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CSAT 2021 paper

UPSC CSE CSAT 2021 · Question 24 · Reading comprehension

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

Passage—4

A central message of modern development economics is the importance of income growth, by which is meant growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In theory, rising GDP creates employment and investment opportunities. As incomes grow in a country where the level of GDP was once low, households, communities, and governments are increasingly able to set aside some funds for the production of things that make for a good life. Today GDP has assumed such a significant place in the development lexicon, that if someone mentions “economic growth”, we know they mean growth in GDP.

CSAT 2021 · Q24

Reading comprehension Medium

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

  1. 1.Rising GDP is essential for a country to be a developed country.
  2. 2.Rising GDP guarantees a reasonable distribution of income to all households.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (d) Neither 1 nor 2

The passage reports how central GDP growth has become in development thinking and what it does 'in theory'. It never says rising GDP is necessary for developed status and says nothing about how income is shared, so neither assumption holds.

  • ✗ 1. The passage describes GDP's importance in development economics and its effects 'in theory'; it does not claim that rising GDP is essential to become a developed country.
  • ✗ 2. Distribution of income is never discussed, and 'guarantees' is far stronger than anything in the passage.

Remember · Reporting how popular an idea is ('central message', 'in theory') is not endorsing it; beware words like 'essential' and 'guarantees'.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·

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