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CSAT 2019 paper

UPSC CSE CSAT 2019 · Question 22 · Reading comprehension

Which one of the following is the most logical and rational corollary to the above passage?

Passage—2

With the digital phenomenon restructuring most social sectors, it is little surprise that global trade negotiations are now eyeing the digital area in an attempt to pre-emptively colonise it. Big Data is freely collected or mined from developing countries, and converted into digital intelligence in developed countries. This intelligence begins to control different sectors and extract monopoly rents. A large foreign company providing cab service, for instance, is not a network of cars and drivers; it is digital intelligence about commuting, public transport, roads, traffic, city events, personal behavioural characteristics of commuters and drivers and so on.

CSAT 2019 · Q22

Reading comprehension Easy

Which one of the following is the most logical and rational corollary to the above passage?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) India should be careful to protect its digital sovereignty in global trade talks.

Trade negotiations are eyeing the digital area to 'pre-emptively colonise it', while data mined in developing countries is turned into intelligence and monopoly rents elsewhere. The natural corollary for a developing country such as India is to guard control over its data in those talks.

  • ✗ (a) The passage is about data in trade talks, not globalisation as a whole; rejecting globalisation outright goes far beyond it.
  • ✓ (b) 'Colonise' plus data 'mined from developing countries' points to protecting one's digital sovereignty when trade rules are being written.
  • ✗ (c) Monopoly rents are what the intelligence-owning firms extract; the passage does not suggest India should charge them — it twists the idea.
  • ✗ (d) No proportional link between data loss and the value of foreign trade is given.

Remember · A corollary follows directly from the author's concern; reject options that invent a formula or take a sweeping stand the passage does not.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·

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