UPSC Prelims 2022 CSAT Paper II · Q34 of 78 Comprehension medium

Passage

With steady economic growth, higher literacy and increasing skill levels, the number of Indian middle-class families has gone up exponentially. Direct results of the affluence have been changes in dietary patterns and energy consumption levels. People have moved to a higher protein-based diet like milk products, fish and meat, all of which need significantly more water to produce than cereal-based diets. Increasing use of electronic and electric machines/gadgets and motor vehicles needs more and more energy and generation of energy needs water.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the crux of the passage?

  1. (a) People should be persuaded to continue with the mainly Indian traditional cereal-based diets.
  2. (b) India needs to focus on developing agricultural productivity and capacity for more energy generation in the coming years.
  3. (c) Modern technological developments result in the change of cultural and social behaviour of the people.
  4. (d) Water management practices in India need to change dramatically in the coming years. ✓ UPSC's answer

Why the answer is (d)

• The passage establishes a causal chain: economic growth and rising middle-class numbers lead to higher affluence.

• This affluence drives two specific changes: a shift to protein-rich diets (milk, fish, meat) and increased use of electronics and vehicles.

• Both protein production and energy generation require significantly more water than traditional cereal diets or lower energy consumption.

• Therefore, the central implication is that the surge in water demand necessitates a dramatic change in how water is managed in India.

• Option (d) correctly identifies this need for adaptive water management as the core message.

Why the other options are wrong

(a) People should be persuaded to continue with the mainly Indian traditional cereal-based…
The passage describes the shift to protein diets as a result of affluence but does not advocate for a return to traditional cereal-based diets.
(b) India needs to focus on developing agricultural productivity and capacity for more energy…
While the passage mentions energy generation, it does not suggest that the primary solution is increasing agricultural productivity or energy capacity, but rather addressing the water demand.
(c) Modern technological developments result in the change of cultural and social behaviour…
The passage focuses on the resource implications (water) of modernization, not on the broader cultural or social behavioral changes themselves.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2022, held on 5 June 2022. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

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