Minimalist IAS
CSAT 2023 paper

UPSC CSE CSAT 2023 · Question 32 · Reading comprehension

Which one of the following statements best reflects the crux of the passage?

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 · Q32

Reading comprehension Medium

Which one of the following statements best reflects the crux of the passage?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (c) Segregation of municipal solid waste is the first step in ensuring the success of waste-to-energy plants.

Waste-to-energy fits in the chain after segregation, and the right technology depends on what the waste contains, yet segregation at source is rare in India. So segregation is the first requirement for waste-to-energy plants to work.

  • ✗ (a) The cost of waste-to-energy is not discussed; the budget point is that collection and transport take most of the money.
  • ✗ (b) Biomethanation is 'a major solution' for the biodegradable part, not the most ideal way for all municipal waste.
  • ✓ (c) Waste-to-energy 'fits in the chain after segregation', and technology depends on the waste's make-up, which cannot be handled well while segregation at source is 'rare'.
  • ✗ (d) The biodegradable share is 'a little over 50 per cent' and biomethanation can process it — the opposite of 'not adequate'.

Remember · The crux links the passage's problem (rare segregation) to its solution chain; reject superlatives like 'most ideal' that the passage never uses.

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). ·

More on Reading comprehension

All Reading comprehension questions →