Minimalist IAS
CSAT 2020 paper

UPSC CSE CSAT 2020 · Question 27 · Reading comprehension

Which one of the following statements best reflects the critical message of the passage?

Passage—5

In India, agriculture still engages about half of its workforce, and about 85 per cent of its farms are small and marginal. Compared to China and Vietnam, which have experienced fast structural and rural transformation, India’s story is of slow transformation. As a result, poverty reduction in India was at a much slower pace during 1988–2014, compared to China and Vietnam. India’s poverty reduction was slow during 1988–2005, but during 2005–2012, it accelerated dramatically—almost three times faster than during the earlier period. What did India do during this period? Research reveals that the relative price scenario changed significantly (by more than 50%) in favour of agriculture in the wake of rising global prices. This boosted private investments in agriculture by more than 50%. As a result, agri-GDP growth touched 4.1% during 2007–2012 as against 2.4% during 2002–2007. The net surplus of agri-trade touched $25 billion in 2013–2014; real farm wages rose by 7% per annum. All this led to unprecedented fall in poverty.

CSAT 2020 · Q27

Reading comprehension Medium

Which one of the following statements best reflects the critical message of the passage?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (d) Inclusive agricultural growth is key to reduce poverty in the near future.

With half the workforce in farming and most farms small, the passage shows poverty falling fastest when agriculture grew — higher investment, faster agri-GDP growth and rising real farm wages. Growth that reaches this large farm population is the key to cutting poverty.

  • ✗ (a) The poverty fall came through agriculture itself; off-farm employment is not mentioned.
  • ✗ (b) Farmer producer companies are outside the passage.
  • ✗ (c) Private investment rose as a result of prices; the passage never compares it with public investment or ranks them.
  • ✓ (d) Agri-GDP growth of 4·1%, a trade surplus and real farm wages rising 7% a year together 'led to unprecedented fall in poverty' — growth that reached farmers and farm workers.

Remember · For the 'critical message', follow the passage's cause-and-effect chain to its end point and choose the option that names the whole chain.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2020, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·

More on Reading comprehension

All Reading comprehension questions →