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CSAT 2023 paper

UPSC CSE CSAT 2023 · Question 71 · Reading comprehension

Which one of the following statements most likely reflects as to what the author of the passage…

Directions for the following 3 (three) 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, while the unemployment rate is a frequently used measure of poor performance of the economy, under conditions of rising school and college enrolment, it paints an inaccurate picture. The reported unemployment rate is dominated by the experience of younger Indians who face higher employment challenges and exhibit greater willingness to wait for the right job than their older peers. The unemployment challenge is greater for people with secondary or higher education, and rising education levels inflate unemployment challenges.

CSAT 2023 · Q71

Reading comprehension Easy

Which one of the following statements most likely reflects as to what the author of the passage intends to say?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) Unemployment must be seen as a function of rising education and aspirations of young Indians.

The author says the unemployment rate misleads when enrolment is rising: educated young Indians wait for the right job, and rising education levels inflate unemployment. So unemployment has to be read against rising education and aspirations, not only as a sign of a weak economy.

  • ✗ (a) The passage says nothing about the quality of education; it only notes rising enrolment.
  • ✓ (b) The rate 'paints an inaccurate picture' because the young 'wait for the right job' and 'rising education levels inflate unemployment challenges' — unemployment tracks education and aspirations.
  • ✗ (c) Labour-intensive industries are not mentioned; this brings in an outside cause.
  • ✗ (d) The passage diagnoses how to read the unemployment rate; it offers no remedy such as redesigning education for self-employment.

Remember · For 'what the author intends to say', pick the option that restates the central claim; reject causes or remedies the passage never mentions.

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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