Which among the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) India should push up the public investments and encourage the private investments in research and development, technology upgradation and skill development.
Indian manufacturing must move to higher-tech, higher-value and higher-productivity sectors, and the growing global markets are mainly in high-technology, capital-intensive goods. Getting there needs investment in research, technology upgradation and skills.
- ✗ (a) The passage says India must move up from these sectors; it does not credit India with high value added or productivity in them.
- ✗ (b) The passage treats the move to such manufacturing as necessary; nothing says it is impossible.
- ✓ (c) Capturing high-tech, capital-intensive markets calls for investment in research, technology and skills — the natural policy conclusion.
- ✗ (d) The passage says India 'needs to capture' these markets, which means it has not done so yet.
Remember · When a passage sets a challenge, the logical inference is usually the means to meet it, not a claim that it is already met.
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). ·