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UPSC CSE CSAT 2018 · Paper II (CSAT) · Question 52 · Reading comprehension

Which one of the following is the most important implication of the passage?

UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2018, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Question 52 — Reading comprehension.

Passage—4

The Arctic’s vast reserves of fossil fuel, fish and minerals are now accessible for a longer period in a year. But unlike Antarctica, which is protected from exploitation by the Antarctic Treaty framed during the Cold War and is not subject to territorial claims by any country, there is no legal regime protecting the Arctic from industrialization, especially at a time when the world craves for more and more resources. The distinct possibility of ice-free summer has prompted countries with Arctic coastline to scramble for great chunks of the melting ocean.

CSAT 2018 · Q52

Reading comprehension X-Ray · Core #1 Easy

Which one of the following is the most important implication of the passage?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) Melting of summer ice in the Arctic leads to changes in the geopolitics.

Melting has made Arctic resources reachable for longer, and with no legal regime like the Antarctic Treaty, countries with Arctic coastline are scrambling for chunks of the ocean. Melting ice is reshaping geopolitics — option (b).

  • ✗ (a) India is not mentioned; the scramble is among countries with an Arctic coastline.
  • ✓ (b) The 'distinct possibility of ice-free summer has prompted countries with Arctic coastline to scramble for great chunks of the melting ocean' — a geopolitical change driven by melting.
  • ✗ (c) The passage notes the world's craving for resources but never says the Arctic will end the shortage.
  • ✗ (d) The two poles are compared on legal protection, not on the size of their resources.

Remember · An implication links the passage's cause (melting ice, no treaty) to its effect (a scramble for territory); ignore actors or comparisons not in the text.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·

Cite this question: UPSC CSE CSAT 2018, Q52 — minimalistias.com/pyqs/csat/2018/q52

In the UPSC syllabus: Reading comprehension › Inference & assumptions See it and tick it covered →

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