Which one of the following statements best reflects the crux of the passage?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) To become a global power, India needs to invest in universal quality education.
Advanced skills rest on foundational learning; without a strong primary base there can be no improvement in higher education or skills, and an uneducated workforce cannot keep pace with the global economy. The crux is that India must invest in quality education for all to compete globally.
- ✓ (a) Quality schooling that gives every student the 'gateway skills' is presented as the base for keeping pace with the global, knowledge-based economy.
- ✗ (b) The passage does not say India is unable to become a global power or that it neglects the knowledge economy.
- ✗ (c) It says the opposite: improvement in higher education and skills depends on a strong primary foundation.
- ✗ (d) Parents' literacy is not mentioned.
Remember · The crux keeps the passage's own order of priorities; an option that reverses it (higher education before foundations) is wrong.
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). ·