UPSC Prelims 2021 CSAT Paper II · Q2 of 79 Comprehension medium

Passage

Passage – 2 Approximately 80 percent of all flowering plant species are pollinated by animals, including birds and mammals, but the main pollinators are insects. Pollination is responsible for providing us with a wide variety of food, as well as many plant-derived medicines. At least one-third of the world’s agricultural crops depend upon pollination. Bees are the most dominant taxa when it comes to pollination and they are crucial to more than four hundred crops. Pollination is an essential service that is the result of intricate relationships between plants and animals, and the reduction or loss of either affects the survival of both. Effective pollination requires resources, such as refuges of pristine natural vegetation.

On the basis of the passage given above, the following assumptions have been made : 1. Sustainable production of India’s cereal food grains is impossible without the diversity of pollinating animals. 2. Monoculture of horticultural crops hampers the survival of insects. 3. Pollinators become scarce in cultivated areas devoid of natural vegetation. 4. Diversity in insects induces diversity of plants. Which of the above assumptions is/are valid ?

  1. (a) 1 only
  2. (b) 2, 3 and 4 only
  3. (c) 1 and 2 only
  4. (d) 3 and 4 only ✓ UPSC's answer

Why the answer is (d)

• Assumption 3 is valid because the passage states that effective pollination requires resources like 'refuges of pristine natural vegetation,' implying that cultivated areas lacking this vegetation will have scarce pollinators.

• Assumption 4 is valid because the passage describes pollination as the result of 'intricate relationships between plants and animals' where the loss of either affects the survival of both, suggesting a mutual dependency where insect diversity supports plant diversity.

• Assumption 1 is invalid because the passage does not specify that India's cereal food grains depend on animal pollination; many cereals are wind-pollinated, and the text only states that one-third of global crops depend on pollination without limiting it to cereals.

• Assumption 2 is invalid because the passage does not mention monoculture or its specific impact on insect survival; it only notes that effective pollination requires natural vegetation refuges, not that monoculture itself hampers insects.

• Therefore, only assumptions 3 and 4 are supported by the text, making option (d) the correct answer.

Why the other options are wrong

(a) 1 only
Assumption 1 is not supported as the passage does not link cereal grain production specifically to animal pollination.
(b) 2, 3 and 4 only
Assumption 2 is invalid because the passage does not discuss the impact of monoculture on insect survival.
(c) 1 and 2 only
Assumptions 1 and 2 are invalid because the passage does not support the claims regarding cereal grains or monoculture effects.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2021, held on 10 October 2021. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

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