UPSC Prelims 2025 CSAT Paper II · Q12 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.

With reference to the passage, the following assumptions have been made : The growing divergence between the fortunes of the agricultural and non-agricultural economy in India could have been reduced/contained by : I. adapting large-scale cultivation of commercial crops and viable corporate farming. II. providing free insurance for all crops and heavily subsidizing seeds, fertilizers, electricity and farm machinery at par with developed countries. Which of the above assumptions is/are valid ?

  1. (a) I only
  2. (b) II only
  3. (c) Both I and II
  4. (d) Neither I nor II ✓ UPSC's answer

Why the answer is (d)

• The passage explicitly states that the agricultural sector in independent India never experienced a high-growth phase, with the highest decadal CAGR being just 3.5% in the 1980s.

• It highlights a sharp contrast where non-agricultural growth consistently increased from the 1980s to the 2000s, while agricultural growth suffered relative stagnation after the 1980s.

• The passage provides only historical data on growth rates and the divergence between the two sectors; it does not mention specific policy interventions, cultivation methods, or subsidy structures.

• Assumption I regarding 'large-scale cultivation of commercial crops' and 'corporate farming' is not supported by any text in the passage.

• Assumption II regarding 'free insurance' and 'heavy subsidies' is also not mentioned or implied in the provided text.

• Since the instructions require answers to be based on the passages only, and neither assumption is derived from the text, both are invalid, making option (d) the correct choice.

Why the other options are wrong

(a) I only
Assumption I is not mentioned in the passage, which only discusses historical growth rates and does not propose specific cultivation strategies.
(b) II only
Assumption II is not mentioned in the passage, which does not discuss insurance schemes or subsidy levels for inputs.
(c) Both I and II
Both assumptions are unsupported by the text, which strictly limits the scope to historical growth data without prescribing solutions.

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.

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