With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made: 1. Governments often provide inefficient and costly subsidies for technologies that may not be ready in the near future. 2. India’s commitment of reducing emissions by 33% by 2030 shall be on the basis of gas-based economy. Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

UPSC CSAT 2020 Q63: With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made: — Answer & Explanation

Passage—2

India has tremendous potential for solar energy. We all realize that we have to stop burning fossil fuels to meet our energy needs. But certain renewable resources are still going through their cost curves and learning curves to get the required amount of output. The Indian Government has strongly committed to its targets of reducing emissions by 33 per cent by 2030, and towards this it has initiated a strong push towards a gas-based economy and has also invested heavily in renewable energy. However, business houses are wary of investing too heavily in renewable energy at a time when the technology is not yet ready.

CSAT 2020 · Q63

Reading comprehension Hard

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

1.Governments often provide inefficient and costly subsidies for technologies that may not be ready in the near future.
2.India’s commitment of reducing emissions by 33% by 2030 shall be on the basis of gas-based economy.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) 1 only

The government has 'invested heavily' in renewable energy even though the technology is 'not yet ready' and still costly — the passage's warning is that such early public spending can be inefficient and expensive (1). The emissions target rests on both a gas-based push and renewables, not on gas alone, so 2 fails.

✓ 1. The contrast between heavy government investment and business wariness 'at a time when the technology is not yet ready' assumes that public money put into unready technology can be inefficient and costly — the same idea as item 62's answer.
✗ 2. Towards the target the government 'has initiated a strong push towards a gas-based economy and has also invested heavily in renewable energy' — both, not gas alone.

Remember · Read 'and also' carefully: a goal pursued through two means cannot be said to rest on one of them.

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). ·

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

Passage—2

CSAT 2020 · Q63

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