UPSC Prelims 2025 CSAT Paper II · Q11 of 78 Comprehension medium

Passage

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.

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

  1. (a) The benefit of economic reforms percolates down more slowly to the agriculture sector than in other sectors of the economy. ✓ UPSC's answer
  2. (b) For India, the green revolution was not as useful as it was expected to be.
  3. (c) India lagged behind other countries in adapting mechanized and modern farming.
  4. (d) Rural-to-urban migration resulted in the stagnant agriculture sector.

Why the answer is (a)

• The passage states that agriculture never experienced a high-growth phase, unlike the non-agricultural economy, which consistently increased from the 1980s to the 2000s.

• It highlights that while agriculture had a spurt in the 1980s, it suffered relative stagnation thereafter, whereas non-agricultural growth continued to rise.

• This divergence implies that the positive economic effects (such as those from reforms) reached the non-agricultural sectors more effectively and quickly than the agricultural sector.

• Therefore, the logical corollary is that the benefits of economic reforms percolated down more slowly to agriculture compared to other sectors.

• Option (a) accurately captures this delayed or slower transmission of economic benefits to the agricultural sector.

Why the other options are wrong

(b) For India, the green revolution was not as useful as it was expected to be.
The passage does not mention the Green Revolution or its specific utility, only noting a growth spurt in the 1980s followed by stagnation.
(c) India lagged behind other countries in adapting mechanized and modern farming.
The passage does not provide any information regarding mechanization, modern farming techniques, or comparisons with other countries.
(d) Rural-to-urban migration resulted in the stagnant agriculture sector.
The passage does not cite rural-to-urban migration as a cause for agricultural stagnation, focusing instead on growth rate comparisons between sectors.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2025, held on 25 May 2025. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

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