Which among the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the passage given above?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) To maintain and develop our cities we need to adopt sustainability related interventions.
Cities are vulnerable to climate change, crowded and short of facilities, and the passage calls for sustainable solutions on air quality and transport with citizens involved in planning. The rational inference is that our cities need sustainability-related interventions.
- ✗ (a) Administrative set-up and autonomy are not discussed.
- ✗ (b) The passage notes rising densities, but its concern is that 'we have not yet developed the systems' to cope — it does not call density itself the hindrance.
- ✓ (c) Issues of air quality and transport 'are vital to identifying sustainable solutions', and cities must 'create an ecosystem that meets the needs of the people'.
- ✗ (d) Public-Private Partnership is never mentioned; this names a mechanism from outside the passage.
Remember · The most logical inference restates the passage's own remedy; options naming a specific mechanism (autonomy, PPP) go beyond it.
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). ·