Based on the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:
- 1.Patent protection given to patentees puts a huge burden on public's purchasing power in accessing patented medicines.
- 2.Dependence on other countries for pharmaceutical products is a huge burden for developing and poor countries.
- 3.Providing medicines to the public at affordable prices is a key goal during the public health policy design in many countries.
- 4.Governments need to find an appropriate balance between the rights of patentees and the requirements of the patients.
Which of the above assumptions are valid?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) 1 and 4
Patents let firms set high prices that may be unaffordable, justified as a return on innovation that benefits the public later. This assumes a real burden on buyers of patented medicines and a need for governments to balance patentees' rights with patients' needs.
- ✓ 1. Prices during the monopoly 'could be unaffordable to the public' and the benefit 'comes at a cost ... of higher prices' — a burden on buyers.
- ✗ 2. Dependence on other countries for medicines is not discussed.
- ✗ 3. How countries design public health policy is outside the passage, which only describes the patent trade-off.
- ✓ 4. The patentee's 'legitimate mechanism to get returns' stands against prices the public may not afford; resolving this tension calls for a balance.
Remember · Assumptions come from tensions inside the passage; reject statements about topics (imports, policy design) it never touches.
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). ·