Which one of the following statements best reflects the critical message conveyed by the passage?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) Insecurity, more than poverty, is the main economic issue that Government policies must address.
The passage's key claim is that insecurity — felt even by people just above the poverty line — is a more acutely felt economic problem than poverty itself, and that many Government policies aim to ease it. Option (d) restates this.
- ✗ (a) The passage calls social inequality the main social problem and insecurity the main economic problem. It does not merge poverty, inequality and insecurity into one social problem, nor does it address the political executive.
- ✗ (b) No causal link from poverty to social inequality is drawn. The passage in fact ranks insecurity above poverty.
- ✗ (c) 'Unmanageable crisis' is extreme and absent; the passage notes that Government policies already aim at mitigating insecurities.
- ✓ (d) The passage says insecurity, 'more than poverty', is the most acutely felt economic problem, and that many Government policies are 'intended towards mitigating these insecurities'.
Remember · When the author ranks one thing 'more than' another, the right option keeps that ranking; options that reverse or blur it are traps.
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2025, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·