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CSAT 2022 paper

UPSC CSE CSAT 2022 · Question 3 · Reading comprehension

According to the passage given above, deforestation and denudation will ultimately lead to which…

Passage—2

Unless the forces and tendencies which are responsible for destroying the country’s environment are checked in the near future and afforestation of denuded areas is taken up on a massive scale, the harshness of the climatic conditions and soil erosion by wind and water will increase to such an extent that agriculture, which is the mainstay of our people, will gradually become impossible. The desert countries of the world and our own desert areas in Rajasthan are a grim reminder of the consequences of large-scale deforestation. Pockets of desert-like landscape are now appearing in other parts of the country including the Sutlej-Ganga Plains and the Deccan Plateau. Where only a few decades back there used to be lush green forests with perennial streams and springs, there is only brown earth, bare of vegetation, without any water in the streams and springs except in the rainy season.

CSAT 2022 · Q3

Reading comprehension Easy

According to the passage given above, deforestation and denudation will ultimately lead to which of the following?

  1. 1.Depletion of soil resource
  2. 2.Shortage of land for the common man
  3. 3.Lack of water for cultivation

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Answer & explanation

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

The passage predicts “soil erosion by wind and water” and describes land left “without any water in the streams and springs except in the rainy season”, so soil and water are both lost. It says nothing about land becoming scarce for people.

  • ✓ 1. “Soil erosion by wind and water will increase”, leaving “brown earth, bare of vegetation” — the soil resource is depleted.
  • ✗ 2. The land does not disappear; it degrades so that agriculture becomes impossible. A shortage of land for the common man is not mentioned.
  • ✓ 3. Former perennial streams and springs now have no water “except in the rainy season”, and agriculture “will gradually become impossible”.

Remember · Pick only the consequences the passage actually describes; a plausible real-world effect missing from the text is out.

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). ·

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