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CSAT 2018 paper

UPSC CSE CSAT 2018 · Question 7 · Reading comprehension

Which of the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above…

Directions for the following 4 (four) items: Read the following four passages and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.

Passage—1

Global population was around 1.6 billion in 1990—today it is around 7.2 billion and growing. Recent estimates on population growth predict a global population of 9.6 billion in 2050 and 10.9 billion in 2100. Unlike Europe and North America, where only three to four per cent of population is engaged in agriculture, around 47 per cent of India’s population is dependent upon agriculture. Even if India continues to do well in the service sector and the manufacturing sector picks up, it is expected that around 2030 when India overtakes China as the world’s most populous country, nearly 42 per cent of India’s population will still be predominantly dependent on agriculture.

CSAT 2018 · Q7

Reading comprehension Easy

Which of the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) Prosperity of agriculture sector is of critical importance to India.

The passage's point is that around 47 per cent of Indians depend on agriculture today and nearly 42 per cent will still do so in 2030, even if services and manufacturing grow. When so many livelihoods hang on one sector, its prosperity is critical to India.

  • ✓ (a) Follows directly: with close to half the population dependent on farming now and in 2030, how well agriculture does decides the well-being of a huge share of Indians.
  • ✗ (b) The passage speaks of people dependent on agriculture, not of agriculture's share of the economy; many people depending on a sector is not the same as the economy depending greatly on it.
  • ✗ (c) The population figures are background; the passage proposes no population policy, let alone 'strict measures'.
  • ✗ (d) The passage expects many to remain in farming even as other sectors grow; it gives no advice to farmers to change occupations.

Remember · Pick the inference that follows from the passage's central fact; reject options that add a policy the author never proposes.

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). ·

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