment growth in services has been slow, making it an incomplete solution compared to the broader need for productive jobs outside agriculture.
(b) We must shift the farm workers to the highly productive manufacturing and service sectors…
The passage identifies that too many industrial jobs are low-productivity and unorganized, so shifting workers specifically to manufacturing is not supported as a rational inference for high-quality inclusion.
(d) We must emphasize the cultivation of high-yielding hybrid varieties and genetically…
The passage argues that agricultural incomes rise when the number of dependents shrinks, not by focusing on specific crop varieties like hybrids or GM crops, which is not mentioned in the text.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2017, held on 18 June 2017. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

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