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CSAT 2017 paper

UPSC CSE CSAT 2017 · Question 43 · Reading comprehension

Which among the following is the most logical and essential message conveyed by the above passage?

Passage—3

We live in digital times. The digital is not just something we use strategically and specifically to do a few tasks. Our very perception of who we are, how we connect to the world around us, and the ways in which we define our domains of life, labour and language are hugely structured by the digital technologies. The digital is everywhere and, like air, invisible. We live within digital systems, we live with intimate gadgets, we interact through digital media, and the very presence and imagination of the digital has dramatically restructured our lives. The digital, far from being a tool, is a condition and context that defines the shapes and boundaries of our understanding of the self, the society, and the structure of governance.

CSAT 2017 · Q43

Reading comprehension Easy

Which among the following is the most logical and essential message conveyed by the above passage?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) Speaking of digital technologies is speaking of our life and living.

The passage says the digital is not just a tool but a condition that shapes who we are, how we connect, and our life, labour and language. So to speak of digital technologies is to speak of our life and living.

  • ✗ (a) 'All problems of governance' is an extreme claim; the passage says only that the digital shapes our understanding of governance.
  • ✓ (b) The digital 'has dramatically restructured our lives' and is 'a condition and context' of life, so talking about it is talking about how we live.
  • ✗ (c) The passage says the digital shapes our imagination, not that creativity cannot be expressed without it.
  • ✗ (d) The passage describes the present ('We live in digital times'), not what mankind's future existence requires.

Remember · For the 'essential message', prefer the option restating the passage's central image (the digital as a condition of life) over extreme claims.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·

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