Minimalist IAS
CSAT 2023 paper

UPSC CSE CSAT 2023 · Question 2 · Reading comprehension

Which one of the following statements best reflects what is implied by the passage?

Passage—2

More than half of Indian women and almost a quarter of Indian men of working age suffer from anaemia. According to studies, they are anywhere from 5 – 15% less productive than they could be, as a result thereof. India also has the largest tuberculosis burden in the world, costing 170 million workdays to the country annually. But what is just as important as lost productivity now is lost potential in the future. It is becoming increasingly clear that on many measures of cognitive ability, malnourished Indian children perform two or three times worse than their adequately nourished peers. For an economy that will be more dependent on highly skilled workers, this poses a significant challenge. And it is one that really should be addressed given India's demographic outlook.

CSAT 2023 · Q2

Reading comprehension Easy

Which one of the following statements best reflects what is implied by the passage?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (d) For rapid economic growth as envisaged by us, attention should be paid to health and nutrition of the people.

Anaemia and tuberculosis cut today's productivity, and child malnutrition cuts tomorrow's cognitive potential, which matters for an economy that will need skilled workers. The implied message is that growth depends on attention to people's health and nutrition.

  • ✗ (a) Education and rural areas are not discussed; the problem identified is ill-health and malnutrition.
  • ✗ (b) Skill programmes are not the remedy offered; the passage argues that malnutrition limits the very capacity to become highly skilled.
  • ✗ (c) 'Only skilled workers' is wrong: the passage speaks of women, men of working age and children.
  • ✓ (d) Lost productivity (anaemia, TB) and lost future potential (malnourished children) both point to health and nutrition as the base of economic growth.

Remember · When a passage lists a problem and its economic cost, the implication is to fix that root problem, not a neighbouring policy.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·

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