With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made: I. The food manufacturing and processing industries in every country should align their objectives and processes in accordance with the changing needs of the societies. II. Wealthier societies tend to incur great loss of calories of food materials due to indirect utilization of their agricultural produce. Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

CSAT 2025 paper

UPSC CSE CSAT 2025 · Question 34 · Reading comprehension

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

Passage—2

If there is inequality in the pattern of population growth, there is greater inequality in food production and utilization. As societies become wealthier, their consumption of animal products increases. This means that a greater proportion of such basic foodstuff as grains and legumes that could feed humans directly is instead being converted into feed for poultry and large farm animals. Yet this conversion of plant-based food into animal food for humans is far from efficient. Only 16% of the calories fed to chickens are recovered by us when we eat them. This conversion rate goes down to five to seven per cent in large animals that are fed grain to add fat and some protein before slaughter.

CSAT 2025 · Q34

Reading comprehension Medium

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

I.The food manufacturing and processing industries in every country should align their objectives and processes in accordance with the changing needs of the societies.
II.Wealthier societies tend to incur great loss of calories of food materials due to indirect utilization of their agricultural produce.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) II only

The passage links rising wealth to more animal products, and shows that feeding grain to animals loses most of its calories, so II follows. It says nothing about food manufacturing and processing industries, so I is not assumed.

✗ I Food manufacturing and processing industries are not discussed at all. This is a prescription from outside the passage.
✓ II As societies become wealthier they eat more animal products, so more grain and legumes go to animal feed, and only 16% (chickens) or five to seven per cent (large animals) of those calories come back. That is a large calorie loss through indirect use of farm produce.

Remember · A valid assumption often chains two lines of the passage (wealth → more animal food → calorie loss); advice to new actors is invalid.

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). ·

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

Passage—2

CSAT 2025 · Q34

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