Consider the following statements:
Developed countries can support developing countries’ transition to sustainable human development by
- 1.making clean energy sources available at low cost
- 2.providing loans for improving their public transport at nominal interest rates
- 3.encouraging them to change their production and consumption patterns
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) 1 and 2 only
The passage names what holds developing countries back — “the high costs and low availability of clean energy sources” — and cites public transport and infrastructure as steps that ease the damage. Real support therefore means removing these material barriers; merely encouraging a change of habits does not.
- ✓ 1. It answers the exact hurdle the passage names: developing countries are “hampered by the high costs and low availability of clean energy sources”.
- ✓ 2. The passage cites “investing in public transport and infrastructure” as a way to alleviate the worst effects; cheap loans let developing countries, held back by cost, do the same.
- ✗ 3. The passage does not say developing countries lack the will to change — it says they are hampered by cost and availability. Encouragement does not touch that barrier, so it is not the support the passage calls for.
Remember · In ‘how can X help Y’ items, match the help to the obstacle the passage names; exhortation is rarely the support meant.
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·