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CSAT 2023 paper

UPSC CSE CSAT 2023 · Question 31 · Reading comprehension

Based on the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

Directions for the following 5 (five) items: Read the following three passages and answer the items that follow the passages. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.

Passage—1

In India, the segregation of municipal waste at source is rare. Recycling is mostly with the informal sector. More than three-fourths of the municipal budget goes into collection and transportation, which leaves very little for processing/resource recovery and disposal. Where does waste-to-energy fit into all this? Ideally it fits in the chain after segregation (between wet waste and the rest), collection, recycling, and before getting to the landfill. Which technology is most appropriate in converting waste to energy depends on what is in the waste (that is biodegradable versus non-biodegradable component) and its calorific value. The biodegradable component of India's municipal solid waste is a little over 50 per cent, and biomethanation offers a major solution for processing this.

CSAT 2023 · Q31

Reading comprehension Medium

Based on the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

  1. 1.Collection, processing and segregation of municipal waste should be with government agencies.
  2. 2.Resource recovery and recycling require technological inputs that can be best handled by private sector enterprises.

Which of the assumptions given above is/are correct?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (d) Neither 1 nor 2

The passage describes rare segregation, informal recycling and a budget swallowed by collection and transport, and explains where waste-to-energy fits and how technology should be chosen. It never says who — government agencies or private firms — should do these jobs, so neither assumption is made.

  • ✗ 1. The passage notes that recycling is with the informal sector and how the municipal budget is spent, but it never says which agency should collect, process or segregate waste.
  • ✗ 2. Technology choice is tied to the waste's composition and calorific value; the private sector is not mentioned at all.

Remember · An assumption must be needed for the author's argument; statements that assign a job to a new actor (government, private sector) usually are not.

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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